| Lamborghini's |
Collectible
Tractors |
From
Boxy to Fins |
 When
I discovered sports cars in the early 1950s I immersed
myself in learning about the best the world had
to offer. "Road & Track", "Motor
Trend", Fawcett and Trend Books guided me to
Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin. |
 An
auctioneer barks out numbers in rapid-fire rhythm.
In a standing-room-only crowd, proxy bidders hunch
over their mobile phones and cover their ears. Auction-house
assistants fan out and move close to bidders who
seem most intent on winning. |
 Memories
from the late 1940s and early 1950s produce images
of aunts, uncles and grandparents driving bland,
conservative Dodges, Plymouths and DeSotos. They
all looked alike to a youngster like me.
|
 |
| How
I Met John Conlon |
One
Historian Mourns the Passing of the Black and White
Glossy |
Thanks
Dad! |
 When
the time came to purchase the family's first automobile,
John really did his research. He wrote to every
company that even thought about manufacturing an
automobile before he chose his new Hudson. |
 Horror
of horrors, the black and white glossies have disappeared
from automaker press kits. Why? Because it costs
an automaker far less to reproduce a digital CD
ROM with hundreds of pictures, all on one disc. |
 I
owe my passion for classic cars and collecting literature
to my father, who would take me along on his literature
collecting jaunts, grabbing one or two copies of
anything he could get his hands on. |
|
| My
Story |
Review:
Two Press booklets on the Rolls Phantom Drophead
coupe |
Collecting
for Fun and Relaxation |
 My
first inkling of interest in car literature occurred
in 1957. My Dad ran a 1933 Chevy at the local dirt
oval and he received some minor sponsorship from
the Chevrolet / Oldsmobile / Cadillac dealer in
town. |
 When
RR and Bentley split, Volkswagen bought Bentley,
and BMW bought the RR nameplate. Naturally, BMW
takes a more modern view of marketing reflected
even in their brochures and press kits. |
 I
have re-kindled my childhood interest in automotive
literature and books... As a boy I was always fascinated
by the brochures and showroom sample books showing
exterior and interior trim, as well as the engineering
features. |
|
| Your
Literature |
Rolls-Royce
and Bentley |
Packing
for Shipping |
 Whether
you collect flathead Ford literature, concept car
brochures, or are a restorer who hunts down dealer
albums to use in creating authentic restorations
or anything in between to something very strange,
you have an audience here at the "Automotive
Chronicles" that wants to hear about it. Don't
be shy. |
 Rolls-Royce
/ Bentley — "The Best Car in the World"...
Collectors hold tight to their Rolls-Royce / Bentley
literature. Scarcity makes for higher prices, so
purchasing collections has been difficult. |
 All
collectors know the condition of literature is important
and, if it lasted this long in good condition, it
must stay in good condition. The literature needs
to arrive in your hands in the same condition it
is sent. |
|
| Dodge
Trucks |
The
Family Station Wagon |
Collecting
'Down Under' |
 As
a child I imagined myself becoming an archeologist
and joining a caravan of Dodge trucks across the
desert. Fifteen years later I found myself crossing
the desert in Libya as a geologist exploring for
oil in a Dodge Power Wagon. |
 For
all of you who grew up with station wagons as a
kid, or as parents, or as someone who used them
as work horses, we present the second most popular
body style of the 1940s through the 1970s —
the station wagon. Enjoy the literature... |
 I
have collected automotive literature for most of
my life with the large amount of my collection being
brochures, and I enjoy a wide variety of makes and
topics. My passion is for literature from the 1960s
and 1970s... |
|
| Owner's
Manuals |
Press
Kit Review |
"Buy
Me a Ferrari" |
 Finding
the right brochures and books is the easy part of
collecting compared to finding all the miscellaneous
literature such as magazines with road tests, dealer
albums for paint and upholstery samples and memorabilia. |
 Frankfurt,
Tokyo, Los Angeles and now Detroit. Big auto shows
around the world show off their production and concept
cars to media and the public in hopes that the publicity
will increase their sales. |
 In
the early 1950s there were two places you might
see a Ferrari other than on a race track —
Hollywood and New York City... The actress sang
"Buy Me a Ferrari", to the man she was
with in a movie from the 1950s... |
|
| International
Opportunities |
MG
in America |
Dealer
Stamps |
 With
the decline of the U. S. Dollar, the rest of the
world benefits from what can best be described as
bargain prices from McLellan's Automotive History
(MAH). And, with newly purchased collections, the
MAH inventory is growing, giving collectors more
selection than ever. |
 While
the British enjoyed MGs prior to World War II, and
sports cars were common throughout England and Europe,
the newly discovered MG was a novelty in the United
States when introduced just after the war. Even
as popularity of the MG grew, so grew the dissimilarity
between American cars. |
 Does
that dealer stamp on the brochure cover bother you?
