Michael Satterfield
One industry that’s having little difficulty in the post-2008 economy
is the one that’s grown up around collectibles associated with Steve
McQueen, particularly as they relate to his self-made 1971 racing epic, Le Mans.
We just got word that Profiles in History, of Calabasas Hills,
California, plans a July auction with a couple of primo lots from the
film.
One of them is a Simpson Nomex fire-resistant race jacket with blue
lateral stripes down the arms and embroidered Gulf patch on the left
chest. “Steve McQueen” is embroidered in cursive script on the right
chest with the American flag sewn on the left shoulder. It was worn by
McQueen in between scenes and on idle days during the filming of Le Mans; it wore his own name rather than the name of his character, Michael Delaney, to avoid pre-film public confusion.
If all this sounds a little familiar, it ought to: Last December, Profiles in History sold the actual Delaney driving suit for a staggering $984,000. That was a couple of months after we watched the Porsche 911S that McQueen briefly drove in Le Mans go for $1.25 million during frantic bidding at RM’s Monterey auction.
Profiles in History is hanging an $80,000-$120,000 pre-sale estimate on the McQueen jacket. Another piece of Le Mans
heritage carries a more breathtaking estimate: The Heuer Monaco
wristwatch that McQueen’s character famously wore in the film has a
pre-sale estimate of $200,000 to $300,000, far outdistancing the last
McQueen timepiece sold on the block, a Rolex Submariner that hammered
for $234,000 in 2009.
The exact July date and location for the auction hasn’t been set. For more information, visit ProfilesinHistory.com.
