Bugattis cars at Schlumpfs motor Museum Mulhouse France Horizontal 099315_Schlumpf Museum
Brothers Hans Schlumpf and Fritz Schlumpf were Swiss citizens born in Italy, but after their mother Jeanne was widowed, she moved the family to her home town of Mulhouse in Alsace, France. The two brothers, who were later described as having a "Schlumpf obsession," were devoted to their mother. In 1935 the Schlumpf brothers founded a limited company which focused on producing spun woollen products. By 1940, at the time of the Nazi invasion of France, 34 year old Fritz was the chairman of a spinning mill in Malmerspach. After World War II, the two brothers devoted their time to obsessively growing their business, and became quite wealthy. Fritz loved cars, driven by an abiding love for beautiful automotive engineering. Having wanted a Bugatti since childhood, he bought a Bugatti Type 35B just before the Nazi invasion of France. After the war he began racing classic cars, but was requested by the textile union to "abstain from this competition which could endanger your life and deprive us of our esteemed director." Schlumpf had been generous to his workers, providing employee trips, installing an employee theater and driving expectant mothers to the hospital in his own car. This was in great contrast to brother Hans, a former banker, who paid the mill workers poorly, dock fifteen minutes off their pay if they were late or signed out a minute or two early, and did not pay bonuses or increments. With post-war modern 1950's car designs coming on stream, people wanted to exchange their classic 1920's through 1930's cars in for new models. Fritz and Hans began collecting in earnest in the early 1950s, developing a reputation in the trade for only buying the most desirable models.[1] Assisted by Mr. Raffaelli, a Renault dealer from Marseilles and the owner of several Bugattis, they built a Bugatti collection obsessively and quickly: During the summer of 1960, they acquired ten Bugattis, including two Type 57s and one Type 46 5-liter model.
Size: 3400px × 5100px
Location: Schlumpfs Museum Rue de l'Épée Mulhouse Alsace France
Photo credit: © Daniel Valla FRPS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: alsace, automobile, bugatti, bugattis, car, cars, circuit, collection, formula, france, hubner, motor, motors, mulhouse, museum, race, racing, rare, rue, schlumpfs, speed, track, vintage
