lamdha books -
Catalogue of books on cars, trucks, tractors, caravans and motorcycles

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201320 Berriman, Algernon E. Motoring An Introduction to the Car and the Art of Driving It Methuen, London, 1914. First edition: hardcover, octavo; green cloth boards with upper board black decoration and gilt spine and upper board titling; 312pp., monochrome plates and frontispiece, maps and illustrations. Mild rubbing and wear to board edges and corners; foxed endpapers and some general scattered spotting; browned text block edges with one or two spots. Very good. No dustwrapper. "The development of the motor-car into 'a common object of the country' has given birth to a whole library of books dealing with its history and technology. Mr. Berriman has been well advised to omit all reference to the history of motoring, beyond the two or three introductory pages in which he compares the weird and uncomfortable care of ten years ago with the 'splendid homeless carriages' of to-day, wherein 'the motorist enjoys the most luxurious mode of travel that has been devised by man.' He is a high authority on the subject, having long been technical editor of the Auto, and now being chief engineer to a leading company. His book is clearly written and admirably illustrated, and the intending motorist could find no better introduction to the subject. It begins with general chapters on the choice and upkeep of a car, on touring and driving; and then goes on to consider the various component parts of the car in detail. A specially interesting chapter deals with petrol and its substitutes: Mr. Berriman is not sanguine as to the possibility of discovering any really cheap fuel for motors, and shows reasons why benzol or alcohol is not likely to solve this problem." - The Spectator, 31st of January, 1913. Click here to order $100

209645 Bushby, A.C. (ed) The Holden Collection Souvenir Edition Quarto, paperback, light card covers; 207pp., colour illustrations. Pages and text block edges a little toned; small date stamp to upper edge; diagonal crease to lower front cover. Else very good. Magazine issue produced from original GMH material and featuring many production models built between the years 1948-1978. Click here to order $50

200892 Chudecki, Paul Aston Martin Race Cars - V8 Osprey, London, 1990. Quarto hardcover; blue boards with silver gilt spine titling; 208pp., mainly monochrome illustrations. Faint spotting to upper text block edges. Very good to near fine in like dustwrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. When this book was published in 1990 Paul Chudecki had traced virtually all Aston Martin V8 race cars. Fully illustrated this book explores not only the human side but the fascinating technical details of these extraordinary vehicles. Click here to order $60

200896 Cox, Don & Will Hagon Australian Motorcycle Heroes 1949-1989 Angus & Robertson, North Ryde, 1989. Quarto hardcover; black boards with white upper board and spine titling; 240pp., colour and monochrome illustrations. Mild rubbing to board corners and spotting to upper text block edge. Very good to near fine in like dustwrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. "The book's real strength, beyond doubt, is that its authors have enough knowledge of motorcycle road racing to let the riders themselves do most of the talking, and then to know which bits of the conversations to use. We are spared the tedious race-by-race diaries which achieve so little, and instead we have a marvellous compilation of anecdotes - triumph and tragedy, mateship and bastardry. The idea of following the European race season in a van with your motorcycle on the back can seem very romantic from 18,000km away. The reality is that it is tough, particularly when the results and the money aren't coming and when homesickness pulls at the heart, the authors write in their preface. The riders - sparing with words, frankly self-critical, often drily humorous - confirm this completely... On two, three or four wheels, motorsport seems not to have attracted great attention from sports historians. Maybe that will change: as this book shows, there's a lively sub-culture in there. The problem with most racers has always been their indifference to record-keeping, to anything to do with yesterday's matters. It's the next race that's important. That is the real value of this book: Cox and Hagon have got at least some of yesterday's racing down on paper before it is all too late." - Graham Howard, Sporting Traditions, Volume 7 Number 2, May 1991. Click here to order $50

99349 Darwin, Norm The History of Holden since 1917 E.L. Ford Publications, Newstead, 1983. Quarto paperback; 223pp., colour plates and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear; light browning to cover verso upper edges; toned text block and page edges; slightly rolled binding with a few small creases on cover and mild wear to edges. Very good. Still probably the best history and guide to the years that matter. Click here to order $85

