34 replies to this topic

[subh]

Does anyone know of any (reference) books that are available primarily covering Grand Prix drivers and results prior to 1950?  There are some good reference works out there, some of which have information about that era, but I'm not presently aware of anything that focusses on pre-world championship racing (apart from online).  Thanks.

[Rob G]

A few of my favorites:

 

"Power and Glory" - William Court

"Bugatti - A Racing History" - David Venables

"Racing the Silver Arrows" - Chris Nixon

 

The latter book is the only one of the three that has a race-by-race list of results, but all three are informative and well-illustrated. William Court has a rather florid writing style, but buried among the extravagance are some great details. Venables focuses more on the cars than the drivers compared to the other two books, but Nixon's book includes bios of and interviews with many of the drivers of the era.

[Vitesse2]

For statistics, the first four volumes of

 

A RECORD OF GRAND PRIX & VOITURETTE RACING

 

But do note that Hans Etzrodt and Leif Snellman are still actively updating the Golden Era website, which may in some cases be more comprehensive and have more information which wasn't available to the 'Black Books' researchers.

 

Rob's already mentioned 'Bugatti: A Racing History'; there's also 'Maserati: A Racing History' by Anthony Pritchard and - again by Venables - 'First Among Champions: the Alfa Romeo Grand Prix Cars'. All out of print and rather pricey though.

 

A couple of more general works: Adriano Cimarosti's 'The Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing (2nd edition)' and Johnny Lurani's 'A History of Motor Racing', both of which are available at very reasonable prices.

 

Erwin Tragatsch's 'Die Große Rennjahre 1919-1939' - only in German!

 

Michael Frostick's 'Pit and Paddock' - a great collection of photos. Don't be put off by the cover showing an Arrows - it's mostly pre-WW2! In similar vein: 'The Roaring Twenties: An Album of Early Motor Racing' by Cyril Posthumus. Both available at real bargain prices.

 

Beverley Rae Kimes - 'The Star and the Laurel'; a history of Daimler Benz with much racing interest and some great pictures. Now downloadable free from the Daimler Heritage website.

[Tim Murray]

A book I learned a great deal from when I bought it more than 50 years ago, and still treasure, is Grand Prix Racing Facts and Figures by George Monkhouse and Roland King-Farlow. It’s in two sections. The first, by Monkhouse, includes a brief history of Grand Prix racing, and then a series of chapters covering different eras and featuring mainly potted biographies of the drivers and other personalities from each era, accompanied by many fine photos.

The second section contains King-Farlow’s comprehensive race results data, covering a multitude of results for races in many categories and ranging from the well-known events to the fairly obscure. Its main drawback is that it only includes the first three positions for each event.

The first edition came out in 1950, the second in 1953 and the third in 1964. Copies are available via Abebooks at prices which seem fairly reasonable to me:

https://www.abebooks...nkhouse-george/

[Eric Dunsdon]

My early education came via the Monkhouse/King Farlow book which my dad bought for me in 1950 . In those days of 'real' austerity it was an expensive item (around 42 shillings I think) but as a kid I  found it invaluable. Grand Prix Racing 1934-1939 by Rodney Walkerley and Robert Fellowes was another vital aid to my learning about the important things in life. I would also like to endorse  those titles recommended by  Rob G  and Vitesse 2 in earlier posts, the William Court book in particular.

[Sterzo]

If exiled to a desert island I would take with me William Court's magnificent book Power and Glory. It covers all Grand Prix racing in the period you've mentioned, has lots of good (if small) pictures, and you can read it like a story book or use it as a reference. Pay what you must: it's worth it.

 

You can then supplement it (if not on a desert island) with other books about more specialist subjects. TASO Mathieson's "Grand Prix Racing 1906-1914" is one of my favourites, plus there are good driver biographies or autobiographies of Segrave, Dreyfus, Caracciola, Lang and Rosemeyer (and not such good ones of Nuvolari and Seaman). Joe Saward's "Grand Prix Saboteurs" covers Williams, Benoist and Wimille.

 

Happy reading.

[Vitesse2]

If exiled to a desert island I would take with me William Court's magnificent book Power and Glory. It covers all Grand Prix racing in the period you've mentioned, has lots of good (if small) pictures, and you can read it like a story book or use it as a reference. Pay what you must: it's worth it.

