Tucker Discovery: Original Tucker Ash Tray Sets from Their Manufacturer and Their Tooling Molds
Mike Tucker, Sean Tucker and Mark Lieberman recently discovered a rare collection of Tucker memorabilia and a piece of Tucker history.
I was fortunate to acquire a portion of the collection which I will be sharing on VanderbiltCupRaces.com.
The above photo was taken by Rob Ida at Ida Automotive featuring the collection. In the background are three Tucker '48s being worked on by Rob and his team: Tucker 1044 (oil change and fall check-up), Tucker 1029 and Tucker 1034.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
Tucker Corporation/Budds Aero Castings Tucker Desk Set Collection
By Mike Tucker and Sean Tucker
The collection contains several original items acquired from the decedents of Harold Budds, the owner of Budds Aero Castings in New Canaan, CT. Budds Aero Castings produced the Tucker desk set (also known as the Tucker ashtray) in 1948 as a supplier to the Tucker Corporation. It was one of the many promotional items Tucker dealers could use to promote the Tucker 48. These desk sets are extremely rare; through the included original company documentation we have determined they produced somewhere between 1,730 and 2,230 of these desk sets in two different colors (red and gold). We believe there were at least three configurations: the early maroon painted cars, the early gold-plated cars, and the later style gold-plated cars. We also know of at least two different version of the desk set base, one which include the “Tucker” script and one that did not.
With this lot, we attempted to assemble a one-of-a-kind representation the work that Budds Aero Castings and the Tucker Corporation completed together in 1948. All of the items remained in the possession of the descendants of Budds Aero Castings until 2020. The collection includes the following:
Two original Tucker desk sets. We refer to the two different castings of the car itself as “short” and “tall”. The two included desk sets are both gold-plated, one “short” and one “tall”. We believe the “short” one included in the sale to potentially be a very early prototype, given the somewhat poor casting and fitment. The axles are not in alignment, and the car does not attach well to the base. The other included desk set is the “tall” later version of the desk set, and is in good original condition. Like most of the desk sets, the plating is showing some wear. Please note the car is attached to the base with two modern replacement fasteners which are not visible unless the lid is open.
Two original Tucker “flat” desk set casting molds. We believe there were as many as nine of these molds originally produced with only seven complete “flat” molds surviving today. The seven remaining “flat” molds all have unique features, presumably from revisions being made until the companies settled on a final version. We are not aware of any surviving “tall” molds. We believe one of the molds included to be one of the first versions and the other to be one of the last.
One original Budds Aero Castings shipping crate. This is the crate the molds were stored in when acquired. This is the only shipping crate we are aware of that survived.
23 pieces of paper correspondence between the Tucker Corporation and Budds Aero Castings. Appears to be a complete record of every letter between January 1948 and September of 1948 between the two companies. The first letter from the Tucker Corporation in January details tooling dollars they are committing to Budds Aero Castings, and the last letter from Budds Aero Castings to the Tucker Corporation discusses the SEC raiding their manufacturing plant. In between there are many other letters, the original purchase order for the desk sets from the Tucker Corporation, shipping documents, telegrams, and a packaging diagram.
Comments
Most interesting. Maybe resin copies could be made to support future Tucker research.
I have just the car on base portion only. I was told that my piece was used to create cars by Clarence Young.
Meredith’s idea of resin copies is an excellent idea What an amazing find
Alex Tremulis assigned the ashtray project to Phil Egan. The various revisions to the original car design were most likely done to make them more accurate to the dimensions used on the pre-production vehicles.
I’ve seen a couple bases without the “Tucker” script, but if I recall correctly, oftentimes the Tucker script was ground off by angry potential dealers, customers, and stock purchasers who had lost money on their deposits and transactions. Rather than constantly looking at the Tucker name, they were left with just the dream the model car represented.
It would be great to see the individual correspondence between Tucker Corp. and Budds. Who at Tucker lead the project with Budds?
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Howard Kroplick
Steve, I will be posting all the correspondence in future posts.
Nice article, it was a pleasure to meet Mike and Sean when they came to pick up all the Tucker stuff. A couple of corrections. Budds Aero Casting was in North Canaan Connecticut and my grandfather was Henry Harold Budds, known by Harold. He was also a paid consultant to Tucker. When my mother died in 2019 I gave each of my siblings and cousins one of the desk sets. I have two, one sealed in its original box. I have a Tucker money clip with a small knife as part of it.
Incredible finds! I’ve wanted to own one of these for ages! thanks for the Info Chris, any chance you’d like to part with one of those beauties? Been a fan of Tucker since i was kid and say the film in the theater. Been amazed and in awe every since.
Thanks for sharing!
Austin