VERY IMPORTANT SATURDAY EVENT AT AUTOBOOKS
MANY OF THESE HISTORIC TREASURES WILL BE ON DISPLAY PRIOR TO SATURDAY, JULY 15 ... THE MEDIA IS INVITED.
PLEASE CONTACT: DOUG STOKES (818)845-0707
THIS IS A WONDERFUL COLLECTION WITH LETTERS FROM SUCH MOTORSPORTS LEGENDS AS: JIM CLARK, GRAHAM HILL, LEO GOOSEN, ROY SLAVADORI, DAN GURNEY, TONY RUDD, COLIN CHAPMAN, JOHN COOPER, JIM KIMBERLY, SIR STIRLING MOSS, AND MANY OTHERS ...
THE PERSONAL PHOTO COLLECTION INCLUDES PERSONAL/AUTOGRAPHED PHOTOS OF MANY FORMULA 1 PERSONALITIES INCLUDING: MOSS, ROB WALKER, DENIS McCULUGGAGE, INNES IRELAND, DENNIS JENKINSON, BERNIE ECCELSTONE, FRANK WILLIAMS, BRUCE McLAREN, VIC ELFORD, JAMES HUNT, EMERSON FITTIPALDI, RODGER WARD, JOCHEN RINDT, AND LANCE REVENTLOW ... TO NAME BUT A FEW (SEE ATTACHED)
THE SULLIVAN COLLECTION
DOCTOR FRANK FALKNER'S FRAMED MOTORSPORTS PHOTOS, MEMORABILIA, PAPERS, & SMALL SNAPSHOTS
I can close my eyes and imagine the walls in Doctor Falkner's study crowded cheek to jowl with these wonderfully evocative framed photos … How much motorsports history is wrapped up in these shots is for others to deduce. To me they simply frame the man.
Many of the framed photos in this very personal collection appear to be non-professional candids. My best guess is that Doctor Falkner took many of the snapshots himself, had them enlarged, and subsequently asked the subjects to sign the photos for him.
As a group they represent a broad swath of racing history, but more than that, the wan smiles and the cheery inscriptions measure the man and his quiet influence on the sport.
In the papers we find glimpses of motorsports history that are beyond indelible. The actual entry blank for the 1961 Indianapolis 500, signed by John Cooper and sending Jack Brabham and his rear engined Cooper-Climax into a battle that changed racing forever. Personal and business letters from virtually every major light in the sport at the time, including Jim Clark, Stirling Moss, Roy Salvadori, Colin Chapman, Bruce MacLaren, Graham Hill, Al Bloemker, Jim Kimberly, Leo Goosen, Jackie Stewart, and the list goes on.
In another box we find Falkner's life-long collection of pit passes, arm bands, badges, and other credentials which he was issued at races around the world. Ranging from the official track doctor's badge at the 1959 Sebring F1 race to half a dozen or so coveted (“any time-any place” ALL ACCESS) FOCA passes, these items lend color and texture, as well as historic interest, to this collection
I was fortunate enough to meet the Doctor on two occasions, both a long time ago. My recollections of him, though, are still sharp and my memories of his intelligence and courtliness warmed me once again as I sat to catalog these treasures.
We have the great Danny Sullivan to thank for this collection. Without his personal efforts the racing world might well have lost these special artifacts.
Sullivan was one of the Doctor Falkner's closest friends and Danny's success was surely one of the Doctor's proudest achievements in motorsports. Falkner encouraged a young lad from Kentucky to follow a dream and that support led to a storied driving career that included Formula 1, Can Am, a CART championship, and 17 Indy Car victories including that spectacular win at the Indy 500 in 1985.
From the UC Berkley News September 3, 2003
… Falkner's connections helped him launch the career of race car champion Danny Sullivan, who was a childhood friend of Falkner's son, Michael. Not only did Frank Falkner send Sullivan to driving school in England, he persuaded Tyrrell to give Sullivan a driving test. Tyrrell hired Sullivan, who went on to win the Indianapolis 500 in 1985 and the 1988 CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) championship.
"I had never followed racing until Frank introduced me to the Mini Cooper and the (Triumph) TR-2," said Sullivan. "I was 21 and bumming around New York when I told Frank I wanted to get into racing. He said that if I'm going to do it, he was going to make sure I did it right. I wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for Frank."
One week before Falkner's death, Sullivan carried Falkner from the house into the passenger seat of a new Porsche and gave the racing enthusiast one last ride around the block.
We'll be leaving it to our friends at Watkins Glen to fully document the 50-some framed photos, the hundreds of unframed photos, the hundreds of papers, the very personal snapshots, as well as the boxes of pit passes and official's badges that the good Doctor Falkner left us.
The enthusiasm and encouragement that the Watkins Glen Motor Racing Research Center has shown us has been most heartening. This collection stands in tribute to a man who simply loved racing and did everything in his power to further the sport.
Before deciding on Watkins Glen, we spoke to some of the best-respected people in the business about this collection. To a person they all indicated that the Motor Racing Research Center was THE place for it. They are almost too numerous to mention, and many of them would prefer to advise us quietly. The bottom line is that they all should be thanked for their advice and good council.
Just for reference, Autobooks' involvement in this effort was simply that of interim caretaker of these items. Danny called us early in the year and asked if we could help him to preserve this important collection and to find a good way make it available to both historians and racing fans for many generations to come. It is a true honor to be even a small part of such a noble endeavor.
-Doug Stokes
GM Autobooks-Aerobooks
ON THE AFTERNOON OF SATURDAY JULY 15th, 2006 MARK STEIGERWALD OF THE WATKINS GLEN MOTOR RACING RESEARCH CENTER WILL BE AT AUTOBOOKS IN BURBANK TO FORMALLY ACCEPT THE SULLIVAN COLLECTION OF DOCTOR FRANK FALKNER'S PHOTOS AND PAPERS …
WE CORDIALLY INVITE THE PUBLIC AS WELL AS OUR GOOD FRIENDS IN THE MEDIA TO VISIT AUTOBOOKS AND WITTNESS THE ACCEPTENCE AND TRANSFER OF THESE HISTORIC ARTIFACTS.
PLEASE JOIN US FOR THIS ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EVENT!
THANKS VERY MUCH!
DOUG STOKES
AUTOBOOKS-AEROBOOKS
(818) 845-0707