 

You can then supplement it (if not on a desert island) with other books about more specialist subjects. TASO Mathieson's "Grand Prix Racing 1906-1914" is one of my favourites, plus there are good driver biographies or autobiographies of Segrave, Dreyfus, Caracciola, Lang and Rosemeyer (and not such good ones of Nuvolari and Seaman). Joe Saward's "Grand Prix Saboteurs" covers Williams, Benoist and Wimille.

 

Happy reading.

Although you would need very deep pockets for that lot!

 

Richard Williams is currently working on what should turn out to be the definitive biography of Seaman, BTW.

[Sterzo]

Although you would need very deep pockets for that lot!

Indeed, paticularly the Mathieson. Other excellent books which are slightly cheaper are the Temple Press series published in the sixties, which took a Grand Prix and gave a report of each, including entries and results, supplemented by what Boddy described as postage stamp sized pictures. The French Grand Prix and The Monaco Grand Prix were by David Hodges, while The German Grand Prix was by Cyril Posthumus. Small books filled with many days of reading.

 

Good to hear there's a Seaman biography on the way. Chula's is OK but not briliiant.

[Victor]

It is amazing how you guys here at Nostalgia can be helpful.

Thank you very much.

[DCapps]

Does anyone know of any (reference) books that are available primarily covering Grand Prix drivers and results prior to 1950?  There are some good reference works out there, some of which have information about that era, but I'm not presently aware of anything that focuses on pre-world championship racing (apart from online).  Thanks.

 

My question would as to whether you are simply looking for race data/ information / statistics and canned/ brief bio of drivers or perhaps something more in depth?

 

I probably have a goodly number of bookshelves of these sorts of books, but most are concerned with early-20th Century racing, with more than a few on the 20s & 30s, of course

 

So far, there have been some good suggestions, some better than others, of course. but most of which are excellent places to begin.

 

For a number of reasons, I am not as fond of the Court books as many seem to be, but that perhaps just me and my own reservations regarding the volumes.

 

Guenther Molter's German Racing Cars and Drivers (Floyd Clymer, 1950) covers the topic, both before and after the War.

 

Also focusing primarily on the machinery, it might be worth taking a look at The Vanishing Litres: 50 Years of Grand Prix Racing by Rex Hays.

 

The late Christopher Hilton's Nuvolari is another that might be of interest.

 

The Great Road Races 1894-1914 by Henry Serrano Villard might be worth a look.

 

There are also two books by Robert Dick that are well worth reading (Auto Racing Comes of Age: A Transatlantic View of the Cars, Drivers and Speedways, 1900-1925, and Mercedes and Auto Racing in the Belle Epoque, 1895-1915), with a third on the way (Auto Racing in the Shadow of the Great War: Streamlined Specials and a New Generation of Drivers on American Speedways, 1915-1922).

[Eric Dunsdon]

Could I also mention (and recommend) The Motor Year Books produced by Temple Press. As a boy I read the volumes covering 1950 through to 1958 avidly  and their coverage of each season were very interesting. They had good results sections covering Formula 1, 2 and 3 as well as sports cars from Continental and British meetings. There were also reviews of road cars such as Standard Vanguards and Armstrong Siddleys  for those who liked that sort of thing and very useful for car spotting on the Barnet By-Pass kids like me.

Edited by Eric Dunsdon, 24 September 2018 - 16:27.

[subh]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I should mention the books I do have: of those mentioned above I have the Pritchard Maserati book and the Seaman book by Chula, both inherited from my father; plus I’ve read the Rosemeyer biography. I have the International Motor Racing Guide, which includes top six results for the important national GPs of the era, winners of other notable races, and limited driver career summaries. Winners, edited by Brian Laban, has profiles of the more prominent drivers of the era (plus more recent ones); Roebuck’s Grand Prix Greats includes Rosemeyer and Varzi - the latter is also featured in a reprinted article in another catch-all history book that I have.

