Peter Bourassa - The Incidental Collector Column
Peter Bourassa is an everyday ‘car guy’. He enjoys F1, IndyCar, IMSA, good motoring books and art. His enthusiasm led him to build MMRsite.com for car people who want the “best” motoring goods and services. For 10 years he has published MMRsite.com and the MMR Community Newsletter weekly. He drives WASRED (a black high-mileage, 308 Ferrari), a high-mileage Audi All-Road and a hot-rodded Ducati Sport-Touring bike.
He loves the Eagles, the Travelling Wilburys, the Met, Shakespeare, Jay Ward, the NYC Marathon, choral singing, golf and automobilia.
He has read Peking to Paris, Racing in the Rain and everything Denise McCluggage ever wrote at least twice! For the most part, he is you! The quintessential “car guy” who has somehow, incidentally amassed loads of really neat motoring related collectibles! (Jan 2023 - Peter has retired and moved to Alaska!) |
Some of Peter's Articles: The Incidental Collector Column
Automobilia Issue #1 Sept/Oct 2018
According to the dictionary, “AutoMobilia” is not actually a word. It is an amalgam of the words “automobile” and “memorabilia “ and the latter also is a euphonious contraction of the words “memory” and the Latin for “stuff”. Though the word “memory” is not a part of the title of this new publication, “memories” justifies its existence. Our goal here is to periodically present a selection of stories, images and products to kindle old memories and remind us all that we are neither unique nor are we alone. If our lives are truly a journey, memorabilia are certainly its sign posts. As I look about me, I see two large framed posters by Nicolas Watts, one of Moss driving the #722 Mercedes in the ‘55 Mille Miglia. Arguably the greatest “drive” in history. The other is... |
Memorabilia with "An Added Dimension" - Artist Chris Osborne Issue #2 Nov/Dec 2018
The perfect photograph or print, the painting that captures a moment, or a sculpture that evokes a memory, is from its inception both Art and Memorabilia. Most of us, even those among us who own but one such book, image, or piece...are Incidental Collectors. We are enthusiasts first, collectors second. In this issue we introduce you to The Mistress of the Added Dimension. Connecticut artist Chris Osborne has been invited to display her paintings of cars and stars at automotive events of all types across the country. |
Collecting vs Accumulating – A Fine Line? The Schlumpf Obsession! Issue #4 Mar/Apr 2019
I found the image by Michael Furman on the cover of this month’s issue intriguing. While I am recognized here as an “incidental” collector, when it comes to books about whose subjects I have an interest, I become a “determined” collector. What caught my eye, was a book about the Schlumpf brothers of France’s Mulhouse Museum fame, authored by a favorite British motorsports journalist of the period, Dennis Jenkinson. He was Stirling Moss’s navigator in the winning 1955 Mille Miglia, rated one of the greatest drives of all time. Thus, an opportunity to learn more about how the reclusive Schlumpfs lost their amazing collection, written by a man with impeccable motorsports credentials, was irresistible. |
Writing from the Heart Issue #5 May/June 2019
“Collectible” and “valuable“ needn’t be prerequisites for adding an item to your collection. In the case of books, the aspect of “value” can be as important as the quality of the material or its rarity. In this issue, I would like to bring two books to your attention whose monetary value is wildly different based primarily on their availability. Yet in my opinion, both have a common value, based solely on their content. Here is the story of these two stories, but first a little of my backstory…. |
Books! My Favorite Thing after Vintage Cars, Bright Women & Loud Music Issue #6 July/Aug 2019
Actually that is not exactly what both the Publisher and Editor of this fine magazine had in mind when they recently asked if I would write about what is my favorite thing after vintage cars, bright women, and loud music. You know there are people in our life that we see irregularly. Yet no matter the elapsed time, the warmth and conversation always picks up precisely where it left off. A select group of books fall into that category. And that got me to thinking about what it is about each of these special friends that mean so very much to me. For some, it is the specific content for which I had a passion, for others it is simply the manner in which it is written, sometimes it is the images. |