1931 Duesenberg Model J Tourster

The Duesenberg Model J was available on either a long wheelbase of 153.5 inches for 7-passenger coachwork or a standard chassis of 142.5 inches. This Duesenberg J with Tourster coachwork by Derham is built on the longer chassis. The Tourster style was designed by Gordon Buehrig and, unlike other Dual Cowl Phaetons, it features a second windshield that slides up and down behind the front seat by means of a crank handle. The Tourster was Buehrig's favorite design and he chose the Derham Body Company of Rosemont, Pennsylvania, to be the exclusive builder of this coachwork. This Duesenberg is one of eight original Tourster models. It was sold new to David G. Joyce of Chicago. Today it is one of the very few remaining original examples of what many consider to be Derham's most beautiful coachwork.

This Duesenberg is one of the eight original Toursters. It was built on March 23rd of 1931 and given Derham body number 2323. The first owner was David G. Joyce of Chicago. In 1935, Gerald Morava of Chicago acquired the car and subsequently traded it in on a Cadillac in 1942. It was acquired from the Cadillac Motor Car Company of Chicago by D. Cameron Peck, for the sum of $325. Mr. Peck sold his Tourster in 1948 to A.C. Baker of Michigan, who passed it a decade later to Ernest R. Mills of Indiana. Mr. Mills began a restoration, and worked on it for about fifteen years, sourcing pieces of original equipment and hardware, and rebuilding it mechanically. The body was finished in pale green with white trim, a tan interior, and a tan top.

The restored car was sold in the mid-1970s to Johnnie Basset of Arkansas. Two years later it was acquired by the Jerry J. Moore Museum in Houston, Texas, and subsequently through the Blackhawk Collection into Dr. Joseph Murphy's collection in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

The current owner acquired the car in 2001 and it has been maintained in his European collection since.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2016