Official book collectors thread

That's an interesting read, especially the section on the early days of the Maranello factory, and also Ferrari's relationship to the people of Maranello. And 35 euros is a very good price. Hope you enjoy reading it.
Nathan

 

Any FChatters going to Retromobile this year? I will be on Ben Horton's book stand at 2pm Wednesday, 2pm Thursday, 2pm Friday. We will be showing proof copies of the new Ronald Stern/Nathan Beehl book "The Sales Drive from Maranello - the early Ferrari brochures 1940-1964".
Come along and introduce yourself.
Nathan

 

I would like to purchase a copy of Bluemel's The Original Ferrari V8 if anyone knows of one available at a reasonable price.

Thanks.

Jack

 

Have one in new condition.What is a "reasonable price"?Also have the V12 Bluemel book as well.Send me an email with your thoughts if you like.

cheers
john

 

FWIW, I sold mine on Amazon recently for $400. I bought it new about 10 years ago for around $25. It was an inexpensive, Chinese printed book, filled with what I found to be pretty forgettable content. Why they are selling for these prices is a complete mystery to me. It should be utterly predictable what will happen when, inevitably, MBI reprints them...

 

Agreed.When I went on Amazon to check prices,I just couldn't believe it!

 

The article on the FF's all-wheel-drive technology by Franco Cimatti is very worthwhile. Franco is actually a Georgia Tech graduate and I met him at Tech's annual car show a few years back.

 

And another one sold on ebay for $20. Some of the online (especially Amazon vendors) asking prices are silly. $1,282.90? Really? There can't possibly be that much demand...otherwise there wouldn't be 25 copies on Amazon right now.

I purchased one from a fellow F Chatter for <$100. Thanks to everyone who responded.

Jack.

 

Just saw this request Jack, I have one extra 'Original V8'......looks like you got it sorted.

 

Does not surprise me at all. As I mentioned, it is a fairly mediocre book that everyone seems to be scrambling after right now. The whole scenario is really kind of funny...

 

Since this is my first post here, I will keep it short, see if it works, and elaborate later. I was in the paddock at the Monterey Historics (now Reunion) in August 2006 when a golf cart passed me going in the opposite direction. Derek was driving, Phil was in the passenger's seat, and two ladies were on the rear-facing back seat. They were moving too fast for me to follow but I cut through two rows of cars and managed to catch up to them where they had stopped on a row of Bentleys.

Phil was engaged in a conversation with one of the Bentley owners and I was out of breath. As I stood there waiting to speak to Phil, I realized that the lady on the the rear seat with her back to Phil was his wife, Alma. I told her that I had been trying to contact Phil about one of his photos and I mentioned that I had talked Phil 24 years earlier about player pianos. She smiled and said "We call them reproducers now." She also told me that the Parkinson's had affected his speech and that I might have trouble understanding him.

After a couple of minutes, the Bentley owner was still talking to Phil. Alma turned in her seat, put her hand on his shoulder and said "Phil, this gentleman would like to speak to you." I did have some trouble understanding him, but it was primarily because he spoke softly and there were cars on the track for practice. When I said that I would like to buy a copy of one of his photos, he said that they were all "at the publisher". I did not ask for specifics. I expected that another book was in the works at Dalton-Watson, who had published A Champion's View in 2004.

After Phil's funeral in September of 2008, "TomS" posted a nice description of the ceremony at the cemetery. It was on Porsche Pete's Boxter Board (PPBB). I have a copy and the full URL but it isn't accessible now unless you join the board. At the end of the post, TomS said that he has a draft copy of the book that he will treasure because "it will never be published."

I was hoping that TomS was Tom Shaughnessy. I showed Tom a copy of the post last year. He said that he doesn't post on any Porsche boards and he didn't write it. However, he did offer some help tracking down the photo that I want.

