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No Reserve “Good Tires, Not Great / Ferrari in the Ditch” from Road & Track Magazine, Limited Print #126 of 150 – FOR CHARITY

Here is an auction that is a little different. With two Ferraris running simultaneously, the timing is right for a charity auction and one consistent with our current Ferrari theme. And for a print of a local Canadian-connected photo published in Road & Track Magazine several times, no less, a Ferrari 512 BB in a St. Catharines, On ditch. “Good Tires, Not Great / Ferrari in the Ditch” comes to us from donor and past buyer/seller on the site Primitive. He came to us with this print and the charity auction idea. To get the ground rules out of the way:

1. No Reserve. The highest bidder at the end of our two-week auction will be the owner of the print.
2. Unlike past auctions, we are not starting at $1. This auction will start at $50, to make an allowance for shipping.
3. Shipping within Canada is included. If the winning bidder can co-ordinate with Primitive, $50 as described at #2 will be discounted from the closing price on exchange day.
4. Buyer Premium will be fixed at $50. Collector Car Canada will be donating this amount as well.
5. Beneficiary charities are set out at the base of this listing narrative. Net proceeds go to them, the only deduction is for shipping, Collector Car Canada will bear any and all other expenses.
6. Outside of frame measures 23″ x 18″.

This photo was originally printed in Road & Track Magazine in 1983. The photographer credited for the work is Tony Robertson and he took the photo in St. Catharines, Ontario. There is further information available at this link but, for locals, the closest intersection is Glenridge Avenue at Lockhart Drive. We even dug up a contact sheet of Mr. Robertson’s by scouring the depths of the internet.  Special note: photographer Tony Robertson has signed the print.

Here are further details about the photo, easily found online should you wish:
From the photographer, Tony Robertson:
“Here’s what I know.
“The photo was taken on Glenridge Ave in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
“The owner (the guy in the photo) was Henry Burgoyne and he’d only had it about a week.
“He bought the car from Performance Cars which at that time was on Lake St. in St. Catharines. At that time Henry’s father was the owner of the local newspaper, the St. Catharines Standard and I happened to be working for one of their other publications.
“So like a dutiful (and naive) employee, I took it to to the editor of the paper, thinking they would publish it. They didn’t and about a week later returned the negs to me. At that point it was too late to submit it to another larger paper in nearby Toronto.
“So I decided to try my luck with Road & Track, and the rest is history. I had friends who worked at Performance Cars, the dealer where he bought it, and when it published in R&T a few months later, it was the biggest laugh in town. Serves them right for stiffing me originally.”

Source:
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Glenridge+Ave+%26+Lockhart+Dr,+St.+Catharines,+ON+L2T+1X1,+Canada/@43.1281068,-79.2413029,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x89d34fd664db205f:0x1436fa39480071cb!8m2!3d43.1281029!4d-79.238728!16s%2Fg%2F11gf4v50gx?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDIxOS4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

“Pretty sure I took the photo in October 1982. It was published in early 1983, I think.
“I don’t even have a copy of the original issue! I know it was published in a 1999 issue called Best of PS, but they didn’t give me a photo credit.
“I was unaware that it was subsequently published in later editions of R&T. If anyone has the page from the Jan. 2007 issue that was mentioned earlier in this thread, I would love to see it.
“As far as copies of the photo, I only own the rights to the photo, not the wording underneath.
“If there was enough interest, I could be persuaded to make a limited number of prints**, if everyone could agree on a size and a fair value.
“Also, I have about 50 different angles on this crash, but I only sent R&T 3 options and they chose the one you all know.“

** – CCC note:  this is exactly what has happened and the product is here before you.

Ah, the wording underneath. The caption in the original magazine piece was penned by R&T contributor Peter Egan. He has signed the print on offer in this auction: “Best, Peter Egan 3/21/24”. Included in this auction is a paper copy of an internal memo he wrote on R&T letterhead. It is attached to the back of the print. It reads:
“I was working on a road test in my office when Art Director Bill Motta and Otis Meyer, our staff librarian, walked in with big grins on their faces and said, “You’ve gotta come up with a caption for this picture!
“We were all struck by the nonchalant attitude of the man lighting the cigarette – who appeared to be the well-dressed owner of the crashed Ferrari – and the near-disaster of the accident, which seemed to have caused only minimal damage to the car. He was probably waiting for a tow-truck.
“A possible caption came to me quickly because I think the ‘good, but, but not great…’ phrase was lodged in my mind from an article or story I’d read recently – possibly by Woody Allen or Marvin Kitman – making a similarly droll comparison based on the epic failure of some poorly conceived plan. Wherever it came from – or whoever I “borrowed” it from – it seemed to fit the picture.
“In any case, it was Tony Robertson’s impeccable timing and framing of this picture that said it all, with or without a caption, and we were glad he thought to send it to us for the P.S. page. It got a good response from our readers, and a lot of them still remember the photo.
“Best,
Peter Egan”

Collector Car Canada and Primitive agreed that each is entitled to decide on allocation of 50% of the net proceeds (proceeds less actual shipping costs). Primitive has elected to send 50% to Ed’s House, the preferred charity of his car club – Antique and Classic Car Club of Canada, Great Pine Ridge Region – which holds this excellent annual show.

Collector Car Canada has opted to split 50% between the Terry Fox Foundation and the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada, each 25%.

The “Good Tires, Not Great / Ferrari in the Ditch” from Road & Track Limited Print #126 of 150 is available with No Reserve from the owning donor in Colborne, On. Shipping within Canada is included OR get a $50 discount if picking up – to be arranged with Primitive, post-auction.

Other Important Related Links:
https://edshouse.northumberlandhospice.ca/
https://terryfox.org/
https://www.matthewperryfoundation.ca/

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