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Collecting old racing magazines for research


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#1 Hans Etzrodt

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Posted 27 January 2002 - 10:48

On the occasion of my 1,000th post, I believe it is only fitting to start a new thread. As you probably all know, old racing magazines –a primary information source– are absolutely essential for doing even halfway decent research. Therefore I thought it interesting to learn what magazines everyone is collecting or which ones are already catching dust in your basement. Probably not everybody will have as large and diverse a collection as Tony Kaye has put together but in spite of that, please tell us what magazines you have and which ones you treasure. It does not matter in which form you have set up your collection, loose magazines in boxes or bound in hardcover, just photocopies of the magazine’s racing pages or if you did your copies with a digital camera. Please tell us about your collection and what you plan to do.

Since the majority of Grand Prix information with the onset of Formula 1 is easily available, I decided many years ago to collect books and magazines only up to 1950 and not further. So, all my old Motoring News (GB) up to the mid seventies and “Formula”, “On Track” and “Autoweek” (USA) from the early seventies to 1997 went in the garbage. My collection contains presently only German language magazines in form of photocopies of certain racing pages, which are Grands Prix and Mountain Climbs for racing cars. Everything is all bound in different color sets of metal-clip folders with a 13 mm or ½ inch spine, enough space to record the name and year of the magazine. This metal-clip feature enables me to easily pull any of the pages out of the stack when needed. I made my first copies in the mid eighties and have steadily improved on my efficiency, which culminated in a loot of around 1600 copies on my last trip, December 2000. Because I made all copies in Europe, the paper size is DIN A4 or double that for Newspaper size pages at 90% reduction mode. I have accumulated 46 folders, each averaging around 125 sheets of paper, which amounts to 5750 pages about auto racing history. My present collection forms a row, 90 cm or 3 feet long, of these clip folders and contains the following magazines:
  • Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung, Berlin: 1929-1939.
  • Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung, Wien [Vienna]: 1926-1927, 1929-1937.
  • AUTOMOBIL-REVUE, Bern: 1906, 1913-1917, 1920-1921, 1929-1931, 1935-1936, 1939-1940.
  • A-Z Motorwelt, Brünn, [Brno]: 1929-1937.
  • Das Auto, Freiburg: 1947-1950.
  • Der Motorwagen, Berlin: 1898-1929 [extracts only] [Dr. Peter Kirchberg, Das Beste aus: Der Motorwagen, Part 1 & 2.]
  • ILLUSTRIERTE AUTOMOBIL-REVUE, Bern: 1922-1934.
  • Motorpost, Berlin?: 1936-1937, 1939.
  • MOTOR und SPORT, Pössneck: 1925-1940.
  • Motorwelt (DDAC), München: 1935-1938.
I am now getting ready for new research this coming March because I obtained an affordable flight to Germany. I plan to look through magazines of the twenties and forties. In case I have time left, I will also add the years 1907-1913. This time I have to prepare really good, since I will begin a new chapter in my collection. I will start taking pictures of the magazine racing pages –the ones I want to keep– with a digital camera. The library I am going to visit, does not permit to make photocopies of magazines 75 years and older. The problem they are fighting with is that the paper of some of these old magazines has become rather brittle and therefore pages are easily torn accidentally when turning over the magazines at the copier or just leafing carelessly through the bound magazines. Therefore they don’t allow copying these oldies on their machines but one is allowed to resort to digital cameras. My goal is to use my new digital camera to capture 2000 plus racing pages in nine days to beat my record of 1600 copies from December 2000.

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#2 Vitesse2

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Posted 27 January 2002 - 14:01

Hans: allow me to extend my congratulations on your 1000th post - if anyone on this forum deserves the accolade "Golden Member", it is most assuredly you. :D

A small contribution to this putative library: I have recently acquired a complete run of "Old Motor" (second incarnation), which became " Classic and Sports Car" - which also came as part of the deal!
Or, to put it another way, over 20 years of historic writing by authors like Nye, Posthumus, Moss and many others. Not original sources of course, but excellent reading! :up:

#3 Ray Bell

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Posted 27 January 2002 - 19:13

I can just picture Hans sitting on the balcony over the beach, computer at his side and a coconut milk and pineapple drink in his hand...

What a task you have undertaken, Hans... but I guess you really want to know what we others have and are looking for?

Well, in my case I have very little. Racing Car News 1963 to 1983 plus a smattering to 1986.

Motor Racing Australia, most issues 1996 to date.

Australian Motor Sport, 1946 to 1950 (looking for more of these...)

English Motor Sport, most from 1992 to present, plus a smattering back to 1960 or so. My own collection began in August, 1962 but was destroyed a few years ago.

Sports Car World (Australian), many copies from 1960 to 1974/5

English Motor Racing, 39 assorted issues from 1955 to 1961 (a real prize, this lot...)

Odd Sports Car Graphics, Road & Tracks and Car and Drivers from 60s and 70s... again, my own collections from 1962 forward were destroyed. Latter day R & Ts I have in series from about 1990, but the bulk of the last decade my son has been obtaining them for me in America and neglects to send them on... one day I'll get a pile of them!

The National Newsletter of the Historic Racing Register, Australia... issue No 154 onwards (during which time I have done the production and most of the editing), plus most issues back to the beginning.

#4 karlcars

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Posted 27 January 2002 - 19:27

Hans, I have greatly enjoyed your contributions and comments. Thanks for this very useful rundown on your holdings.