81264 Hammond, Richard A Short History of Caravans in the UK Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London, 2009. Small quarto hardcover; illustrated boards; 139pp., colour illustrations. Minor wear; near fine. No dustwrapper. Richard Hammond has had a longstanding love affair, bordering on the obsessive some might say, with caravans. He has researched their origins and history, celebrity owners, the uses to which they have been put, their place in history, names, jargon, games with, things to do in, recipes to cook in and future of. He also gives sound practical advice on how to use them to best advantage, race them (ensuring first they are of the non-static variety), and how to destroy them in interesting ways (of which he has much experience - 80 or so at the last count). An essential guide for any owner or prospective owner or indeed anyone with even a passing interest in caravans, of whatever sex or age, or race, or inclination. Or even perhaps someone with apparently no interest in caravans who might have a previously latent interest aroused. Some even talk in hushed tones of a parallel universe, though he has no personal experience of this, yet. Anything is possible. Click here to order $16

205981 Hay, Phil (Melbourne Brindle, illus.) 20 Silver Ghosts The Incomparable Pre World War I Rolls Royce Doubleday & Co., Inc. New York NY, 1978. Quarto; hardcover, with silver-gilt spine titles and upper board decoration; 158pp. with many monochrome and colour illustrations. Mild wear; text block and board bottom edges spotted. Dustwrapper rubbed and edgeworn; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $22

200636 Howard, Graham, & Stewart Wilson Australian Touring Car Championship 30 Fabulous Years Chevron Publishing Group Pty. Ltd., Hornsby NSW, 1989. Quarto; hardcover, with upper board titles; 320pp., with many full-colour and monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; slightly rolled; board edges worn; text block edges spotted; previous owner's ink stamp to the flyleaf. Dustwrapper rubbed and edgeworn; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $30

204871 Kelly, Maurice A. The Overtype Steam Road Waggon Goose & Son, Norwich, 1971. Quarto hardcover; black boards with gilt spine titling; 147pp., monochrome illustrations and diagrams. Toning to text block and page edges with some mild foxing to early pages; slight creasing to dustwrapper edges. Very good to near fine and wrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. "This book catalogues of all the known overtypes - Allehin, Aveling & Porter, Burrell, Clayton, Danks, Foden, Foster, Garrett, Mann, Naylor, Ransomes, Robey, Alley & McLellan, Straker-Squire, Tasker and Wallis & Stevens - even Pecard from France, Buffalo-Springfield from Illinois, and Langbridge - and this treatment does disclose the subtle differences between outwardly alike engines, and one marvels at the data provided, which covers lists of owners against vehicle numbers, notes on restored waggons, specifications, and a few tit-bits about the shortcomings, the defects, of some of the different makes and models. There are plans and detail drawings, as well as photographs, 180 in all, and a bibliography. It would be unfair to the author to divulge the aforesaid tit-bits in this review but those who are avid for every scrap of information about steamers will relish them. Moreover, the book will tell you which steam waggon had front-wheel-brakes, which a chain oil-bath, which makes invested in expensive loco-type Belpaire boilers, and how Foden chassis patents were circumnavigated, etc., etc. Apart from the make-by-make lore which unfolds in fascinating detail, with pictorial support invaluable to would-be model makers, especially as types of valves and valve-gear, badges, makers' colours, etc., are quoted, there is a brief introductory history, much information on how to operate and maintain overtype waggons, even a facsimile of the letter sent out by The Coal Utilisation Council in the summer of 1934 to try to encourage the retention of steam on British roads, which, alas, fell mostly on deaf ears due to the tax imposition imposed on coal-burners. Incidentally, the author chooses a Robey for the colour frontispiece, fittingly, as this was the most advanced and refined of the overtypes. It is rather depressing to be told that in all the World only about 25 steam waggons remain - let Maurice Kelly's book be their memorial. " - Motorsport 1971. Click here to order $50