In answer to Mr Capps, more depth is always welcome ultimately, but I was thinking that something similar to the Grand Prix Who’s Who for pre-1950 would fill a gap in the market (unless there is something of the sort) - as noted, this would amount to "race data/ information / statistics and canned/ brief bio of drivers". Are any of the titles above anywhere along those lines? Marque bios are useful, but of necessity won’t profile drivers who only raced for competitors.

Edited by subh, 25 September 2018 - 10:35.

[Vitesse2]

... I was thinking that something similar to the Grand Prix Who’s Who for pre-1950 would fill a gap in the market (unless there is something of the sort) - as noted, this would amount to "race data/ information / statistics and canned/ brief bio of drivers". Are any of the titles above anywhere along those lines? Marque bios are useful, but of necessity won’t profile drivers who only raced for competitors.

The two works which would go part-way towards that are Nick Georgano's Encyclopedia of Motor Sport (UK - Ebury Press/Michael Joseph 1971 ISBN 0718109554, USA - Viking 1971 ISBN 0670294055) and Robert Cutter & Bob Fendell's Encyclopedia of Auto Racing Greats (Prentice Hall 1973 ISBN 0132752069).

 

Both enormous doorstops of books. Cutter & Fendell does have an American bias, of course, but is still useful. The Georgano includes biographies of drivers and manufacturers and lots on the cars, circuits and races too.
 

[D-Type]

Don't forget Adriano Cimarosti's Complete History of Grand Prix Racing,  it was published in various editions, including one with "Camel" branding.  Mine is the 1997 edition ISBN 1-85410-500-0.  The book covers each year in 3-4 pages with a mix of technical details, race reports and driver biographies albeit somewhat restricted by the limitations of space.  As so-called "Complete histories" go this is one of the best as Cimarosti knows his subject.  

[Doug Nye]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions....
In answer to Mr Capps, more depth is always welcome ultimately, but I was thinking that something similar to the Grand Prix Who’s Who for pre-1950 would fill a gap in the market (unless there is something of the sort) - as noted, this would amount to "race data/ information / statistics and canned/ brief bio of drivers". Are any of the titles above anywhere along those lines? 

 

Short of buying books (what on earth am I saying?) take a look at Leif Snellman's wonderful website 'The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing' which can be found here: http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/ - dial up THE GOLDEN ERA...etc, then hit 'The Drivers' or 'The Cars' and there is much helpful and illuminating information available right there...

 

Best of luck with this search.

 

DCN

[DCapps]

Short of buying books (what on earth am I saying?) take a look at Leif Snellman's wonderful website 'The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing' which can be found here: http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/ - dial up THE GOLDEN ERA...etc, then hit 'The Drivers' or 'The Cars' and there is much helpful and illuminating information available right there...

 

Best of luck with this search.

 

DCN

 

There are not many things floating out there in the ether that are at the well and truly World Class Gold Star level, even besting the best of what is in print -- which is an accomplishment in of itself, but Leif's site is one of those rarities. If only others would follow his example....

[karlcars]

Holy mackerel, guys, there's a book that deals exactly with this topic.

 

I refer to Classic Grand Prix Cars - The Glorious Prehistory of Formula 1: 1906-1960 by none other than yours truly. It's available in a fresh version from Bentley Publishers.

 

The Racing Colours series of books about German, British, French and Italian racing are also edifying I reckon.

[rl1856]

"Karlcars" also wrote "Mercedes Benz Racing Cars", a detailed history of the racing side of MB history.  While marque specific there is a lot of detail regarding pre-WWII Grand Prix events, people, and technology.

 

Scuderia Ferrari is a good book encompassing all of Ferrari's history- including significant detail regarding Enzo's running of the Alfa factory racing team in the 30s.

 

WO Bentley's autobiography provides some pertinent information, but again is marque specific.

 

Rudi Caracciola's autobiography is very informative regarding this period.

[opplock]

I just googled Classic Grand Prix Cars and was surprised to see Poetry In Motion offered for £2,813.99 on Amazon UK. Makes the £130 I paid (not to Amazon) 6 months ago look a real bargain. 

[D-Type]

I just googled Classic Grand Prix Cars and was surprised to see Poetry In Motion offered for £2,813.99 on Amazon UK. Makes the £130 I paid (not to Amazon) 6 months ago look a real bargain. 