Meanwhile, copies of the brochure that Matt (MHK69) mentioned above are still available. I bought one last year. It is 16.5" wide, 11.5" high, and 16 pages long with 31 photos. I got it from mclellansautomotive.com and it is titled Phil Hill's 'Inside Track'. At the bottom of the back cover it says "The finished work is to be published by The GP Library during 2007".

Jack-the-Lad speculated here that the book would be out in 2011, the 50th anniversary of Phil's World Championship but I think there may still be reason to hope. With the help of Derek Hill, Road & Track has published a 2012 calendar with some (12?) of Phil's photos. My copy is in the mail. See more details at http://www.roadandtrack.com/column/porsche-matters
So much for keeping it short. I'll post again as soon as I figure out how to attach photos (my own).
.....................
Post Script:
I tried to send this and got:
"Your submission could not be processed because you have logged in since the previous page was loaded.
Please push the back button and reload the previous window."
Rule No. 1 -- Always make a backup. Jerry Pournelle
I will paste it in and try again.

 

Thanks for all that information, Jeff. Someone on another board that I frequent said yesterday that according to Derek the book has been delayed because the scope has expanded to become a full biography, including the photos intended for the original concept.

Please give us more information if you have it.

Thanks again.

Jack

Edit: According to an email from McLellan's, the brochure for Phil Hill's Inside Track "is not something I am familiar with and I have not had it." I thought this rather odd given the information in your post. Do you know of another source for the brochure?

 

Jack,

I'm not ready to post any of my own pictures yet, but here is some more on Inside Track.
Phil shot virtually all Kodachrome slides with a Leica M3. Anyone who ever had the good fortune to attend one of his slide presentations will attest to how well their quality has survived and what a great job Phil did relating the history behind them. (I have a video of one of his presentations.)

In June, 2011, Alma and Derek went to Monza to celebrate "The Phil Hill Trophy".
http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/p/2176/the-legacy-of-phil-hill-lives-on
It included a yellow (Belgian racing color) shark nose replica built by a Belgian fellow.

Leica produced a video of the event, featuring Derek discussing it. Be patient if you watch the video. The video includes a lot of still shots and short clips. With my high speed DSL the video is jerky. You may have to let it play to the end and buffer, then replay it. The audio with Derek's narration is smooth. http://blog.leica-camera.com/photographers/interviews/phil-hill-f1-champion-and-leica-enthusiast/

That site was posted in September, 2011. It says "Phil Hill was a Formula One racing champion and legend who also happened to be a Leica enthusiast. In this video, we chat with his son, Derek Hill, who holds a significant racing record of his own. Derek is currently working with Steve Dawson and author Doug Nye to compile his father’s images and stories into a photo book due out next year."

Where have we heard that before? Here is a full link to the 16 page brochure.
http://www.mclellansautomotive.com/literature/items/memorabilia/f7697-2007-auto-memorabilia.php

Jeff

 

Thank you, Jeff.

My first race was 1963 Sebring and of course Phil was driving the Cobra that year, having just left Ferrari. After that I didn't see him again until Monterey, 1988 (I think) and then a few times at Goodwood Revival, where I finally was able to meet him personally. Of course, the last time I saw him at Goodwood his illness had almost overcome him, but it was quite touching to see Derek and Phil together.

I have placed the order for the brochure...fingers crossed that they still have one.

Thank you for those links. I look forward to your future posts and would love to see the video as well. Feel free to contact me by email if you wish.

Thanks again, and welcome to the forum.

Jack

 

No copies of the "Inside Track" brochure at McLellan's.

 

Today at Retromobile in Paris I had a chance to look inside The sales drive from Maranello, Nathan Beehl & Ronald Stern leatherbound book on Ferrari brochures from the 1940's until 1964. More than 90 brochures are reprinted in this fabolous book. It is a limited edition of 200 in black leather and only 30 in Red including a large Print.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Jack,

Sorry to hear that you didn't get a copy of the brochure. Perhaps if Ferri (post #1066), or someone at Retromobile, sees this they can find one there. I got mine in October 2011 for $25 plus $7.35 Priority Mail.

