Dedicated to Rolls-Royce & Bentley Motorcars ... - Magazooms

atmospheric and rewarding to
dip into or to read extensively
from Solley’s authoritative
text, assembled from his great
knowledge gained over many
years, to images of treasures
that many enthusiasts would
normally never see in their
own lifetimes.
Most of the great manufacturers
and coachbuilders are
represented and a Dictionary
of Terms: French and German
Equivalents, completes the volume.
The book does not pretend
to be totally comprehensive,
and many of the catalogs
belonged to public and
other private collections. However,
by the end of his research
Solley (who, incidentally, was
Director of the Indiana University
Art Museum for 18 years)
had acquired about two-thirds
of the sales literature discussed
and listed. The RR/B content
is sizeable, as is that on many
coachbuilders who built bodies
on the Company’s chassis.
One exceptional aspect of
this collection is that the Solley
material is now safely stored
as the Automobile Collection
of The Lilly Library of Indiana
University, Solley having
been a scion of the Lilly family.
Sadly, he did not live to see the
publication of this book.
This sumptuous book is also
available in a slip-cased, numbered,
Special Edition of 300;
with an accompanying folio of
10 color plates from the book
suitable for framing; $150.
Both versions are attractively
bound in a very tactile faux
suede material and printed on
heavy archival stock. A definite
“must” for anyone with an
interest in the history of the
automobile, and so reasonably
priced for the wonderful content
and quality offered.
—William Morrison
THE SOLLEY BOOK is a perfect
example of a work that
while important would have
had a hard time finding a mainstream
publisher. Racemaker
Press is a small private publisher
whose admirable goal it
is “to provide resources, management,
and opportunities for
scholarly works in the field of
automotive history that might
otherwise not be published.”
But Racemaker does not
only handle scholarly books,
they also publish several fine
books for a younger audience.
What better way to create interest
for cars and their history—
and nice books—among children!
Take, for instance, the
Murphy & Nuvolari Collection
(2006; ISBN 0 9766683 0
0 & 0 9766683 1 9; available as
a $40 boxed set or separately).
These are reissues of two classic
children’s books from 1968
by Bruce Carter, illustrated by
renowned children’s artist Raymond
Briggs—adult readers
may well remember them!
They tell the epic story of
Jimmy Murphy’s 1921 French
Grand Prix victory in his
White Duesenberg and Tazio
Nuvolari’s 1935 German Grand
Prix adventure in an Alfa
Romeo. Intelligently written,
beautifully presented, and
printed on acid-free paper.
While these books cover historic
events, there’s another one
that tells the fictitious story of
Paddy’s Racing Potato (by
Thomas Calvin Houtz, 2007,
ISBN 0 9766683 5 1, $20) in
which Irish farmer Padraig
Dolan turns a giant potato into
a race car to compete against
the best in the world in the
famed 1907 Grand Prix des
Legumes in the French countryside.
The story is told in
verse and has fantastically imaginative
illustrations.
The Complete Bentley
by Eric Dymock
Dove [www.dovepublishing.
co.uk; for overseas orders sales@
vinehouseuk.co.uk], 2008. 304
p. Hardcover. ISBN-13: 978 0
9554909 1 0. £55 (£87.50 plus
S+H for a signed limited edition
in slip case)
Ninety years ago, on Jan. 18,
Bentley Motors’ incorporation
papers were filed. This book
covers year by year and model
by model—ending with the
2009 Flying Spur/Speed—the
illustrious company’s commercial
and competition history.
The following comments
notwithstanding, the book is
an entirely worthy effort, nicely
presented on good paper and
with a generous and thoughtful
layout. But, with little effort
it could have been better still.
For instance, less than half the
photos are captioned and none
but a handful list chassis numbers.
While it could be argued
that those photos that accompany
each model’s description
are not in need of further commentary,
a note on car data,
coachwork, location, and people
would have added useful
detail. For the Bentley veteran
this is not an insurmountable
obstacle because few of the
photos are new to the record
and could be looked up elsewhere,
but that very approach
is in conflict with the author’s
professed goal of wanting to
provide a “definitive accurate
one-volume one-make history.”
In a few cases the text perpetuates
bits of knowledge that
for some time now are known
to be wrong (cf. misidentified
people in the B27LE photo
p. 153). Or, the Blue Train
Bentley entry mentions in one
single sentence that the car
shown (HM2855) is not the
correct one but nevertheless
devotes an entire paragraph
and full-page photo to describing
it. How hard could it be
to (also) show the correct car,
BA2592? Further, for the sake
of the reader to whom all this
is new, one would wish for better
cross-referencing. Example:
in the chronological section
under “1922” there is no mention
of Bentley’s one and only
Indy 500 run, the firm’s first
major—albeit unimpressive—
race. That event is covered,
in a later sidebar in “Bentley
Models,” but the reader would
not know this, especially since
the Table of Contents, which,
excluding the apparatus consists
of all of two entries, gives
no clue. The index, however, is
exemplary and does include an
Indianapolis entry, but, again,
a reader would not think to
look there unless they already
knew that this event occurred
in Bentley history.
Many interesting sidebars
(cf. Brunei, concept cars); timeline
of the Vickers/VW deal; a
history of the V8 engine 1946–
2008. Bibliography; index.
How To Keep Your Collector
Car Alive
by Josh B. Malks
Motorbooks [www.motorbooks.
com], 2008. 160 p., 200+ illos.
Softcover. ISBN 978 0 7603
3290 0. $25.99/£15.99
It is unusual to see a general
interest, multi-marque car
book that has much to offer the
experienced collector. This one
is an exception. Malks (an SGA
member and past president/
current editor of the Auburn-
Cord-Duesenberg Club) is a
©The ©The Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce
Owners Owners Club, Club, Inc. Inc.
January / February 2009 THE FLYING LADY 9175
[ search engine powered by magazooms.com - empowered by alQemy.com ]