205560 Leffingwell, Randy, & Darwin Holmstrom The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archive Collection Motorbooks, Minneapolis MN, 2018. Oblong quarto; hardcover, with illustrated boards and endpapers; 415pp., with many full colour and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear. Tiny tear on spine panel heel of the dustwrapper; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Near fine. In 1908, the freedom-loving, speed-hungry motorcycle enthusiasts who founded Harley-Davidson began producing what would become the most important motorcycles in history. The company's founders knew from the start that they had created something special. Early in the company's life they began collecting at least one example of nearly every model the company has ever produced, from serial number one, built in 1903, through to today's amazing luxury touring bikes. "The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archive Collection" published in conjunction with Harley's museum in Milwaukee, showcases some of the best motorcycles the company has collected over the past century. Filled with stunning studio photographs and histories of the motorcycles featured from Harley's collection - vetted by the museum staff - this book captures the excitement that has made the Harley-Davidson a legend. Click here to order $35

209589 Loffler, Don She's a Beauty!: The Story of the First Holdens Wakefield Press, Kent Town, 1998. Square quarto paperback; 246pp., colour & b&w illustrations. Mild wear to cover edges and corners. Near fine. Click here to order $22

205708 Miller, G. Wayne Car Crazy The Battle for Supremacy Between Ford and Olds and the Dawn of the Automobile Age Public Affairs/Perseus Book Group, New York NY, 2015. Octavo; hardcover, quarter-bound in papered boards with metallic red spine titles; 352pp., with many monochrome illustrations. Dustwrapper. Remainder. New. Car Crazy takes readers back to the passionate and reckless years of the early automobile era, from 1893, when the first US-built auto was introduced, through 1908, when General Motors was founded and Ford's Model T went on the market. The motorcar was new, paved roads few, and devotees of this exciting and unregulated technology battled with citizens who considered the car a dangerous scourge, wrought by the wealthy, that was shattering a more peaceful way of life. Among the pioneering competitors were Ransom E. Olds, founder of Olds Motor Works and creator of a new company called REO; Olds' cutthroat new CEO Frederic L. Smith; William C. Billy Durant of Buick Motor Company (and soon General Motors); and inventor Henry Ford. They shared a passion for innovation, both mechanical and entrepreneurial, but their maniacal pursuit of market share would also involve legal manipulation, vicious smear campaigns, and zany publicity stunts, including a wild transcontinental car race that transfixed the public. Their war on wheels ultimately culminated in a courtroom battle that would shape the American car industry forever. Based on extensive original research, Car Crazy is a page-turning story of popular culture, business, and sport at the dawn of the twentieth century, filled with compelling, larger-than-life characters, each an American original. Click here to order $23

200478 [Morris Motors Ltd.] The Morris Oxford (series"MO"): Owner's Operation Manual & Workshop Manual - First Edition Nuffield Exports Ltd., Crowley Oxford UK, nd. (c.1949) & Scientific Magazines Publishing Co., Rockdale NSW, 1949. Two volumes: octavo; stapled booklet with printed yapp covers; 76pp., with many monochrome illustrations; & quarto; hardcover, with printed boards; 99pp. with many monochrome photolithographic illustrations. Moderate wear; covers well rubbed and marked with edgewear; some mild foxing and marks to the preliminaries; text block and page edges toned; previous owner's inscription in pencil to the inside front cover of the Workshop Manual. Very good. Laid in: an accompanying folding wall chart for maintenance. For many years, one of the most profitable areas of publishing for writers was the production of detailed manuals for the care and servicing of various makes of automobiles. These workshop manuals allowed mechanics, suddenly faced with a model of vehicle with which they had no experience, to 'hit the ground running' as it were, with the maintenance work to be done. On the flip side, from early days, car manufacturers realised that a new car owner might appreciate a detailed guide book explaining the best usage of their high-value purchase, and so they produced instruction books for the cars' new owners. Here we have - quite serendipitously - both the workshop manual and the owner's guide for the same make and model of car, along with the wall-chart, originally issued with the workshop manual and not often found nowadays, designed to be hung on the wall of the mechanics' garage for easy reference. Click here to order $35

