For sale! The largest collection of Fords in the world

The contents of the world-famous Den Hartogh Museum in The Netherlands, believed to be the largest collection of Fords in the world, is to be offered for sale by Bonhams on 23 June 2018.

The incredible single-owner collection comprises more than 200 Ford and Lincoln cars  and commercial vehicles, from Ford Models A, B and C to ice cream vans, ambulances and fire engines, as well as more than 50 motorcycles.

Every lot will be offered without reserve at an all-day sale that will take place at the Den Hartogh museum in Hillegom, just outside Amsterdam.

The museum was founded and curated by Piet den Hartogh, who bought his first Ford in 1956. Piet was inspired by the Ford trucks used by his father for his transport company after he graduated from barges and horse-drawn carriages to more modern modes of transport.

The collection grew rapidly, as Piet sought to collect an example of every single Ford model, ranging from the 1903 Model A to more modern camper vans and even a Canadian police-issue snowmobile. During the 1990s Piet's wife suggested turning the vast collection in to a museum, to share the collection with other Ford enthusiasts across the world.

Piet's daughter, Greske, has run the museum for many years, but the family has now decided that it's time to close the museum and sell off the collection.

Rupert Banner, Bonhams Group Head of Motoring, commented: 'This is an extraordinary opportunity, and one which Bonhams is delighted to have been selected to undertake. The Den Hartogh collection is legendary throughout Europe, and has been a pilgrimage for Ford aficionados for many years.

'It will be a pleasure to offer this astonishing range of Fords and Lincolns on site at the museum which has so carefully housed them for the past 21 years. Every vehicle must be sold and each lot is offered without reserve, meaning that both Ford enthusiasts, and the wider collecting community, will be able to bid for their own piece of the marque's history.'