Heartiest congratulations on your thousandth post! :clap:

#5 Frank de Jong

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Posted 27 January 2002 - 19:51

Congratulations Hans!
My magazine collection consists of mostly German magazines, like sport auto, AMS and rallye racing, period roughly 1973-2001. Dutch Autovisie 1969-1971, 1984-2001, Autorensport 1977-finish, Belgian Auto en Sport 1987-somewhere in the 90's, Grand Prix international 1983-finish. Competition car 1972-1975.
My wife sure would like a little more space in "our" bookcase in the attic. So, if those magazines one day would be available on CD, she would be happy...

#6 David McKinney

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Posted 27 January 2002 - 22:19

UK
Motor Sport: 1944-76 complete and bound; more or less complete from c1988 but lots missing between
Autosport: 1950-84 complete, 1985-86 incomplete, 1987-1991 complete, not many since
Autocourse: 1951-58 complete (apart from two missing copies)
Motor Racing: 26 copies 1954-68
Motor Racing (the other one) : 1985-86 complete
Motoring News: 1964-82 - five complete years and missing only a few most other years
Sports Car & Lotus Owner: 19 copies 1957-68, 1959 complete
Autocar: 1938-1959 - only two complete years but most other years missing only 1-2 copies; several later copies
Motor: 225 loose copies 1936-61 (mostly 1958-61) and a few later
Sports Cars Illustrated: 3 copies 1957-59
Cars Illustrated: 9 copies 1960-65
Cars & Car Conversions: 9 copies 1965-69
Small Car: 3 copies 1964-65
Car: 4 copies 1966-71
Classic & Sportscar: most copies since 1968
Supercar Classics: most
Historic Race & Rally: complete
Historic Motor Racing: complete
Historic Motor Racing News : complete 1994-date
miscellaneous other titles

French/German/Italian
a handful of each of numerous titles

USA
Formula/Race Car: 7 copies 1977, complete 1978-79, 6 copies 1980
Autoweek: 1979 and 1980 complete; most other copies 1975-82 and a few before and since
Victory Lane: complete late 80s/early 90s
miscellaneous others

Australia
Australian Motor Sports: 1946-62 complete, all but one 1963, a few later
Sports Cars & Specials: 2 copies 1956-57
Sports Car World: complete 1958-63 except for 7 copies; some earlier, some later
Sports Car World Quarterly: 6 copies 1980-83
Modern Motor: 1956-61 complete but for 5 copies, a few earlier and later
Wheels: 39 copies 1953-63
Racing Car News: 1975-79 complete; most copies 1966-74, a few early 80s
Chequered Flag: 1974-84 complete except for 3 copies
Cars and Drivers Australia: complete set - 1975?
Australian Auto Action: 1976-78 and 1980 complete; most other copies 1974-82, a few earlier and a few later
Australian Motor Racing: almost complete 1981-82
miscellaneous other titles

New Zealand
Sports Car: complete 1948-50
Motorman: complete 1963-77
Autonews: 1968-74 complete
Motoring News International: complete set 1971/72
Motoraction/NZ Motoring News: 1973-85 complete, most others to 1991
approx 30 others 1956-72

NOTE In case anyone is wondering why, with such an archive, I don’t answer every TNF question raised, I should point out that most of my collection is in storage 12,000 miles away.

#7 Don Capps

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Posted 28 January 2002 - 04:16

First of all, a belated congratulations Hans on reaching the 1K mark! Well done!

Second, somewhere in my computer-hopping I have lost the disk I had started to in an effort to re-do my serial database. I have lots of odds and ends, but I really do need to get it organized again. The next move coming up is the Last Move. I have some issues of Road and Track back to 1950 and many from when it became R&T up until I stopped subscribing after 30/35/40+ years, an issue of Sports Car from 1948 plus some from the 1950-1953 period, lots of Sports Car Illustrated/ Car and Drive all the way back to Vol. 1 No. 2, lots of SCG, MotorSport, Autosport, and so forth and so on -- all currently in heaps about my cottage. Plus, all of On Track, most of Formula/Racecar, and no end of other "stuff" such as the Autocar I bought after seeing Peter Collins win at Spa in 1956.....

#8 rdrcr

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Posted 28 January 2002 - 04:39

Hans, congratulations on your 1,000th post... unlike many who attain that figure, your contributions are a good deal more substantive post after post... I've enjoyed reading... thanks.

There are some fairly significant collections among our contributors.

It's too bad I've thrown out what was a great collection of Road & Track, C & D and some modeling mags along with a few Sports Car Graphics. Some, spanning a decade or more... This tragedy from the urgings of a grandparent who thought I was going to be a garage mechanic because of my obsessed interest in cars...

Perhaps when I have the time, means and the space, I'll start to rebuild my collection. I think that the fine gift from Don would be a great start for 1957 R & T's

I'd say those periodicals are a great time machine to each and every era. Their use for results and thoughts of the day must indispensable.

I also notice another distinguished contributor approaching this coveted mark of 1,000 posts... keep up the great work David.

#9 FEV

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Posted 28 January 2002 - 05:43

Hans, let me add my congratulations for your 1000th post ! Like it's been said before, your 1000 posts are all worth reading - no PC/RC blah blah blah !

