6 replies to this topic

[sandy]

I have just lost several hours work on this topic so if anyone knows how to recall text from whatever vast void these things slip away into please let me know.

 

Anyway here is a shortened attempt and is probably all the better for it.

 

The Australian Motor Sports magazine commenced in 1946 and ran until the late 1950s. A feature every month was a pen and ink illustration of a racing car under the heading of "Racing Cars through the Years." They were drawn by an illustrator, Bob Shepherd.

 

One day about - well I don't know - but my youngest son Peter was with me and he was about 11 or 12 and is now about 40 so it was quite some time ago and we were driving through the inner Melbourne suburb of Kew when I saw an ALFA 1750 parked outside an art gallery. I pulled up behind with the brief intention of showing Pete (young children can provide excuses for many activities) just what a wonder it was. But inside the gallery I could see very interesting things going on. What was actually happening was that the collection of the originals of Bob Shepherd's work was being sold off. The collection had become the property of Diana Gaze who had married Tony Gaze, an RAF ace and well known racing driver of the 195os.

 

More to come tomorrow :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0ng We went inside and came across the selling of the original Bob Shepherd illustrations. I bought the one illustration whi

[Ray Bell]

sandy, AMS continued to 1970, I'm sure I have the 1970 issues in my collection...

 

It was more of a regular car magazine by then, only major meetings getting a mention.

[Michael Ferner]

I have just lost several hours work on this topic so if anyone knows how to recall text from whatever vast void these things slip away into please let me know.

I feel with you! If I had all the hours back that I wasted on stuff that subsequently went into The Great Internet Void, I'd be 100 already.


Er, wait a minute...

[Ray Bell]

If what has happened is that you've accidentally highlighted some of your work and it's deleted, there is a saviour...

It must be done before you go on typing, however. You simply right click on the area where the type was and click on 'undo' and your words will reappear.

[sandy]

We entered the Gallery and without hesitation I looked for and found Bob's illustration of the 1912 Renault Grand Prix car. Paying an absurdly low price for it as well. I added to this a copy of the book of illustrations. Diana wrote a charming inscription for Peter inside the front cover.

 

We then left. Later that day I suddenly realised just what an opportunity i had here  but then found out that that the collection had been withdrawn from sale.

 

I later spoke to Tony of Tony Johns Car Books who must have been buying the collection's ERA at the same time as i was acquiring the Renault. Leaving as early as i did i missed the arrival of other parties who also had a certain interest in the illustrations, resulting in the sale being blocked. Later the collection was formally set up as just that - a collection, never to be split up again. However it is short of 2 cars. The magnificent book is still available.

 

So here is an example of successfully saving important motor racing history. 

 

To add to these sagas there was the time when I was given a copy of  the annual AUTOCOURSE1955. In this particular hard cover review there were

3 art board  inserts on which were printed a water color of a D type, a 300SLR and a 375+ Ferrari as well as some descriptive text in French. . I took one of the inserts, the 300SLR example to the Sandown circuit and had it autographed by Jack Brabham, Denis Hulme and John Surtees. When signing it Denis authoritively asserted that the insert was from a Mercedes Benz advertising brochure.

 

Is there a link between these three drivers - the "The Three Hard Men of Formula One" perhaps. DSJ described Brabham and Surtees as the two most "rugged" F1 drivers when they both entered into the last corner at Monza in the Italian Grand Prix won by Surtees on a Honda. What year was that?

 

 But the end result would have been more impressive if the inset had been left permanently in the review.

'

Edited by sandy, 15 February 2019 - 22:23.

[404KF2]

Control-Z will bring back lost text, if you inadvertently over-wrote it.

[Ray Bell]

1967 for Surtees and Brabham at Monza...

Add Alan Jones, Rene Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve to the list of 'hard men'.