lamdha books -
Catalogue of books on cars and related vehicles

Click on the small images at right to see a larger picture

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

216301 Boddy, William The History of Motor Racing Orbis, London, 1980. Quarto hardcover; brown boards with gilt titling and photographic endpapers; 332pp., colour, b&w & sepia plates and illustrations. Minor wear; mild spotting to text block edges. Illustrated dustwrapper with rubbing to rear panel, three small tears on lower edge; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good to near fine. The History of Motor Racing begins with the 'Reliability Trial' of 1894 through to the fierce duels for the modern World Championships and to the quest to travel faster than sound on land. It also unravels the complexities of motor racing organisation, complementing this with full details, including annotated maps of Grand Prix circuits. Also included are comprehensive tables listing race winners, record breakers, world champions and Grands Prix formulae. Click here to order $20

209645 Bushby, A.C. (ed) The Holden Collection Souvenir Edition A.C. Bushby, Melbourne, 1978. 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 $55

216297 Frostick, Michael & Anthony Harding (eds.) The Motorist's Weekend Book B.T. Batsford, London, 1960. First edition: octavo hardcover; red cloth boards with gilt spine titling and upper board gilt decoration; 302pp., b&w plates and illustrations, top edges dyed red. Mild offsetting to endpapers; lightly toned text block edges. Illustrated red dustwrapper with mild rubbing; scraping to edges and corners especially at spine panel extremities, some chipping at corners; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film with white paper backing. Very good. This compilation of essays features subjects ranging from Bugatti to broadcasting, road tests to rallying, love to Le Mans, dicing to dress, poetry to picnics - contributed by the elite of motoring writers. Click here to order $25

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 $20

216299 Monk, Richard (foreword, Rivers Fletcher) The MG Collection: The Pre-War Models Patrick Stephens, Sparkford, 1996. Reprint. Quarto hardcover; navy boards with gilt spine titling; 187pp., colour illustrations. Minor wear only; near fine in like dustwrapper, now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. There cannot be many marques that boast such a vast array of different models and variants as MG. Richard Monk commenced a project to compile the most detailed pictorial study of the marque to be published as a series each month in Enjoying MG (the MG Owners' Club magazine). Practically each and every model and most of the variants were tracked down and photographed. Every car had to be as original as possible and in many cases they were concours examples. The monthly features carried text about the evolution and development of each model and how it related to the MG range at that time, together with a detailed specification. A double-page spread was the main focus of the features which were accompanied by a page of detail photographs that have proved a valuable source of reference to owners wanting to check the authenticity of their MG. Presented here is the material, in updated form, covering all the pre-war models, from 'Old Number One' to the TB Midget, accompanied by more than 600 colour illustrations. Click here to order $80

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 $30

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 $26

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 $20

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 $35