Regarding my magazines collection, well real far from being as impressive as you guys ! I am in the process of expanding it, but so far :
- French GPI 1979-1984
- Sport Auto 1973-1977 and 1988-1992
- Auto Hebdo 1987-2001
That's all the "vintage" stuff for which I have complete years. Besides these I have around 500 copies of various publications (R&T, Autosport, MotorSport, Champion, l'Automobile, Sport Auto, Car & Driver, Motoring News, Auto Hebdo, Racer 1998-2001, Rombo, Autosprint, Course Auto Magazine, etc...), the oldest being from 1959 (thanks again Don :) !).

And about 200 of recent magazines about Racing History : Historic Racing (remember that one around 1994 ?), MotorSport, Auto-Passion, Automobiles Historiques (first version 1998, only a handful came out) and its new format since 2000, Motorsport Collector, Auto-Retro, Retro-Passion, Gazoline, La Vie de l'Auto, etc...
Around 200/250 about motorcycling (including Moto Journal complete years of 1970, 1983-86).

#10 fines

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Posted 01 February 2002 - 18:55

Congrats, Hans!

Is there an envy smiley? I mean, preferably a green one with steam arising! :lol: My magazine collection starts in 1946 only, I would give parts of my right arm along with a considerable slice of my earnings for earlier magazines! On second thought, the money should do - I think I could do without being the Archie Scott-Brown of Motorsport historians... [ah, bad pun! pfui!]

I'm also envious because my Autosport collection starts in 1995 only! It seems I missed the best years completely! :( They're currently asking me to renew my subscription, and I can't help but wondering if it's of any worth! Then again, Motorsport aktuell is getting worse and worse as well, so what am I going to read then? I still need a mag for contemporary racing...

#11 Paul Hartshorne

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Posted 02 February 2002 - 08:34

Congratulations Hans! At my current rate of posting I'll reach Golden Member status in about 17 years or so; something to look forward to I guess!

I collect Grand Prix race programmes, which are always of historical interest due to the entry lists, especially as the more obscure ones (and entries that Did Not Appear) pique my curiosity.

Does anyone on TNF collect Iota the 500 Club magazine? If so, can you answer these questions for me:
What was the date of the 1st issue?
What was the date of the final issue?
Was it always A5-ish size, or did later issues go larger?

Cheers,
Paul

#12 Milan Fistonic

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Posted 02 February 2002 - 19:40

NEW ZEALAND
Motorman: complete 1963-77 (63-71 bound) plus 12 of the earlier cyclostyled copies
Autonews: complete 1967-74
Wide Wheels/Driver: complete 1969-72
New Zealand Car: 1986-96 complete
New Zealand Classic Car: complete Jan 1991 - date
Driver Magazine: complete Sep 94 - date
Motorama: (Eoin Young wrote for this mag when he was still a bank clerk in Timaru)
Sports Car: complete 1948-50 plus one 1946 copy of NZ Sports Car Club Bulletin
New Zealand Classic Wheels/Auto Nostalgia: complete 1993-97 (the editor of this mag was locked up for using a shoe-mounted mini-video camera to take pictures up women’s skirts!)
Race & Rally Driver: complete 1995-96
Road Race & Rally: complete 2 copies
Motospecs Review: 1939-59 approx 160 copies
The Motor Sportsman/Motorsport Review: 1956-64 23 copies (put out by the NZIGP)
Wheelspin: 1953-64 3 copies
Motorway: 1957 4 copies
NZ Edition Motoring News International: complete Jul 72 – Mar 73
New Zealand Motorsport: complete 1970-71
Motoraction / NZ Motoring News / NZ Auto News / Auto News & NZ Car / NZ Autocar: complete 1973-96 then odd copies
Beaded Wheels: No 50 to No 250, 4 copies missing
Sports Car Talk: 8 copies
Autosport Australia-New Zealand: 1986-87, 7 of 8 copies
New Zealand Speedsport: complete Feb 1990 – date
Auckland Car Club Bulletins: 1964 – date
The New Zealand Motor World: one copy, Vol 1 No 4, June 13, 1936
New Zealand’s Modern Motoring: one copy July 1948

Australia
Racing Car News: 1965-67 23 copies, 1968-1990 complete except for a few around 85 & 86
Wheels: 1957-1993 mostly complete, a few earlier and later
Modern Motor: 1957-1993 mostly complete, missing a few from the mid-sixties
Sports Car World: complete 1957-1975
Sports Car World Quarterly: complete 1976-1986 plus 4 from 1989-90
Australian Motor Sports: complete years 48, 48, 50, 55, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, apart from 52 & 53 most other early years nearly complete, 1965-71 patchy
Chequered Flag/Road & Track: 1974-1989 almost complete
Australian Motor Racing: 1981-85 complete
Australian Auto Sportsman: 1961-71 40 copies
Cars / Cars Today: 1954-57 20 copies
Sports Cars & Specials: 1956-57 9 copies
Cars & Drivers Australia: complete 1977 3 copies (Barry Lake’s mag)
Australian & Overseas Motoring Reporter: 1979 4 copies
Australian Motoring News: 1969-74 63 copies
Auto Action: No 7 (1971) – 808 (1998) nearly complete from late 1979
Motorsport News: 1993-date complete
Restored Cars: No 1 (1973) – No 53 (1983), 43 copies
Australian Rallysport News: 1992 – 1999, 33 copies
Car Australia (The new Motor Manual): 1986 – 1990 complete plus one later
The Best Car Magazine / Australian Sports Driver / Best Car & Sports Driver: approx 25 copies
Australian Classic Car: 1993 – date, 44 copies
Australian Sports & Classic Cars: 1988-95, 9 copies
GP Quarterly: 1986 – 87, Nos 1,2 & 3
Prix Editions: 1987 – 89, 4 copies
Motor Racing Australia: 1999 – date, 20 copies
Road Test Annuals: approx 50-60
Sports Car Specials: Full set of 9
Sports Car Road Tests: 11 of 12
World’s Fastest Sports Cars: 10 of 11
Number One Motor Sports Magazine Australia: 2 copies
Go Car: 2 copies