If a book is commanding silly money it means the initial print run was too small and a second edition,is called for.
If nothing is changed, should it be called a second edition or a second impression - or even simply a reprint?

Edited by D-Type, 06 November 2020 - 19:53.

[Henk Vasmel]

Another title that might be worth a look is L'Histoire De La Course Automobile 1894-1978 by Edmond Cohin. It includes races up to 1977, but the prewar races (first 300 pages of the book) are treated in much detail. It's in French and I thought it would be difficult to find, but a quick google showed several copies for less than 100 Euros, one at Ebay even for 20 Euro, which is excellent value. There seems to be an earlier edition (1965) which I haven't seen, so I cannot comment on that. I would guess for the period in question, the same sort of detail, though the later edition may have some corrections and additions.

My copy is rather worn, because the book is much too heavy for it's binding. Maybe others (some 40 years old by now) may suffer from the same condition. 

[Vitesse2]

If a book is commanding silly money it means the initial print run was too small and a second edition,is called for.
If nothing is changed, should it be called a second edition or a second impression - or even simply a reprint?

If it's just a straight reprint with no major additions or alterations then either reprint or second impression is an acceptable term, although the latter is seldom used nowadays. If there have been major alterations to the text, or it reappears under a different imprint (or from a completely different publisher), then it's a new edition - and in that case it should also have a different ISBN*. If there have been minor corrections (typos, small errors of fact) then the accepted form of words is 'reprinted (with corrections)'. But these days publishers tend to use the number line system, aka printer's key, to indicate the 'state of play', which isn't as obvious to the uninitiated.

 

* The vast majority of publishers follow this convention, with the biggest exception being Collins. Not sure if they still do it, but every time they changed the jacket design of their paperbacks they assigned a new ISBN, despite the text being identical. So for some fiction books which were on their list for many years, the same title could have five or six ISBNs - this applies especially to authors like Agatha Christie, Alistair Maclean and Hammond Innes - but it is also the case for some non-fiction. And there are some Penguin titles which have appeared in multiple series at various times, each with a different ISBN!

[Vitesse2]

I just googled Classic Grand Prix Cars and was surprised to see Poetry In Motion offered for £2,813.99 on Amazon UK. Makes the £130 I paid (not to Amazon) 6 months ago look a real bargain. 

That's an example of algorithms having 'gone rogue'. It's presumably matching against another bookseller whose stocks aren't listed on Amazon UK. There's a famous example here: Amazon’s $23,698,655.93 book about flies.

[FailedJourno]

If it's just a straight reprint with no major additions or alterations then either reprint or second impression is an acceptable term, although the latter is seldom used nowadays. If there have been major alterations to the text, or it reappears under a different imprint (or from a completely different publisher), then it's a new edition - and in that case it should also have a different ISBN*. If there have been minor corrections (typos, small errors of fact) then the accepted form of words is 'reprinted (with corrections)'. But these days publishers tend to use the number line system, aka printer's key, to indicate the 'state of play', which isn't as obvious to the uninitiated.

 

* The vast majority of publishers follow this convention, with the biggest exception being Collins. Not sure if they still do it, but every time they changed the jacket design of their paperbacks they assigned a new ISBN, despite the text being identical. So for some fiction books which were on their list for many years, the same title could have five or six ISBNs - this applies especially to authors like Agatha Christie, Alistair Maclean and Hammond Innes - but it is also the case for some non-fiction. And there are some Penguin titles which have appeared in multiple series at various times, each with a different ISBN!

Wow! Such impressive knowledge 

[Doug Nye]

Ahem - might a reprinted book be offered today as a 'Continuation' edition?

 

DCN

[68targa]

Ahem - might a reprinted book be offered today as a 'Continuation' edition?

 

DCN

Well it might be a replica with  all new parts 

[Vitesse2]

Ahem - might a reprinted book be offered today as a 'Continuation' edition?

 

DCN

Only if printed from the original plates.

[D-Type]

Ahem - might a reprinted book be offered today as a 'Continuation' edition?

 

DCN

Surely a 'Continuation' would be Volume 4 of a planned 5-Volume set.  

[Doug Nye]

OK - I should have kept my head down.