Since they were still listed when I read your reply, I decided to order one myself. I got this reply:
Hello Jeff,
Thank you for your order but this item has sold and we only had one. You are the third person in two days to order it. I wish we had a source for more of them but we do not.
Best wishes,
Robert

The image below is the cover of "PHIL HILL'S INSIDE TRACK PUBLICITY BROCHURE".
There may have been different versions of the brochure, but I doubt it. The cover image is slightly cropped (1.364 aspect ratio) compared to mine (visible I in CASTELLOTI and E in SCHELL and 1.435 aspect ratio). Therefore, it gives a false impression that it is narrower than it actually is. Mine is 16.5" (41.9cm) wide by 11.5" (29.2cm) high. http://www.mclellansautomotive.com/literature/items/memorabilia/f7697-2007-auto-memorabilia.php describes it as 17" x 12".

The brochure has 16 pages, including the front and back cover. There is no caption for the front cover but page 9 is a full 16.5" x 11.5" photo taken from the front of the first red Ferrari at the lower right, looking toward the Castrol podium. By the time Phil took that shot, the blue car, which is partially visible in the center of cover shot, and the white Ferrari with the yellow/blue/red (Venezuela flag) nose stripe that is approaching from across the side street had joined the group.

The caption on the opposite page reads "Choose an exotic yet distant and relatively obscure motor racing venue from which you have seldom seen any photography at all - not to mention photography of such quality as this study of customer Ferraris (right). Where could it be? The answer is Caracas, Venezuela, with the private entries lined-up before the pits in readiness for the 1955 Venezuelan Grand Prix. Surely one of the finest 1950s Ferrari photographs ever published - and the photographer future Ferrari World Champion Driver, Phil Hill."

A little below that caption, and on the back cover, is contact information for phillhill.com, gplimages at yahoo.com, and The GP Library. There is no copyright information on this publicity brochure and MHK69 said "Doug came up to our table and talked about producing this book "Inside Track - Motor sports Photography by Phil HIll", he then dropped of a pile of these brochures, I now wish I had picked up more, but at the time Doug said the book would be released the following year![2007]"

In the parlance of computer software, Inside Track definitely qualifies as vaporware http://listverse.com/2011/03/06/10-cases-of-vaporware/

Given the fact that the brochure was given away in quantity in 2006 and is not commercially available at this time, I have seriously considered posting the remaining 15 pages here. IMHO, that would only further the original intent of the brochure. They have been taking pre-orders for the book for at least 7 years. I would consider asking for permission, but all of my previous correspondence, both email and snail mail, has gone unanswered and I know I am not alone in that regard. Perhaps you or Rob might ask Doug. He hasn't posted here April 21,2011, promoting motorfilms.tv on YouTube.

The brochure is too large to fit on my scanner but I can knit multiple images together. I could also photograph them. However, significantly cropped images from the scanner might be more likely to pass scrutiny while still giving a good indication of the content. Typical resolution for large images posted here is 800px by 600px and 120MB. Good, but hardly print quality.

I have read that the final version will be a two volume set in a slipcover and that it might be a limited edition. I hope not. On January 19, 2012, Bonhams sold a cloth bound copy of Ferrari In Camera by Geoff Goddard and Doug Nye for $4375 ($3500 plus 25% buyer's premium). http://www.bonhams.com/usa/auction/19680/lot/48/ It was copy #612 of a limited edition of 1000. On that day I could have purchased a new copy bound in Moroccan leather (limited edition of 100) for GBP 2000. Alibris wants $5995.37.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I was just searching bookmarks for something else on Phil Hill when I found this eBay listing (150645553953) for PHIL HILL'S"INSIDE TRACK"MOTOR RACING PHOTOGRAPHY 2007.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PHIL-HILLS-INSIDE-TRACK-MOTOR-RACING-PHOTOGRAPHY-2007-/150645553953

It ended on Aug. 16, 2011 with zero bids. I was in California for Automoblia Monterey and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (formerly Historics) and I missed the auction. Ebay listings are normally removed after a few (3?) months so I have no idea why this is still active but it still shows 12 of the brochure's 16 pages (missing 8, 11, 12, and 15). There is no telling how much longer the listing will be available. Since I have already published the cover (page 1) and have had no response to that, I'm going to post screen captures of the other 11. "It's easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission."