UK
Autocourse & Sporting Motorist: 15 copies
Sporting Motorist: 1959-67 21 copies
Sports Cars Illustrated: 1957-59 3 copies
Cars Illustrated: 1959-62 5 copies
Autosport: 1951 (Vol 2 & 3) Bound, 1952-61 almost complete, 1962-76 patchy, 1977-80 almost complete, 1981-Aug 2001 complete. Then I didn’t renew my subscription.
Cars & Car Conversions: 1967-73 31 copies, 1974-81 complete, 1982-90 25 copies
Classic & Sports Car: complete 1982-date
Competition Car International: 1972-75 21 copies
GP International: 1979-1986 80 copies
Motoring News: 1961-65 19 copies, 1966-82 complete less 7 copies, 1983-84 approx half, 1985-88 20 copies, 1989-90 approx 60 copies
Motor Racing: 1954-70 117 copies
Sports Car: 1962-66 14 copies
Motor Sport: 1944 one copy, 1949 missing 3, 1950 missing 3, 1951 missing 1, 1952-2002 complete
Small Car: 1963-65 15 copies
Car: 1965-90 103 copies
Supercar Classics: 1987-91 missing 3
Thoroughbred & Classic Cars: 1973-87 complete, 1988-date 55 copies
Rallysport: 2 copies
F1Racing: Mar 1996-Jan 2001 complete
Historic Racing: 1994-95 6 copies complete
Historic Race & Rally: 1992-93 6 copies complete
Car Classics: 1992 issues 1, 5 & 8
Motor Sport Collector: 1998-2000 7 of 11
Collectors Car: 1979-81 all but one
Old Motor: 1978-82 34 copies
Automobile Sport: Nov 82-Jun 83 5 copies
Autocar & The Motor: early 50s to 80s approx 450 copies
Modern Motoring & Travel: Jan 64 (Jack Brabham road tests a Hillman Husky!)

USA
Auto Racing: 1966-71 20 copies
Car & Driver: 1959-1983 mostly complete missing approx 20, a few from later
Car Life: 1964 8copies, 1965-68 complete, 1969-70 14 copies
Motor Trend: 1961 1 copy, 1964-69 nearly complete, 1970-81 odd copies
Road & Track: May 55- Dec 62 complete and bound, 1963-83 nearly complete, 1984-2000 odd copies
Sports Car Graphic: 1963 2 copies, 1964 6 copies, 1965-69 complete less 3 copies, 1970-71 10 copies
Hot Rod: approx 100 copies from 60s and 70s
Autoweek: 1977-81 41 copies
Victory Lane: 1990-98 62 copies
Floyd Clymer’s Auto Topics: 1965-67 18 copies
Various copies of Speed Age, US Autosports, Sports Car, Racer, On Track, Motor Life, Today’s Motor Sports, Formula and Racecar.

I also have Time magazines of Aug 31, 1981 with Gilles Villeneuve on the cover and Jul 9, 1965 with Jim Clark on the cover. Also Newsweek of Feb 7, 1966 with Jim Hall (Chaparral) on the cover and a Lilliput magazine from February 1959 with Mike Hawthorn on the cover.

Plus dozens of one-offs from various countries.

And this week I bought the first copy of a new New Zealand magazine titled Tarmac.


#13 Roger Clark

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Posted 02 February 2002 - 20:23

Originally posted by Paul Hartshorne
Congratulations Hans! At my current rate of posting I'll reach Golden Member status in about 17 years or so; something to look forward to I guess!

I collect Grand Prix race programmes, which are always of historical interest due to the entry lists, especially as the more obscure ones (and entries that Did Not Appear) pique my curiosity.

Does anyone on TNF collect Iota the 500 Club magazine? If so, can you answer these questions for me:
What was the date of the 1st issue?
What was the date of the final issue?
Was it always A5-ish size, or did later issues go larger?

Cheers,
Paul


I haven't got any copies of the magazine, but I have got a small book featuring reprints of articles. It appears that the first issue was in April 1947 and the last in the spring of 1953.

#14 Don Capps

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Posted 02 February 2002 - 22:22

I am finally in the process of beginning to depart the (aptly named) Pine Barrens of the (equally aptly named) Garden State for my return to the banks of the Potomac in the world known as Northern Virginia and Place known as Inside The Beltway....

....which means it will be weeks before I can sort out exactly what materials I have in the way of older magazines and so forth (having lost the dumb disk with my serial database on it) until probably late March or early April.

I am slowly trying to replace many of the magazines I have lost over the years, but it is slow going and awfully expensive it seems. However, I keep plugging away at it....

One scheme I am hatching in the back of my mind is "MoRRIE" -- the "Motor Racing Research Information Exchange," something like an information cooperative for motor racing research. Wait a minute! Don't we already have the first phase of that? Isn't it called the Nostalgia Forum? :lol:

Actually, what I am thinking about is exactly along the lines of what Hans, David, and Milan -- as examples, have done: provide a listing what materials they have to others so that should another research know of an article that is in a particular magazine that they could try someone on MoRRIE first to get that information. Just an extension of what we are already doing on TNF.

