Petromobilia auction: Oil & Rust

This year, petrolheads have a new opportunity to immerse themselves in the golden age of automobiles and the flair and romance of old-time filling stations: The experts from Wormser Reklame-Auktion and the team behind the Bremen Classic Motorshow are joining forces for a new venture: an auction held during northern Europe’s largest classic vehicle show. During the Bremen Classic Motorshow from 31 January to 2 February, around 450 lots will go under the hammer at the Oil & Rust auction.

Marc Trapp, the owner of Wormser Reklame-Auktion, will be inviting bids for this haul of rare objects and advertising items from automotive and filling station history. The passionate auctioneer from Wormser Reklame is looking forward to the show in Bremen, which represents „a new chapter in our company history“.

„We’re delighted to present this new event together with an extremely well-connected and experienced auction house“, says Project Manager Frank Ruge from MESSE BREMEN. The BCM team has long considered including an auction in the show. Now, with the right partner, their idea is becoming reality.

For almost 15 years, the team in Worms have been supplying collectors in and beyond Germany with gems of commercial art. With more than 40 themed auctions of historical advertising media, the experts led by Marc Trapp have built up an excellent international reputation founded on their passion, enthusiasm and knowledge. „Our company has grown into a powerful player thanks to our unique way of presenting items and our special auctions. Today our team is made up of seven specialists who know exactly what customers want“, says Trapp, who describes the collector community as „very intense“.

Tom Weiskircher is providing additional support for the unique and demanding Bremen Classic Motorshow project. He is a specialist dealer in vintage advertising materials who draws on eight years of experience in the field. As an automobile enthusiast himself, Weiskircher was involved in establishing the „petromobilia“ segment at the auction house. Now the company is expanding its activities northwards so that the auction is not only within easy reach from the Benelux countries, but also more attractive for Scandinavian customers. „Our sellers and customers from Denmark, Norway and even Sweden will be delighted“, says Trapp. His auctions in Worms attract customers from all over Europe.

He shares with Weiskircher a passion for memorabilia from old filling stations and repair shops. The two men are blown away by the atmosphere in the exhibition rooms of the Bremen Classic Motorshow. „In conjunction with the Petromobilia auction, this is set to be an amazing event, no doubt with a number of nail-biting bidding battles,“ says Marc Trapp. He will act as the auctioneer at the show in Bremen.

The highlight of the Oil & Rust auction is an enamel sign from Italian company Spido, known in Germany as Spidolin. It depicts a racing driver promoting engine oil. The reserve price is € 10,000. However, the experts anticipate a selling price of more than double that. It will be thrilling to see how the bidders on site and online try to outdo each other with ever-higher bids.

Yet even the Spido sign is unlikely to break the record for the most expensive advertising item ever auctioned in Europe. That distinction goes to an enamel sign from Cailler advertising Frigor chocolate. It went under the hammer at the Worms auction house in 2022 – and sold for € 215,000 (plus fees).

Auction details

On the two auction days, Saturday and Sunday, around 450 petromobilia lots will be up for sale.

The enamel signs, oilcans and all other items on offer will be available for pre-viewing during the Motorshow: on Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Saturday from 9 to 10.30 a.m. and on Sunday from 9 to 11.30 a.m.

The auctions themselves will take place in Hall 4 (Stand 4A10) on Saturday from 10.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. and from 2 to 5.30 p.m., and on Sunday from 11.30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All the auctioned articles will be authenticated by experts from the company Originals Only, which is a subsidiary of the auction house. The most prized items will from the start display an authentication badge complete with a grade. All other articles can be marked with a badge on request.

Potential bidders can register on site in Hall 4 (Stand 4B15). Other collectors will be bidding online. They can register in advance via the auction-house website reklame-auktion.de/, then on the day place their bids and follow the auction live online. Incoming online bids will be displayed on a screen for everybody to see, heightening the tension in the auction room. Over the years, the number of bidders has risen continually. With over 3,000 registered bidders per auction, excitement is guaranteed – for every lot, up to 1,500 online collectors will be poised with their finger over the keyboard.

Further information: https://www.classicmotorshow.de/en

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You can find photos at messe-bremen.de/bcm/pressemappe
Password:                       Cl4ss1c_M0t0rsh0w

Please add the Bremen Classic Motorshow to your events calendar:

Date:                     Friday 31 January to Sunday 2 February 2025

Opening hours:   9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Venue:                  MESSE BREMEN, Findorffstr. 101, 28215 Bremen

Prices:                  Day ticket:                 online € 18, reduced € 16 | Ticket desk € 20, reduced € 18 

                              Two-day ticket:           online € 28 | Ticket desk € 30

                              After-work ticket:        Friday and Saturday from 3 p.m. online or at the ticket desk € 10

                              Family ticket:             € 40 (2 adults + 2 children)

About the Bremen Classic Motorshow: Since 2003, the Bremen Classic Motorshow has become established as the first classic vehicle trade show of the year in Germany. Over three days every year, collectors and grease monkeys, first-time fans and long-term enthusiasts, dealers and restorers, clubs and friends get together in the MESSE BREMEN halls to chat and talk shop in a relaxed atmosphere. In 2023, the classic vehicle show achieved a new record: with the organisers counting 46,407  visitors. Some 730 exhibitors from around Europe ensured a wide-ranging, varied programme. The Bremen Classic Motorshow team always brings a breath of fresh air and new ideas to the classic vehicle community. Its adaptability was again proven in 2021 and 2022 when the in-person show had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, they put together an online event in the form of a livestream. Another inspired idea was the new Red List category created for the Bremen Classic Motorshow. These are vehicles that were once common on the roads, but are on the verge of extinction today. Soon, the media and the community also adopted the concept and the new term. Since 2023, the BCM has been increasing its efforts to involve young classic vehicle fans.

Further information for editorial teams:

MESSE BREMEN · M3B GmbH
Bastian Mojen,
T +49 421 3505 – 445
Bastian.Mojen@m3b-bremen.de
www.messe-bremen.de