Baillon Collection: A Sensational Barnfind

"Found sheltering in a garage was one of just three Maserati A6G 2000 Berlinettas with coachwork by Frua, dating from 1956. And then, beneath piles of magazines, they discovered something even more exciting...a Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, with covered headlights, a car whose first owner was comedian Gerard Blain...Blain sold the Ferrari to actor Alain Delon, who was on several occasions photographed at the wheel - accompanied, in 1964, by Jane Fonda." Classic Driver. A Maserati A6G 2000 Gran Sport. A Facel Vega Excellence. A Hispano-Suiza H6B. A Bugatti 57 Ventoux. Alain Delon's Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider. Several Talbot-Lago, Delahaye and Voisin - the list of classic automobiles, forgotten for decades on an estate in Echire in south-western France, is almost unbelievable. That was not what the owner, the haulier Roger Baillon, had in mind. He intended to establish the first automobile museum of France before financial setbacks forced him to sell part of his impressive collection. What was left of his dream, his descendants have now handed to other collectors. Before the cars were auctioned in early 2015, French photographer Remi Dargegen took pictures of the incredible "Baillon Collection". When the photo sessions at Chateau Gaillard started, Remi Dargegen had not expected to find such a huge treasure trove of classic automobiles: "Unbelievable, just unbelievable. This place is unique. What is most impressive, is the sheer number of cars that were stored in the barns." That enthusiasm is reflected in his photographs, presented for the first time in this book: Baillon Collection. It is also the first publication of a "barnfind"; historically unique and outstanding in dimension.