Official book collectors thread

The beautiful cars that were created using this process boggles the mind. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Featured in the book 2500 Ore/Hrs. Old school craftsman passing the skills and passion on to the next generation. Thanks for spotlighting this upcoming book Mr. Massini.

 

OMG.
The tree stump !!

 

They still use them!

 

I understand better why they never replied to my last emails... The price of paper makes the situation untenable for independent publishers. ETAI, which is the main French publisher of automotive books, has just been bought out and has hardly published anything in the last few months...
Let's hope things change. I've been told that the price of paper could drop after the summer. Fingers crossed.

 

Besides printing and materials, "design" is one of the largest budget items for producing high-quality "not your typical" books. To get great designers to work on a book, it costs $$$...and that doesn't include the cost for artists to draw anything, or sketches, or photography, or licensing photography.

I don't think people have any idea how much it costs to produce a high-quality book...after the writing is all done. The author makes a small amount, but it isn't much compared to the effort involved. The publisher makes a bit more than the author (but takes on a much larger risk and multi-year costs beyond the up front printing).

 

I would add that they are certainly not worth it BUT it is probably these VIP editions that makes the books profitable.
At the end of the day, publishing is a business and if it doesn't make money, it goes out of business.
We should be thanking those who buy these limited editions, because they are the patrons who allow us to enjoy the normal editions...

 

Design is perhaps the most underrated and overlooked part of the publishing industry. It's not just about making a book beautiful or chic (I mean, that's always good, right?), but also easy and enjoyable to read.
I remember when I was editor of Intersection magazine, we always hired young people fresh out of art school as designers, not only because they were cheap, but also for their fresh and ultra-creative ideas. But, and this is a big "but", most of the time they had no idea how texts are laid out properly. Typographic rules are a foundation that few graphic designers master today. Because they were so important in the pre-computer era, but they are still very relevant today. And the people who master them are expensive, indeed.

An example comes to mind. "Ferrari, Gli anni d'oro" by Giogio Nada Editore. The book is superb, the quality of the printing is very high, the photos are beautiful, etc. But for some reason, someone decided to write all the captions of the photos (and it is a book about photos), in thin capital letters. Worse, the English texts are in italics. This makes this book one of the most uncomfortable to read that I own, and the disappointment is great because I really wanted to read it, but I just can't. I mean, I don't enjoy reading it, so what's the point?

In this respect, you can say what you like about the Porter Press books, they don't look particularly beautiful or modern, but at least I found them very relaxing to read. The texts are very clean. Sport Fahrers' are both beautiful and enjoyable to read + they are very good. I love them!

 

Julian Balme, Vegas Design…..your opinion? He seems to be the go-to designer right now, or maybe he just has a more prominent profile than most others.

 

Well the Man is quite experienced ! Designing record covers in the 80's... I guess that's one of the best design school on earth... I haven't read the TR 59/60 book yet, but it looks pretty fantastic on my shelf.

 

I think Julian's work is superb, especially love the delightful Fiskens Project. Another superb designer as was the designer who worked with David Bull publishing, I'm at work right now and can't open a book to see his name, but their books are so well designed.

A well designed book makes a huge difference in the enjoyment of the book to me. My biggest pet peeve in book design is when images that are split between two pages, more often found in portrait layout rather than landscape layout. Then again, I'd rather have that image than none!

Matt

 

Yes, there is a trick with these. You have to split the image across the binding by duplicating a piece of the image from the right page onto the left page, and the same for the opposite page. And if you do it right, the two images will blend perfectly. If you don't, a part of the image will disappear into the binding. But if you do it wrong, you will see the duplicate, which is even worse...
For magazines it's easy because we know the thickness of the issue, so we can calculate the proportion of the image to be duplicated depending on whether it's in the beginning, the middle, or the of the magazine. I suppose it's much more difficult when you're creating a book.

 

If the Chinetti/N.A.R.T. book is ever published I hope they’ll pay attention to design. So many books today may have a lot of good information and images but the design is frequently incoherent.

 

Whoever said "don't judge a book by its cover" has never opened a motoring book...

 

Fred kept the project afloat. Now that he's gone I don't know anyone who will step up and write the check?

 

Not strictly a Ferrari book but if you are a Tazio Nuvolari fan as I am (the best racer ever?) this book is recognized as the most accurate available. Every race he competed on bikes and cars is catalogued. Enzo ran bikes as part of Scuderia Ferrari, and he always had an eye for great bike racers (e.g. Ascari, Surtees).
Most of the book covers Alfa Romeo of course, but references and photos of Enzo too.
This is a rare and expensive book, and a great add to my Ferrari library. I was fortunate to pick up an as-new copy from a charity site with a low bid on Ebay ... go figure.
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Taking things out of their context is turned into an art by some people. If you would have read my post carefully, you would have noticed that the difference between the so-called ‘poor mans’ edition and the ‘rich kids’ edition is 3 autographs and 2 different photos. That’s it, and no matter how you slice it, that doesn’t cost a fortune. But whoever is willing and able to buy, it’s all fine with me. End of story!

 

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Could be good, could equally be very bad…anyone know?
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781633887558/The-Dealer-How-One-California-Dealership-Fueled-the-Rise-of-Ferrari-Cars-in-America

Paul

 

Many thanks for your interesting post! Judging from the little text which has been published on the book's website, it's rather a bad book. The beginning reads:
"When Ferrari of Los Gatos opened, few people could afford an expensive sports car. In 1976, the average annual income was $12,686, and a new home cost about $48,000."
It would have been fitting to name the price of a Ferrari then, so that the reader can put the information about prices into relation. But that important information is lacking. Thus, basics of journalism are ignored right from the beginning. No book for me.

 

Latest Ferrari SP3 Daytona Lego book update: A few minutes ago, an eBay auction in Germany ended at 187.00 euros. Newly launched offers tend to be priced at starting bids between 200.00 and 230.00 euros (including the option "Or best offer"). Prices are coming down as predicted step by step compared to the hysteria some weeks ago.

 

Yeah, I'm still waiting and watching.
I had one coming but it was damaged in the post.
I'll buy one but no immediate rush.

 

In 1977 a 308GTB was $29,000.

At Ron Tonkin

Due to the US Gasoline Crisis, my 22641 sat there, for THREE years!!!

 

Maybe the book is the printed version of this blog. https://flgstory.com Some of the readers' comments are interesting, but there hasn't been any new content posted in awhile. Maybe the author was saving it for the book.

 

Thanks for the info. I was able to find a copy at a reasonable price from an Amazon vendor. As advertised, the book was definitely "like new" though the dust jacket not quite that good but perfectly acceptable. I found a few typos and a few incorrect or missing chassis numbers but on the whole it is good source of information. I just wish a newer edition had been done, at least to include the 333 SP era.

 

I am still seeking the following two books and would be extremely grateful for any tips and information where to buy these. I live in Switzerland and many sites such as Amazon and others do NOT deliver to my country. Ready to pay a big premium!

Tony Merrick, UK.
A Life Restoring & Racing Historic Cars.

Spencer Martin, AUS.
Historic Ferrari and Grand Prix Cars.
My Life by Spencer Martin.

Thanks for all help.
Marcel Massini


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