Series 1101. 120 bhp, 319.2 cu. in. L-head inline eight engine, three-speed manual transmission, solid front axle and live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel power-assisted mechanical drum brakes. Wheelbase: 136.25"

• Beautiful Dietrich-designed Convertible Victoria

• Multiple Best of Show awards, including Pebble Beach 1975

• California black plate car

• Believed to have been owned new by Marie Dressler

• Single ownership since 1970s

Preeminent American luxury car marque Packard introduced its new Eleventh Series cars on August 21, 1933. They were in fact considered 1934 cars and remained in production through the following August when the 1935 Twelfth Series cars were launched. Each of the three models, Eight, Super Eight and Twelve, was available in three wheelbases, an ambitious total of 41 different combinations of engines, wheelbases and body styles, plus 17 “catalog customs” bodied by coachbuilders LeBaron and Dietrich. Considered among the most beautiful today are the Dietrich-designed five-passenger convertible victorias, the body style offered here, which was available in all three series.

New fender contours graced the Eleventh Series, the fronts curving downward nearly to the front bumper, which themselves were heavier. Other changes were more subtle: hood door handles, radiator caps, running boards, better upholstery and a fuel filler integrated into the left tail lamp. In the engine compartment, there was a new oil cooler and an oil filter was installed.

The company was now placing much emphasis on ride control and silencing. Advertising boasted that Packard Twelve owners could “drive a thousand miles a day without fatigue.” Packard’s share of the luxury market climbed to more than 40 percent in 1934.

Delivered by W.H. Collins, Inc., the Hollywood dealer, on November 18, 1933, this Series 1101 Convertible Victoria is beautifully presented. Although it is undocumented, it has long been understood that this car was owned new by Academy Award-winning Canadian-American actress Marie Dressler. Dressler appeared in more than 40 pictures, including Tugboat Annie (1933), but passed away in summer 1934 after a brief battle with cancer, in which case she would have owned this car for only a short period of time. It is believed the Packard was inherited by her maid of 20 years Mamie Cox and her husband Jerry, the family butler. It is known that Dressler was very generous with the couple, leaving them a sizable inheritance including cash, with which the Coxes opened the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Savannah, Georgia.

The Packard has been in the Milhous Collection since the 1970s, over three decades. Following its restoration in the mid-1970s, it was presented at Pebble Beach in 1975, which had been founded as a Concours d’Elegance event in 1950 and has risen to become the most prominent event of its kind in the world. Without exaggeration, Best of Show at this prestigious event may be considered the most desirable such award in the world. This Packard received this award while in the Milhous Collection in 1975, joining an elite group of winners, including J.B. Nethercutt, Otis Chandler , William Harrah and Phil Hill among others.

The car has also earned a Classic Car Club of America National First. Painted Butterscotch with brown moldings, it is pinstriped in orange. Despite the age of the restoration, the car presents very well, and all body contours are excellent. The paint exhibits a good shine, and the tan canvas top is unmarred. Quite simply, the car looks like it was restored within the last three years. Its appearance is, in a word, stunning. In all, the Milhous Collection confirms seven total Best of Show awards in eight concours and car show appearances.

The interior is upholstered in brown leather, very good with the exception of slight abrasions to the driver’s seat. The floor has brown carpet, with some scuffing at the driver’s heel pad, and the dashboard has excellent wood, nicely-restored instruments and an Earle C. Anthony service medallion. The wood door moldings are particularly fine. The odometer shows some 63,500 miles.

The engine compartment is very clean and nicely presented. A Packard Purolator oil filter is fitted, and the car has central lubrication. Brightwork is all excellent, with additional features including Trippe driving lights, a rear-mounted accessory trunk with fitted luggage, in addition to the integrated luggage compartment, and California black plate registration tags.

The Convertible Victoria, long a Packard favorite, has earned the distinction of being one of the most attractive open models ever built by Packard. This is a particularly nice example and is all the more desirable thanks to its Best of Show award at Pebble Beach in 1975, which confirms the attention to detail and correctness of the restoration as well as the car’s exceptionally elegant design.