Hans has really nailed the real problem: the early "stuff." I would give lots for copy of what Phil Harms has on early American racing......

#15 fines

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Posted 05 February 2002 - 20:21

40s:

DER MOTORSPORT (bi-weekly): 1948/17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 1949/7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20
DAS AUTO (bi-weekly): 1946/1, 1948/10, 1949/2, 7, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

50s:

DAS AUTO (MOTOR UND SPORT) (bi-weekly): practically complete

60s:

DAS AUTO (MOTOR UND SPORT) (bi-weekly): 1960, 1961 and 1962 complete
Powerslide (monthly): 1963 to 1969 complete

70s:

Powerslide (monthly): 1970 and 1971 complete
sport auto (monthly): 1974 to 1979 complete
rallye racing (monthly): 1974 to 1979 complete
Motorsport aktuell (weekly): 1978/41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52, 1979 complete

#16 beyondnascar

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Posted 06 February 2002 - 23:47

1000 post! WOW! I am always looking for scans of articles or photos of Swede Savage.

#17 Hans Etzrodt

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Posted 17 February 2002 - 21:00

Lately my thoughts have been very much with my planned visit to the Technical Library of the Deutsches Museum in München and therefore it came as no surprise to me that I had a dream the other night of the most unusual experience anyone could imagine. As you all know this place keeps in their book cases tons and tons of rather old and also newer magazines.

In the dream, I approached the check out counter to order some magazines where a uniformed American librarian commanded the desk and his German had a heavy American twang. His business cards on the counter read Oberst Von Kapps, which reminded me of someone else. The Oberst told me that he used to be with the US Army but had retired to do some long-planned racing research in a large library. When I asked about magazines from the early 1900’s, he immediately guided me in military-like efficiency to a nearby office in the right rear of the second reading hall. There I met with the specialist for this matter, Frank Verplakken, a young, very friendly French historian who handed me his business card, which just read FBV. After receiving invaluable good information from him, I asked if they carried also old British magazines in this library, whereupon

Frank led me to an office where the man in charge could hardly speak German but perfect English with a lovely accent. He introduced himself simply as Vikresse, the 2nd and explained that he was related to the late Viscount Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, in the second generation of the fourth line. Whatever exactly that meant, I could never figure out but this relationship sounded rather important and impressed me immensely. Vikresse, the 2nd said that he had also discovered strong evidence indicating that he somehow was also related to the Vitesse and great journalist Rodnald Walkerclay. Vikresse was indeed very knowledgeable and at the same time also extremely friendly and laughing in a continuous effort. He guided me through a green side door, decorated with a large Kiwi bird, into an adjoining computer room and introduced me to David Mac Kindly, who together with Milano Fistonico occupied themselves establishing an interlibrary link to New Zealand, where they had in storage two incredulously large international magazine collections, some of the magazines never heard of in Europe.

Later, in the main reading hall I very briefly met the world famous gray-haired gentleman, Karl von Ludwigstown, visiting here from London. His working table was stacked with piles of magazines and books, amongst which he studied about the Auto Union racing cars of the thirties for an upcoming book, he told me. Not far away sat a man from Southern California, named racdrr who was trying to find the beginnings of the Targa Florio and was feverishly searching for technical details about the Ferrari P3/P4 sports racing car. On the next table I found Frank von der Tong, who had come all the way from Amsterdam to search about touring car information for his ever growing website. Then all of a sudden a smiling man, carrying a picturesque Lobthal magazine under his arm, approached me and said, “Hay maite! My name is Bay Rell.” He then told me that he just recently received his re-entry visa back, which had been denied too long for political reasons. He was searching desperately for an outlet to plug in his laptop computer so he could send his already overdue daily quota of 13 posts to the various Atlas Formula 1 Forums.

At lunchtime I entered the adjoining cafeteria where a very tall young man at the table smilingly invited me to join the happy group. He said that he was Fine and that he had driven all the way from Bitsburg, without crashing into anything. He told me that he had come here to meet the great 'Austrailian' book collector Larry Bake, who disappointingly never showed up. I told Fine that I had also hoped to meet several people here like Silver Alexandro from Rome, Left Shellman from Kalastajantorpanajo near Helsinki, señor Felixuelas from Gibraltar, Raindeer Nyderburg and Mattias Diepenraand, collectors of unidentifiable photographs, Kony Taye , a magazine expert from the Americas and Marckork from Belgium, a frequent library visitor. Also at our table sat Haul Partshome in a green Lotus T-shirt and he divulged to us that years ago he used to drive the Lotus lorry and shuttle the factories Formula 1 cars from race to race. The third guy introduced himself as Clark Rogers who had only some reprinted articles in a book, which he carried with him but wanted to find out now what it was all about those old racing magazines hiding in the various libraries. Then the Fräulein brought the Leberknödelsuppe with some Pumpernikkel in the basket. We had Löwenbräu Märzenbräu and Liebfrauenmilch-Kräuterbeeren-Spätauslese for the wine drinkers. Finally they served the main meal, Schweinsleberschnitzel mit Sauerkraut und Bratkartoffeln. "Mmmm, das scheckt gut," said Fine from Bitsburg! "Bitte ein Bit!"

Suddenly a happily smiling Bay Rell appeared, and unveiled to us his latest video clip on his laptop: it showed him at his daily exercise program, climbing up a four-step ladder without pants and coming down smiling all over the face and this in continuous never ending style. All in all, it was a rather remarkable and very unusual dream.