How about a well placed and attractive dealer stamp
on a rare brochure? The dealer stamp confirms the
originality of the literature. And some dealers
are important enough to give the brochure a "bloodline".
Here are a few examples of neatly applied dealership
stamps... |
|
| Commercial
Vehicles |
Ask
the Man Who Owns One |
Enhance
Your Collection |
 Most
recently trucks and buses, and their literature,
have caught my attention. We have just added 1000+
truck & bus brochures to our collection. You
might want to take a break from your current interest
to browse through what I find to be fascinating... |
 Everyone
knows the name Packard — older readers identify
with their favorite 1930s classic, while younger
readers will envision a 1950s model. Packard was
an outstanding automobile from its beginning in
1899 and just continued to get better. |
 Whether
you are interested in just one specific car, one
make of car, or have varied interests, programs
and annual reports contain numerous photographs
of automobiles and other vehicles that were being
shown at show... |
|
| The
Early Books |
Triumph |
Coachbuilder's
Literature |
 Prior
to 1960, twenty to thirty books constituted an impressive
automotive book collection. Naturally books that
have been written since then cover the makes and
subjects that readers are nostalgic for and pre-nostalgic
(historical) coverage has become less common. Look
at these pre-1960 publications... |
 Triumph
was introduced to America as an affordable British
sports car. It was more than inexpensive fun around
town. It delivered the dream of becoming a race
car driver. You simply joined the Sports Car Club
of America and raced on one of the many abandoned
World War II airbase in the United States...
|
 Defining
a coachbuilder was simple prior to WW II. Luxurious
bodies were built on expensive chassis for wealthy
customers. Over the past 60 years we have seen two
types of conversions — replicas and custom
bodies on mass-produced chassis and cars with engine
and/or body modifications. |
|
| Wolseley |
Vintage
Bentleys |
The
Innovative Hudson |
 Few
Wolseley automobiles ever made it to America...
After years of acquiring Wolseley literature my
curiosity got the better of me when a literature
collector, who had spent many years in England in
the 1950s through 1960s, sold us his literature
collection. |
 We
all have our favorite historical make. Having devoted
much time to so many prewar marques and owning several,
I have confirmed multiple times that Vintage Bentley
is my favorite. And my tribute is... |
 After
building airplanes and landing craft engines during
World War II, Hudson re-entered the auto market
in 1946 with essentially 1942 models. Then, in 1948,
Hudson did what it was best at — stepping out
in front of the rest of the industry with an innovative
design. |
|
| Chevrolet
Literature |
Buses/Engines/Fire
Trucks/Tractors/Trains... |
The
Schödel Collection |
 From
my mother's used 1952 Chevrolet to my used 1965
Corvair, purchased when I got out of the Army, my
path has been laden with Chevys. All during those
Chevrolet years I pretty much took those cars for
granted... |
 We
have recently acquired a large batch of literature
that goes under odd sections such as, 'Buses', 'Engines',
'Fire Trucks', 'Tractors', 'Trains'... Vehicles
you would not have thought about for many years... |
 This
self-published book by Ulrich J. Schödel showcases
almost every piece of Aston Martin and Lagonda literature,
factory records, posters, manuals... This whole
literature collection (not the book) is for sale... |
|
| Beyond
the Mustang II |
Kaiser-Frazer |
Sunbeam
& Sunbeam-Talbot |
 From
the birth of the Mustang as a 1964 1/2 model, to
its golden age which ended with the high performance
models in 1973, Mustang was "The Pony Car"...
