Official book collectors thread

Thank you for your comprehensive review, I didn't realise you had a copy too.

I would agree with many of your points raised in regards to excessive pricing and the dilemma of whether to pay for it or not.

I have a copy reserved for me which I will most likely purchase but it's just nice to hear the opinion of other fellow collectors and what they think of the value for money aspect of the book.

I also go back to my original point I raised many months ago on whether this book adds much more to the Ferrari 550/ Prodrive story that was not already covered in @piloti 's (Nathan Beehl) excellent book written only a few years back.

 

As for value, I’d pay no more than $500 for it, and that would be a stretch. When it comes to books, I no longer have “FOMO.” ​

 

FOMO was a major reason for me to order this book, as I didn‘t want to feel the pain later that I still feel from not having bought the Miura and Saoutchik books (as well as a few others).

So #452/550 is in my collection now and overall I‘m happy with it, though not extremely happy. I personally don‘t mind that the slipcase is white instead of red. However, I definitely agree with some other members here that the paper quality is too thin for a book of this price. And unfortunately I also have to agree that the printing quality of the photos is not very good in most cases. I have lots of books that cost 10% of this one that have much higher picture print quality. For me, this is the biggest issue and a real disappointment. The content itself however, as well as the quality of the slipcase, the binding and the book covers is very good. All in all, I‘d give the book 8 out of 10 points - although considering the price, 10 out of 10 points would have been expected.

Ciao, Lars

 

The Miura/Kidston book was an exception, but you usually have plenty of time to make up your mind. FOMO is mostly an unfunded psychological thing that affects most of us at times.

 

Mine is definitely “unfunded” (sic) or at best underfunded…..

 

I literally got in on the very last minute with The Miura Book thanks to a tip off from an Fchat member telling me to buy it but that book was as a once in a lifetime scenario in regards to selling out, collectability and future value.

FOMO is a funny thing. Be careful trying to make up for it by hedging your bets with every other expensive limited edition book published since.

 

Well, regarding FOMO, for example several of the very limited edition books by Sportfahrer Verlag that I purchased (the signed versions) sold out very quickly, sometimes even within a few days. There I certainly was happy to have clicked the „buy now“ button without hesitation.

I have to admit that with the 550 book, I initially decided against buying it due to the very high price. But high expectations on the book from several friends and the low limitation number of 550 books in the end made me order it after all - as I feared that I might regret later not to have bought the book while it was still available at the original price (for example Miura & Saoutchik are now financially out of reach forever, as well as a few others where I hesitated to buy).

If the 550 book will sell out quickly and increase in price remains to be seen, especially now that the book has finally been issued and turned out to be very nice but not perfect. But never mind, I have it in my collection now and all in all I‘m happy to have bought it. Indeed the price was high, but once I have spent such an amount, I quickly forget about the financial part. Plus I can often justify to myself, regarding spending such a high amount on a book, that the money is not really gone, but is now sitting on my bookshelf - and could be turned back into cash should I ever wish to do so (unlike money spent on experiences, like holidays etc.).

 

“now sitting on my bookshelf - and could be turned back into cash”

Fair point although inflation kills and also no yield.

 

True! Several books in my collection have however increased quite a bit in value since I bought them, but of course by far not all of them.

 

I have a few books by this author, and his work as a historian is beyond reproach. In my opinion, this book is definitely worth a look.

 

I have three days off from work, so I can enjoy thoroughly what I would call a complete set of 550 Maranello Prodrive:

1) 550 Maranello Prodrive book with standard white slipcase,
2) 550 Maranello Prodrive poster, which was handed out by Girardo at the book's presentation at the Retromobile in March,
3) and - and that is the pride of my collection - one of the handful of pre-production, prototype red (!) slipcases, which fit the book so beautifully.

And the more you read in the book, the better it gets!

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I can only second this; the Can-Am book is already on my purchase list. Let's support the author and make publication of this book possible!

 

Congratulations Sven! I have to admit that red slipcase looks very nice indeed and better than the white one. Really nice that one found its way into your collection!

 

Fantastic set!

 

Well done on all the additional items.

Please tell us the story of how the red slipcase came into your possession.

 

For those interested in the 250 GTO's little sister:
https://dingwort-verlag.de/detail/index/sArticle/29/sCategory/5

 

Not specifically Ferrari related, but of course they're included. Sauro's Italian versions are already available thru Amazon for the years 1970 thru 1976; I suspect these English versions will also be available there.

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I just endorsed this fine project on my Instagram account and made a contribution myself:

https://de.ulule.com/ferrari-can-am/

What is important to note is that, due to Ulule's terms of business, there will be a refund should the crowdfunding target be missed. So either you get a book or your money back. Sounds fair to me.

It would be nice to see a book on Ferrari Can-Am racing published (and the second one which is in preparation by Arnaud about luxury brand advertisments which use Ferrari cars).

 

Is it limited to 500 copies or is that the initial print run. I think the former but interested in your take.

 

Unfortunately, I have no information on that.

 

I tried to contribute, but instead I got an error message "The 3DSecure authentification has failed and has returned an error from your bank". This is puzzling because I use the same credit card frequently online and have never been turned down before. Does anyone have any ideas as to why this is happening?

 

The 1970 thru 1972 issues are now available from Amazon in English, either in softcover or Kindle format.

 

New book.

Marcel Massini

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Does it contain new info since you wrote an article on Lualdi Gabardi for Cavallino?