#18 Felix Muelas

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Posted 17 February 2002 - 23:33

Hans

For once, I´m speechless.

:clap: :clap: :clap:

Felix

#19 Vitesse2

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Posted 17 February 2002 - 23:50

Originally posted by Felix Muelas
Hans

For once, I´m speechless.

:clap: :clap: :clap:

Felix


Me too :blush: :blush: :clap: :clap:

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#20 FEV

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Posted 18 February 2002 - 01:04

So am I ! :clap: :D :up: :clap: :D :up: :clap: :D :up:

#21 Wolf

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Posted 18 February 2002 - 01:14

Bravoo- great stuff, Hans! :)

BTW, how come they don't have those magazines 'revitalized'? I have heard thet there are few plants in Germany specialized in restoration of the printed material (apparently, the deposition of acid causes paper to become brittle, and they can exract it w/o damaging the print... Maybe You should suggest them to do so, to allow those materials to be preserved for another 75 years. :)

#22 Ray Bell

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Posted 18 February 2002 - 12:19

I have to agree... very good, Hans!

That I am smiling so much is a bit of a worry however....

....lucky man, doesn't know what I've been through the past week!....

#23 Stefan Ornerdal

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Posted 18 February 2002 - 16:35

What a nice dream, Hans!
:clap:
Wish I was there.

My dream is to have all (hundreds) of magazines I throw away when moving in to a girl in the early 70's.

Like most of you I have many Motor Sport and Autosport, also some Italian Autosprint and german SportAuto. And many Swedish "Illustrerad Motorsport" and "Bilsport".My collection is slowly increasing, thanks to Simon Lewis' Bookstore.

I know where to find swedish "Racing", the only mag here in Sweden in the 50's. Just can't afford them right now.

Stefan

#24 fines

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Posted 18 February 2002 - 16:45

lol: :lol: :lol: ... remarkable and unusual dream... Yes INDEED! :lol: :lol: :lol:

#25 Don Capps

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Posted 18 February 2002 - 18:23

Actually, it would have been like de Capet, last of the German/French Lutherans -- or even Kapozinski/Kappelmeister (...last of the German/Polish Lutherans...) depending on wherever the border was that year; besides, we were from far too humble a place in the pecking order to have a "von".....

However, I did almost hurt myself laughing when I read it.....and you got the accent correct!

#26 Hans Etzrodt

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Posted 30 March 2002 - 02:55

While in Germany, I was able to spend 66 hours in the library of the Deutsche Museum München, returning with over 2,500 DIN A4 photo copies for almost €400.00 and over 470 pictures with my digital camera, the latter at no cost.

I am now searching for a person in Wien (Vienna) who has access to the Main Library of Wien where they should keep the Allgemeine Automobil Zeitung (Wien). I know there was someone who had visited the Bibliothek but I forgot who it was. Please contact me here or e-mail me at hans@pixi.com. :)

#27 Vitesse2

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Posted 05 April 2002 - 22:21

Just to add a little more to the virtual magazine library, I've just acquired (for a criminally small amount of money :) ) a complete run of Motor Sport from 1951 to 1991, plus a few issues back to 1949.

#28 fines

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Posted 06 April 2002 - 08:18

Bira, can we have an envy smiley? Preferably a green one, as that's the colour of my face right now...

#29 Vitesse2

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Posted 06 April 2002 - 10:56

Just wait till Frank tells you what I found for him .... :)

Plus, I have a lead on quite a lot more interesting stuff - just waiting for a list from the vendor ...

#30 FEV

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Posted 06 April 2002 - 12:13

:D for another "criminally small amount of money" :) I am now the proud owner of a complete set of MotorSport 1954-2000. :D Many many thanks again Richard for having found this wonderful bargain :up: and for all you help !

#31 fines

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Posted 06 April 2002 - 13:04

Posted Image

#32 ensign14

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Posted 06 April 2002 - 13:43

Originally posted by fines
Posted Image


ditto

#33 Hans Etzrodt

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Posted 06 April 2002 - 17:14

Huuu!?? Oh my! Holy %*&#!!!
Probably an invasion from Mars? :confused: :confused: :confused:

#34 Don Capps

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Posted 08 April 2002 - 17:01

I am preparing for a series of visits to the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution to look at the material in their Road Transportation Library. I will probably wait until this Summer to begin since I have just ordered six reels of microfilm from Gordon White on the AAA Contest Board records and will have to sort through them first. At the NMAH, they have the following journals available to researchers which I am very interested in looking at:

Automobile (1899 -- 1919)
Horseless Age (1895 -- 1918)
Motor Age (1908 -- 1950)

I also plan to check out the NY Public Library and the Transportation Collection at the Detroit Public Library after seeing what is at the NMAH.

Also considering getting the microfilm of Speed Age and NSSN from Gordon -- but that willl have to wait....

