Ferrari diaries and Formula 1 archive drive £2,820 triumph at Lichfield auction for retiring specialist

The Richard ‘Dick’ Jeffrey Collection

A HISTORIC Formula 1 and motorsport archive has sold for a total of £2,820 at auction, providing a fairytale retirement send-off for the Staffordshire specialist who catalogued it.

The highly anticipated collection, from the estate of former Dunlop Tyres motorsport manager Richard ‘Dick’ Jeffrey, went under the hammer in five separate lots today, Monday, October 26, with Richard Winterton Auctioneers at The Lichfield Auction Centre.

Star lot of the day was a collection of four 1960s Ferrari desk diaries, believed to have been gifted by Enzo Ferrari, which ignited a fierce bidding war before closing at a staggering £1,700.

The £2,820 total was also driven by coveted memorabilia including framed autographs from mid-century racing icons like Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, Lorenzo Bandini, and Sir Jack Brabham, alongside other photographs.

Further highlights pushing up the final price included Jaguar table mats in a presentation box and historic press notes regarding Donald Campbell’s Bluebird land-speed record attempts.

The landmark result marks a poetic conclusion for Richard Winterton Auctioneers’ 69-year-old ephemera specialist Rob French, who curated the archive as the final project of his career before retirement.

In a remarkable twist of fate, Tamworth-born Rob spent 35 years working for Dunlop Tyres before transitioning into the auction industry in 2009, with this project bringing his professional life completely full circle.

"To have one of my last valuations be an archive from a Dunlop boss, packed with the exact history I spent my youth admiring, feels almost written in the stars," he said.

“Cataloguing it was part inventory and research and partly a journey through my own past.

“To go on to achieve such a superb result at auction is wonderful and really quite emotional.

“This is the perfect way to cross the finish line.”

• Rob French will be at The Auction Café in Market Street, Lichfield, between 9.30am-12.30pm on Wednesday, October 28, offering free valuations of whisky, wine and ephemera.