Yearbooks in total amount

Hulius

A good question. I too would be interested to know. Does anyone know what the print runs were of the yearbooks form 1949 - 1968/70?

Nathan

 

We will probably never know the exact numbers but these are the numbers published by Ferrari in their official 1992 yearbook:

1949: 2000 copies
1950: 2000 copies of which appr. 1400 were pulped by accident
1951: 2000 copies
1952: 2000 copies
1953: 2500 copies
1954: 2500 copies
1955: 2500 copies
1956: 2500 copies
1957: 2500 copies
1958: 2500 copies
1959: 2500 copies
1960: 2500 copies
1961: 3000 copies
1962: 3500 copies
1963: 3500 copies
1964: 3500 copies
1965: 3500 copies
1966: 3500 copies
1967: 3500 copies
1968/69/70: 5000 copies

These numbers of course exclude the several reprints that were published.

The first 3 'modern' yearbooks:
1989, 1990 and 1991: 10.000 copies , half of them in English , 8000 in 1989.

Hopefully this will make a start on the printnumbers.

Best,
Maarten

 

Maarten

Thanks for that.

Very interesting, but (thinking aloud) did they really printed the same number of yearbooks in 1949 as in 1952 - seeing as 1952 was their first F1 World Champion?

Nathan

 

No, they didn't. This particular reason was even quoted on page34 in the 1992 yearbook. There's written "this was surely an exceptional event. No more than the standard 2000 copies were printed".

Best,
Maarten

 

Very intresting what Maarten wrote, and true, the production numbers match with those in the '92 yearbook. But..... being a yearbook collector since many years, I might doubt at the given 2000 pieces of the '49 and the '51, even if Ferrari provides this information...... We all follow what 's on the market (= auctions, Ebay, the known collectors in the US, Canada and Europe and what they offer).
For me it is very hard to believe that '49 's and '51's would have been printed in such "big" amounts as 2000. Then, why are they way more expensive than a '52?

The info on the '50 is exact, only about 600 would have been sent out, 1400 destroyed. Nevertheless, being a close friend of the late great Jacques Swaters, I remember his words very well when he stated, a few years before his death, that, "nowadays, there are no more than 130 à 140 yearbooks of 1950 that survived."

Dozens of colectors, me included, have all the yearbooks,... be it from 1952!
Because those '49, '50 and '51, are unfindable, or out of reach...
A picture of my yearbooks:
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WOW nice collection of yearbooks!!

 

Thanks, no, there are no reprints, all originals. Even the 1957, which seems to be very rare, is original. It is the version without transaparent vinyl paper on the first page.

It is so intresting, we could write a whole encyclopedy on the Ferrari Yearbooks.
There are many little mysteries about the old annuari.
For instance:

1. I have a mint 1955 Yearbook which has twice chapter page "ARGENTINA" (page 13) and its recto page (page 14), I guess it 's the only one in the world...Maybe not.

2. All the 1954 Yearbooks I have seen, have a corrected misprint on one of the very last pages in the book, (page 81 with the picture of President Eisenhower), on the 3rd line there is written:
...D.Eisenhower vinta da Spear su Ferrari 4500". Di Bill Spear (primo a sinistra), divenuto in...
What is underlined is the correct text on a glued little paper. I have no idea what the wrong text underneat could be, I don't intend to take the paper off to find out!

3. The 1965 Yearbook shows on its cover the Ferrari 315 S with which Piero Taruffi won the last Mille Miglia, the 1957. On page 57 (what's in a number!) of the 1957 Yearbook appears the same photograph...Was there a special reason why Ferrari put this picture on the 1965 yearbook cover? Something to do with De Portago and his co-driver Nelson, who both died tragically in the same 1957 Mille Miglia?
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Hi Custom,

Nice set, i'm also searching the last 'hard to find' ones...
1949 to 1952 and 1955... And also all original and no reprints
I too would like to know how many survived and were really printed.
But like i wrote in my post we will never know and can only guess.

Best,
Maarten

 

I sold one on Ebay in January. The buyer got a bargain, or it isn't as collectible as I thought. Probably the latter as it is only a 4pg folded card item, and surely not worth more than a 68/70 yearbook?

Nathan

 

The problem is that it's easy to confuse rarity with value. Just because something is rare doesn't mean that it's valuable.
A dealer recently tried to sell me a photograph, asking a phenomenal price and saying that it's rarer than a brochure. He didn't seem to understand that there is more demand for the brochure than for the postcard. Hence the brochure will always be worth more.
If no one wants it then it's not worth much. It's all about supply and demand - as simple as that.
Nathan

 

Julius
I bet they're still for sale today. The dealers can ask what they want, but it's only worth what someone will pay.
Nathan

 

Plus, who is aware of and participating in eBay auctions plays a large role. I would have paid more than what your '72 Mondiale Marche brochure sold for, but I was not even aware of it being offered. So, next time, mention it here!...

 

Indeed 1972 MM is very rare although I do not know how many were printed. I paid $675 back in the 90s for one. It should be considered part of any worthwhile collection.