#35 Hans Etzrodt

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Posted 08 April 2002 - 21:01

Don,
I am definitely interested in the three magazine runs at the Smithsonian. If you can find out and let me know about possible access to those magazines, either over the internet or if on micro film can I borrow them through inter-library exchange? If still kept as bound magazines, can they be copied and do they allow me also to take pictures of each page with a digital camera? And if so, do they have electrical outlets for camera and possible lamp or computer? Any leads showing possible access to magazines are always welcome in my waters – of the tropical Pacific. :)

#36 Patrick Italiano

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Posted 09 April 2002 - 09:40

Hans,
are you sure that the tropical sea water doesn't make any harm to old papers? :lol:

For everyone's information, an outstanding source for italian old motoring magazines is the Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia museum in Turin (I)

http://www.museoauto.org/

if you ask them to copy for you, they can do it but, as often, at a very expensive rate (something over $5 a page, I've been said). But if you go there, you can either copy yourself at less than $0.10 or bring your laptop and scanner and scan as much as you want for free.
The two responsible women, Dottoressa Biffignandi and Dottoressa Massetta, in charge of the archive are as competent as they are kind with visiting people. :up:

#37 Hans Etzrodt

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Posted 09 April 2002 - 10:27

Originally posted by Patrick Italiano
Hans,
are you sure that the tropical sea water doesn't make any harm to old papers? :lol: .....

Patrick,
Luckily I have rather fresh photo copies, therefore no brittle paper. Additionally, with my digital camera I can now take pictures of all the pages I want to keep and then burn those onto a CD with a self made index of course. So, if it all works out like I imagine, I will eventually end up with all my magazines on CD. If others will catch on with the same method, we will then be able to trade and exchange old magazines this way. One year of a magazine per CD. Any potential traders out there? :)

#38 Don Capps

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Posted 09 April 2002 - 12:59

Hans,

One of life's mysteries is that so few research tools in motor sports -- such as the two Pomeroy GP car volumes -- are in an electronic format, such as on a CD-ROM. Indeed, few even seem to be on microfilm -- Speed Age and National Speed Sport News being among the few that I know about and if I had the $$$$$ to invest could purchase.

Your approach to the problem by using a digital camera to record data is one that makes a lot of sense. I first saw this technique in action when I dropped by the archives in South Carolina back about two years ago. I was fascinated since it was such a blinding flash of the obvious. I had earlier seen people lugging their scanners into the research area and scanning materials -- which looked like a real logistical nightmare to me. In his work in the marine biology field, my son says they use a digital camera slaved to a notebook computer for some the work they do on the boats. He says it allows them to avoid some of the usual digital camera problems such as focus, storage, and batteries dying on you.

I am looking forward to seeing what you generate. You now have me looking at converting much of what I have on paper to an electronic format. This would allow me to scan and send you anything I dredge up at the Smithsonian or elsewhere.

#39 Patrick Italiano

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Posted 09 April 2002 - 13:42

Hans and Don,

Yes, I agree that today's digital cameras make sense, but I wonder if you can then use the pics you copied that way for republishing.
Actually, during my visit to the Turin Biscaretti museum, I photocopied all the pages I could, but also scanned the interesting pictures in a good resolution TIFF format to allow tham to be used to illustrate printed articles with what we found.
And, yes, it's a logistical pain, but not to such an extent. One afternoon allowed to scan more than one hundred pics.

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#40 Chico Landi

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Posted 09 April 2002 - 15:55

Hello Hans,

Currently I'm in Brazil, but I'll be back in Vienna in two weeks time. Just tell me what you need and I can try to find in the National Bibliothek there...


Regarding the topic, I've just bought some editions of the 60's from "Quatro Rodas", a kind of brazilian version of "AutoRevue". Very nice coverage of local motorsport, bringing much of Emerson's early career. If there's any other brazilian that have at home some of these (4 rodas from the 60's), please contact me as soon as possible (while I'm still here)...

e-mail to: faster.gh@bol.com.br

Thanks!

#41 Hans Etzrodt

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Posted 09 April 2002 - 18:03

Chico,
I would really appreciate if you could find out the following about the Library in Wien.
1 - Full name, address and phone number of the library plus their opening hours.
2 - Do they have "Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung (Wien) and if so which years?
3 - More specifically, do they have the year 1928 bound?
4 - Can they make photo copies from this year or do they only allow photography, due to poor condition of the magazines?
5 - Do they have electrical outlets for camera or laptop, just in case? (I do have batteries and chargers)
6 - Any nearby hotels with reasonable rates accepting poor (money-wise) Hawaiian's are welcome information. :)

#42 Chico Landi

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Posted 09 April 2002 - 18:34

My pleasure, Hans!

Anyway, I think you can already find some answers for your questions if you browse their website (www.onb.ac.at). They have a katallog section with a search engine, and this may be useful for you.
I'll contact you when I'm in Wien...

#43 Hans Etzrodt

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Posted 10 April 2002 - 02:14

Don,
There is quite a bit of work involved in taking pictures. Let's exclude the time it takes reading through a years stack of magazines and marking all pages to be copied onto paper strips, inserting them at the appropriate pages. Equal time is needed whether you plan to do photo copies or digital pictures.

Next, you have to set up the camera to a tripod on the table, do adjustments and hook up your electrics takes also about 10-15 minutes. I did my camera work always first thing, when hardly a soul was around. The library opened at 9:00 AM and I began shooting at 9:12, the earliest. I wanted to be finished before noon time because then the sun came through the window, throwing shadows of the window frame dividers onto my table. No place to move, etc., etc. I also did not want to change light conditions, not knowing the effect of it on the pictures, since this is all new to me.

You have to write down what you are doing, because later –when you have time– you got to sort it all out again and you better have notes to help you. Some pages come without page numbers, issue number or magazine name. So you better take notes right away, all the time, to avoid having a real mess later on. My average was 60 pictures an hour and the best going were 100 pics/hr, which even included a change & setup of a new 128 MB Compact Flash Card (from SanDisk, which deliver very reliable good quality memory). I did not carry a laptop with me, since I do not have one yet. Instead I bought several Compact Flash Cards, which I got on the Internet for a decent amount.

