Automobilia (a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsautomobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

'' and ''

memorabilia A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

'') is any historical artifact or

collectible A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

linked with motor cars and related areas, such as

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

and motorsport personalities. In common usage the term is taken to specifically exclude fully or partially complete vehicles, although componentry may be termed automobilia if its ownership is primarily for memento value rather than for practical use. Artifacts included within automobilia may be highly varied in nature, ranging from those linked with motoring in a general sense (e.g. an in-car tool kit) to those intrinsically linked with a specific vehicle or event (e.g. the

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...

from a particular

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

car, used during a notable Grand Prix race). Many people around the world are collectors of automobilia, and most autojumble sale events have a sizeable number of automobilia traders. In addition, at the upper end of the market, major auction houses such as

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought to ...

regularly hold specialist automobilia sales. Most collectors limit themselves to an isolated area of automobilia, commonly linked by a unifying theme. Examples of popular automobilia collection themes could include items connected to an individual, such as a motor racing driver, or objects of a specific type, such as radiator mascots. Art, models, books, toys, flags and clothing, while not directly linked with a vehicle, may also be termed automobilia if they have a motoring theme.

References

{{Reflist Memorabilia Collecting Car culture

See also

References