In fact, John was soon so well known within the hobby that he was offered two amazing opportunities to purchase the private collections of both John Barnes and Paul Andrews. Each of these collectors possessed what were, at that time, the two greatest assemblages of Shelby-related memorabilia known. Today, Atzbach’s collection includes more than 15,000 collectibles ranging from original blueprints and owner’s manuals to NOS parts, advertisements, team apparel, original paintings and more. The vast majority of the items are Shelby American related. Additionally, as a Lamborghini enthusiast, his collec- tion also includes a heavy concentration of original items from the Italian firm. However, regardless of the subject matter, the most important aspects of John's collection have always been his desire to preserve history and to share the collection with the hobby at large. “We would open the collection as often as anyone wanted to see it. A lot of it is very historic, and that was always a big thing to me: making it available to let people do research or come in just to enjoy it,” Atzbach stated. Through the years, friends including Jim Wicks, John Brown, Mark Hovander and Vern Estes have proved to be of endless help in assessing and acquiring both the vehicles and the memorabilia that make up Atzbach’s collection, each using their own expertise to help curate what is now unquestionably the world’s most comprehensive and high-quality collection of its kind. To create or achieve anything great requires the giving of oneself and one’s efforts. To reach the heights that John Atzbach has, both professionally and in his private pursuits, is something that required the giving of virtually all of his efforts and a large portion of his physical self in the process. The lifestyle that came along with running his own successful international business is one that took a great toll on Atzbach’s health. Despite it all, John has held onto his sense of humor along the way. “Ya know, I’ve been in a few severe car accidents including being rear-ended by a large towing rig while I was standing still on a highway at a young age. I’ve been in a plane when it slammed into a runway and bounced off into the rough. I’ve sustained serious injuries from those incidents but always bounced back fairly quickly to my version of ‘normal.’ Wouldn’t you know, it’s been a fall in my own home, on stairs I’ve climbed thousands of times before, which has left me with a head injury that I’ve simply not been able to kick for the last couple years,” Atzbach said with a smile and a light-hearted demeanor. “I love cars still, obviously, and I love so many of the people I’ve met in the car world,” Atzbach stated. “You know, I’m hopeful that as I get better, I’ll be able to get out to more car activities again and have fun with the same old group of people again and get a couple more fun cars, which would be nice. Who knows, maybe in 10 years I’ll have another collection of this size. It’s very possible. Once you get that collector’s gene, it’s pretty much a defect you have for your entire life.” Above all, John has always welcomed the responsibility (in multiple hobbies) of preserving objects that are recognized as widely important in their field of interest. Now the time has come—as is it does during the “lifecycle” of any collector working to preserve such important objects—to pass the collection on to the next caretakers so that these items might continue to be preserved, enjoyed and referenced by generations to come. With both his vehicles and his bound- less array of Road Art and memorabilia slated to join the lineup at Dana Mecum’s 33rd Original Spring Classic auction, there will be an absolutely incredible selection of Shelby goods at this flagship auction event. It is, after all, the world’s leading Shelby American collection both in quantity and quality. The opportunity to purchase Shelby American items of this magnitude of importance and boasting this breadth of composition is one that will almost certainly never present itself again. MECUM.COM • 99 OFFERED AT THE 2020 SPRING CLASSIC