201640 Nixon, Allan M Beaut Utes Lothian, Port Melbourne, 1998. Oblong octavo paperback; 159pp., monochrome illustrations. Spotting to edges of early and late pages with some faint spotting on text block edges; mild wear to cover edges and corners. Very good. More than just a catalogue of classics, this book profiles the pick-ups, their owners, the stories and masses of folklore that surround those trucks still plying the roads in Australia where their proud custodians have helped them achieve cult status. Click here to order $14

99854 Paulson, Tim & Fredric Winkowski (Fredric Winkowski & Gene Wheeler, illus.) Harleys, Popes, and Indian Chiefs Unfinished Business of the Sixties The Five Mile Press, Noble Park Vic., 1995. Quarto; hardcover, with silver-gilt spine titles and illustrated endpapers; 128pp. with many full-colour illustrations, some folding. Minor wear; mild scattered foxing to the preliminaries. Light edgewear and scuffing to the dustwrapper; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. "Harleys, Popes and Indian Chiefs" is the first book devoted exclusively to a pictorial appreciation of shining chrome and metal. Over 150 colour photographs, taken especially for the book, capture the raw energy and excitement of these machines... Also included is a pictorial account of a 1934 Arial VG500 Deluxe carried out over a year of loving care and attention, taking it from a rusty wreck to a gleaming dream machine - an inspirational jpourney for all enthusiasts. Click here to order $30

83673 Scott-Moncrieff, David Three-Pointed Star The Story of Mercedes-Benz Gentry Books, London, 1979. Second edition. Hardcover, octavo; black cloth boards with silver gilt spine titling; 435pp., monochrome illustrations. Mild rubbing to dustwrapper; otherwise near fine and professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. The story of the rise of Mercedes-Benz begins in the middle of the 19th century with the early years of two great motoring pioneers, Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. It tells of Benz's struggles to adapt his stationary two-stroke engines to road vehicles and the first public trials in 1885 of his petrol driven three-wheeler. At the same time Daimler and his friend, Wilhelm Maybach, were also working on the development of the internal combustion engine and, by the turn of the century, their designs were so successful that their engines were being made in Britain and on the continent as well as by themselves. In 1900 Paul Daimler, Gottlieb's son, made a brilliantly successful sportscar which was called 'Mercedes' after the lovely daughter of Emile Jellinek, the financier, and from that time until the merger with Benz et Cie in 1926 all cars made by the German Daimler Company have been called 'Mercedes'. This new, revised edition of this classic marque history, includes descriptions of the full range of production cars available in the 60s and 70s, the 'T' series station wagon and gives a detailed account of the company's research and development activities. More than 150 images. Click here to order $32

91568 Tuckey, Bill Australians and Their Cars 100 Years of Motoring Focus Publishing, Bondi Junction NSW, 2003. Quarto hardcover; illustrated boards with yellow and white lower board and spine titling, yellow endpapers; 160pp., colour and monochrome illustrations. Mild rubbing to dustwrapper and slight toning to page edges. Otherwise near fine and wrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. "Australians and Their Cars" salutes the automotive industry as one built on innovation and expansion, its development changing the way Australian society lives, breathes and thinks. Lavishly illustrated with rare historical photographs, this book takes the reader on the great journey of Australia's automotive industry. Click here to order $30

96019 Ullyett, Kenneth The Vauxhall Companion Stanley Paul, London, 1971. Octavo; hardcover; 160pp., with a monochrome frontispiece and many illustrations likewise. Minor wear; mild foxing to endpapers, preliminaries and title page with spotting to text block edges. Dustwrapper with some chipping at spine panel extremities and flap-turns; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $25

201276 Various Wynn's History of Famous Australian Car Trials Golden Press, Sydney, 1989. Quarto hardcover; illustrated boards; 151pp., colour and monochrome illustrations. One or two spots on upper text block edge. Minor wear otherwise; very good to near fine. No dustwrapper, as issued. Click here to order $40

200496 Winser, Keith (ed.) The Australian Monthly Motor Manual, Volume 6 - No.71 Motor Manual, Melbourne Vic., 1952. Octavo; stapled booklet; 64pp., with many monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; covers rubbed with some mild foxing. Very good. Click here to order $20