 

In answer to the original query, I learned the basics of GP racing and GP drivers pre-1950 from books by Rodney Walkerley, George Monkhouse, S.C.H. Davis, Barre Lyndon, Cyril Posthumus, Denis Jenkinson, Kent Karslake, and - of course - Gerald Rose.  I would endorse Adriano Cimarosti's history as a well detailed and digestible GP history.  Once you get into such initial research, then it's time to go for Pomeroy, and Setright etc.

 

But for zero investment in cash - merely in time - do take the advice offered earlier in this thread and take a long, long stroll through Leif Snellman's magnificent website, here:

 

http://www.kolumbus....ellman/main.htm

 

DCN

Edited by Doug Nye, 07 November 2020 - 22:56.

[Vitesse2]

Henk's mention of Cohin prompts me to suggest another French title - Christian Moity's well-illustrated Les Précurseurs de la Formule 1, published by ETAI in 2000. Copies available for about £35 and upwards.

[Roger Clark]

I would like to mention two books which are rarely mentioned here but are, in my opinion, absolute bargains. 
 

The first is The Racing Car, Design and Development by Cecil Clutton (1895-1915), Cyril Posthumus (1919-1933] and Denis Jenkinson (1934-1961], three authors you know you can rely on. Paperback copies are available for as little as £5. I first bought it in the 1960s and almost wore it out. I bought a second copy a few years ago and now keep the two in separate rooms so that one is always at hand. 
 

the second book is The Evolution of the Racing Car by Laurence Pomeroy. It features ten significant races from 1903 to 1937 with descriptions of the context, the cars and the races themselves. Copies are available for around £25. 
 

Neither book is much use if your interest is driver biographies but otherwise, I don’t think you would be disappointed. 

[FLB]

Henk's mention of Cohin prompts me to suggest another French title - Christian Moity's well-illustrated Les Précurseurs de la Formule 1, published by ETAI in 2000. Copies available for about £35 and upwards.

Les précurseurs is actually the sixth tome of a general Grand-Prix racing encyclopedia that Moity wrote for the 50th anniversary of the World Drivers' Championship in 2000.

 

I began reading Moity when he wrote historical pieces for L'automobile magazine. He, along with Serge Bellu, was one of those who got me hooked on the history of the sport. Co-creator of the 24h du Mans yearbooks, with Jean-Marc Teissedre. He died in 2017:

 

https://www.goodread...Christian_Moity

Edited by FLB, 08 November 2020 - 15:00.

[DCapps]

I bought my copy of L'Histoire De La Course Automobile 1894-1965 in 1967 at a bookstore in Manhattan (probably Gordon's, but it could have been one of the others near there).

 

I have long thought that the book or more likely the series of books that we need for this period has yet to be written. Nor do I expect to see such a book or series appear during my waning years, to be perfectly honest. The Paul Sheldon et. al. "Black Books" remain the baseline for the early  to mid-century years of Grand Prix racing as far as results go, along with Leif's incredible work. What is missing from almost all that is available is the proper attention to the infrastructure and "politics" of the sport, the context within which all this seems to have occurred. Richard and several others here -- and no longer here, alas -- deserve great credit for wading into that long-neglected miasma and archival morass.

 

Of course, it might be really helpful if someone actually created a historiography on this this topic. I once considered it, but other things beckoned.

[a_tifoosi]

Another title that might be worth a look is L'Histoire De La Course Automobile 1894-1978 by Edmond Cohin. It includes races up to 1977, but the prewar races (first 300 pages of the book) are treated in much detail. It's in French and I thought it would be difficult to find, but a quick google showed several copies for less than 100 Euros, one at Ebay even for 20 Euro, which is excellent value. There seems to be an earlier edition (1965) which I haven't seen, so I cannot comment on that. I would guess for the period in question, the same sort of detail, though the later edition may have some corrections and additions.

My copy is rather worn, because the book is much too heavy for it's binding. Maybe others (some 40 years old by now) may suffer from the same condition. 

 

Many thanks Henk .

 

The eBay copy is on its way to Spain for 28€ —postage included.

 

[Henk Vasmel]

Many thanks Henk .

 

The eBay copy is on its way to Spain for 28€ —postage included.

 

Glad to have helped you.