Camaro, Firebird, Barracuda and AMX were overnight
rivals... |
 Without
WWII hero and shipmaker, Henry J. Kaiser, American
troops would have had nothing to fight with. At
the end of the war, Kaiser recognized the need to
quickly convert the military industrial back to
private industry.
|
 I
acquired a nice, used Sunbeam Alpine in 1968...
there's a story to it... The most memorable for
sports car enthusiasts was the Alpine that Carroll
Shelby stuffed a V-8 in and called it a Tiger. |
|
| The
Dawn of the Auto |
Taxi
Cabs, Police Cars & Emergency Vehicles |
U.S.
Postwar Econocars |
 Not
long ago we received a call from an over 100-year-old
Texas museum that had a room of literature... We
have acquired these impressively old catalogs in
unbelievably good condition... |
 Nearly
any make of vehicle you can think of has been converted
at one time or another to a taxi, police or emergency
vehicle. Literature on these otherwise "plain
Jane" vehicles stands out... |
 WW
II set off a fuel shortage that produced the Austin
Bantam and Crosley. Once again the fear of expensive
gasoline has the auto industry second guessing our
future with several alternatives... |
|
| Jaguar
in the 1950s |
Inquiring
Minds |
Exotic
Dropouts |
 When
Jaguar entered the North American market after World
War II it had a good promotional program that sent
their cars to sports car hungry American. G.I.'s
coming home from Europe had discovered a new toy
that was fast and fun in the corners. |
 How
to place a value on a collection... What you should
be collecting... Does the reduced price and wear
and tear imply that the item should be avoided...
Ask us questions. It is gratifying to be recognized
for our 47 years of experience. |
 Dream
cars turned into reality on a whim of the powerful...
Often driven by exotic designs and /or engineering,
these efforts frequently have limited longevity.
A review of exotic dropouts worth remembering and
collecting. |
|
| Rare
Maserati Find |
The
Beautiful Brute |
Dune
Buggy/ATV Escapes |
 A
local retired gentleman had a few hundred brochures
to sell from the 1950s and early 1960s — his
wife had a use for the file cabinets and the brochures
had to go... half were foreign and, even better,
many were rare makes. The condition was immaculate... |
 When
the Chrysler Letter Cars first appeared, the phrase
"The Beautiful Brute" suddenly emerged
out of nowhere -- but it fit. As the Paul Bunyan
of cars, this Chrysler created an image of big,
powerful and fast, which set it apart from sports
cars and hot rods... |
 With
names like Bandido, Boss Bug, Clodhopper, Custom
Cougar, Deserter, Dune Duster, Fun Buggy, Fun Hugger,
Grasshopper, Imp, Leap Frog, Minibug, Polywog, Desert
Rat, how can you keep but enjoying your weekends
and vacations... |
|
| Remembering
Oldsmobile |
Original
Paint Chips |
Magazines
Are Literature Too |
 I
dedicate this article to the people who were good
enough to own an Oldsmobile. You could revel in
their glory as you drove past lesser brands. But
keep in mind — those Buick and Cadillac owners
were looking down at you.
|
 For
restorers and car owners who are diehard originalists
finding a set of paint chips for the year and model
of car being restored is like finding a gold mine.
I have found a fabulous resource for those of you
restoring a car...
|
 Over
the years we have put together many sets of magazines
for our personal enjoyment usually as a result of
owning a specific make of car and wanting to learn
everything that we could about the car...
|
|
| Trucks
of the 1930s and 1940s |
BMW |
Collecting
Memories |
 Most
automobile and literature collectors recognize trucks
as a small but growing part of the hobby. Truck
literature of the 1950s and 1960s is scarce, and
prior to that extremely rare. The trend to seek
out the roots to the modern truck is worth exploring.
|
 Are
BMWs collectible? Considering the popularity of
the older literature, and the increasing sales of
the cars over the last 50 years, there is a lot
of enthusiasm for BMWs. As these cars get older,
interest always increases. |
 My
interest in things automotive began in toddlerhood
if not earlier. Family lore holds that the first
identifiable word out of my mouth was not mama or
dada but "car"; I was pointing to my father's
1948 Nash at the time. |
|
| Auto
Books - 50 Years |
Imperial
is Back |
Mitchel
DeFrancis: Automobilia Enthusiast |
 Autobooks
and Petersen Publishing out of California, Floyd
Clymer Publications in Washington, D.C., and Robert
Bentley in Massachusetts were gold mines for 'car
nuts' in the 50s and 60s... |
 DaimlerChrysler
has announced the return of the Imperial. Prior
to World War II, Imperial grew in status at Chrys |
