SoCultures October 2018
the extremely rare Minerva Type AL. Also on display at my museum are vintage
motorcycles, horse carriages, auto parts, books, manuals, posters and related
automobilia.
While during my initial years of collecting I bought almost every vintage or classic
that came my way, I have been more focused over the past two years. Collecting
cars are like collecting precious art and make a great investment hobby. Over these
two years I have bought cars only if they were rare, custom built, had low mileage
and documented provenance.”
Well, the conscientious connoisseur is extremely particular about the originality
and source of the vintage things; he collects and verifies it by all means. There is a
set of four chairs from four different royal houses, to start with. They date back to
the Delhi Durbar of 1911, and it took Titus ten years to procure them. These
include gilded furniture that belonged to the royal Maratha Holkars, solid silver
chairs from the royal family of Kapurthala (two such chairs are at the Buckingham
Palace in London) and extremely rare Dutch chairs of 17th century vintage. Titus’s
collection also includes rare Royal Dalton tableware, Lalique and Wedgwood
pieces and antique Venetian mirrors. He has a bevy of vintage motorcars and bikes
too.
And it’s his private museum, “The Titus Museum of Transportation &
Collectibles” which exhibits not only rare books, or a fragile Osler chair but also a
purpose driven endevour to preserve the heritage history and legacy for us and for
the new young generations. He talks about his legacy, “My museum pays homage
to these extra-ordinary automobiles of yesteryears… These coveted proud collector
cars of today. Collecting classic cars allows me to savour the glamour and finesse
of these timeless treasures. These beauties have always been part royalty and part
art. The celebration and reservation of these mechanical works of art, to keep our
heritage alive is my endeavour.”
My world of classic cars
Diljeet Titus has much to talk about his magnificent collection of cars and we
are all ears.
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