Jeff
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Thanks for posting those pictures, Jeff. I sure would like to get a copy of that brochure.

Jack

 

What a fantastic book that would be. Hopefully it comes. Hopefully it is huge. And, finally, hopefully, it is not $1k.

George

 

Please Doug, give us 'Inside Track'!!! We'd be eternally grateful.

Mick

 

I find it quite odd that the principal players in this project are silent, especially when so many people are expressing interest. This should be every publisher's dream....an audience with cash in hand, asking for information.

 

Please, someone has some photos from the book Ferrari a history, Automobilia 1998
How do you rate this book? Thank you.

 

The 2012 Road & Track Vintage Calendar arrived yesterday. It is titled "A Champion's Photos" and, at 12.5" (31.8cm) by 9.5" (24.1cm), it is a little smaller than the "Inside Track" promotional brochure. Two things suggest that the book is actually moving forward:

1.) The calendar has 16 images, nine of which are not in the brochure. The calendar is copyright 2011 Road & Track/Hearst Magazines, so the photo collection must have been liberated from the GP Library and the book layout should be finalized.

2.) On the back of the calendar, next to a photo of Phil at his work bench, is this note: "If you'd like to see more of Phil Hill's photos, a two-volume book is in the works. Inside Track-World Champion Phi [sic] Hill and his Motor Racing Photography features more than 900 photographs taken from 1948-1962, plus the autobiography of America's first Formula 1 World Champion. Check back at shop.roadandtrack.com and philhill.com."

In my first post, I mentioned that I have a video of Phil giving one of his slide presentations. It is 90 minutes long and I am delighted to have it. For me it evokes memories of a different presentation of his that I attended a few years before. I would have been happy with just a sound track because I can still see the photos in my mind's eye (and they will be in the book).

It was shot in Santa Monica in 1995 at a monthly meeting of the Los Angles Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC). It looks like a classroom environment (actually I think it was the Assistance League building on 15th St.). It was shot with two cameras but the lighting was not perfect and, on a few occasions, one camera was on Phil and the other was on the club members and you don't get to see the slide he is showing (again, it will be in the book).

If you had professional equipment in 1995 and think you could have done a better job, DO NOT BUY THIS DVD. YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY.

The DVD also includes:
1965 Hall & Sharp in the Chaparral 2D at Monterey (Laguna Seca -- more memories because I was there).
1966 Hall & Hill in Chaparral in the 2E at Monterey (also there)
USRRC 1966 Elkhart Lake

The best price on the DVD is on ebay ($19 Buy it Now + $3 shipping -- "More than 10 available" and I'm sure they can make even more).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHAPARRAL-4-FILMS-PHIL-HILL-DVD-CAN-AM-RACE-/120345763133?pt=US_DVD_HD_DVD_Blu_ray&hash=item1c052a9d3d

For more information but a higher price ($19.95 + $5.00) go directly to http://www.carfilms.com/services/background.html On that page, you can preview another video of Bob Bondurant shot at another SAAC meeting in the same building. Bob didn't have slides. It looks like you can also preview Phil but IT DOES NOT WORK TODAY. It might be fixed by the time you read this but right now it says "Loading..." and never does. The other two previews on that page work OK.

Probably the best slide show that Phil ever gave was on May 24,2002, at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles during the FCA annual meeting. Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby were both in the audience kibitzing the whole time. It lasted more than 2 hours and would be a prefect companion to "Inside Track". Before Phil started, they requested the audience not to record it. I hoped that a sanctioned recording would surface later, but none ever has.
Jeff

 

I too would like to see that. I just sent Theresa Gilpatrick of the FCA ([email protected]) an email request. Perhaps it would help if others did so as well?