A good thing for speeding up shooting pics is to first do all pages on the left side of the magazine (as an example: page 2, 4, 10, 12, 14, 16, 28, 30, 32, 38, 46) then turn the bound magazines or your camera on the tripod and take pictures of the magazine's right (so here the other pages you wanted copied: 1, 3, 5, 11, 13, 15, 29, 31, 45). You then begin with the next issue but carry on where you left the previous issue, starting with page 1, 7, 9, 11, 21, 23, 25 ect., then turn camera or magazine and do the even numbered pages, etc, etc. In other words, you want to speed up the whole process of picture taking wherever you can because before you know it, they want to close the library and you realize its 5:00 PM.

Later, when you upload your pictures to your hard drive, the real fun begins. First of all you can finally read what you deprived yourself of doing in the library, since you at that time only had scanned the page with your eyes to be worthy of a picture. But now you can finally read it. You also have to turn some of the pictures the right way up, you will find out about your failures and count your losses. But you have time then. I have just finished one magazine, the 1925 Motor (Berlin), with only 173 pages for the whole year and it takes up 163 MB. I have not yet done an index but have titled each picture, sorted by issue and page number of course. So, I don't really need an index in this case but would like a print of my desktop showing all 173 files with titles, which MS Windows is not able to do and therefore I have to now find a program to print the desktop and then I can file that index with my others, which were mostly handwritten 15 years ago. Times change. :)

#44 fines

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Posted 10 April 2002 - 14:51

Hans, that's a typically thorough job you're undertaking there! :up: :up: :up: Keep up the good work!

So, I don't really need an index in this case but would like a print of my desktop showing all 173 files with titles, which MS Windows is not able to do and therefore I have to now find a program to print the desktop

Have you tried to copy and paste your desktop into a word processing program? Don't know if it works, but then you could print it out as you like it.

#45 Don Capps

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Posted 10 April 2002 - 15:03

Hans,

I noticed the fun the guy with the digital camera was having fiddling with the tripod, the focus, and lighting at the archives -- I looked through perhaps three or four files, made notes, and xeroxed some pages before he took more than perhaps a half-dozen pictures! I decided that the Luddite way still had something going for it. However, despite the initial bother that the guys with the scanners had just dragging all their gear into place, once they got cranked up, it was off to the races. I was really envious because one guy just saved a fortune in copy costs scanning the records he was interested in, which were extensive and writtten in that wonderful late-19th century scribble that often passed for writing....he could crank up the size to figure parts of it out versus the ol' magnifying glass routine....

At any rate, this is the sort of direction that we will find ourselves moving in and we need to sort it out as to what works and doesn't work.

As time goes on, perhaps we could begin to establish exactly the sort of exchange that Hans has mentioned: an information and data cooperative of data in an electronic format, the data of which relates to our niche interests. Looking forward to making this "happen" in the not too distant future.

#46 Hans Etzrodt

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Posted 22 November 2004 - 05:13

Originally posted by Don Capps
...I noticed the fun the guy with the digital camera was having fiddling with the tripod, the focus, and lighting at the archives -- I looked through perhaps three or four files, made notes, and xeroxed some pages before he took more than perhaps a half-dozen pictures!...

I bought my Nikon Coolpix 5400 digital camera just 3 weeks before I left for Europe end of September this year. But before that I practiced with it diligently, taking pictures from my magazine copies under poor light conditions in the living room without extra lamps. You cannot use the flash light when doing magazines close-up pictures because you get white-wash, the reflection of the flash from the white paper. The test pictures I took were not always sharp or easy to read text. So, I then decided to buy a new tripod, an Italian "Manfrotto", rather expensive but good. While I had taken last year all pictures from hand-held position with mostly good results, I did this year all page photography with the camera fixed to the tripod, which allowed for much faster work, speak production increase. With a faster camera than last year's Nikon Coolpix 880, I could shoot more pictures than before, with a maximum production of up to 8 pictures per minute but usually about 2 per minute, which includes battery or card changes, reading, searching and writing down each picture taken. In the worst light conditions, my settings on automatic focusing were 1/30 second with a 2.8 aperture. I did all my copying in the Deutsches Museum Bibliothek, München, with the 5400 digital camera. I had worked there altogether 12 days, about 94 to 95 hours, resulting in 5270 Digital-pictures, each about 1MB in size, filling almost 12 of my 512MB Compact Flash cards.

On this year's trip I kept rather good records of my time spent, production of photographs, photocopies, etc. I started out on the morning following my afternoon arrival at the Deutsches Museum Bibliothek in München. When I work in the European libraries, I exert a lot of pressure on myself, pumping up my Adrenaline level. I don't take it easy or take leisure time in the libraries. In München, I usually was the first one walking through the door at 9:00 and left at night at 5:00 when all doors were closed. My time is the most important asset I bring with me when entering a library, I am very much aware of that fact. Therefore, I usually prepare myself to the best of my knowledge or imagination, as it is in some cases. Every year I try to improve, learning from my prior mistakes. The top order is: "Do not waste your time!" Also, because I had paid this time $1,211.00 for my return flight tickets just to go to the libraries in Europe, I worked fast for all that money. I had picked only magazines before 1930. None of them were allowed to be used on a photocopier due to being old and fragile paper-wise. Therefore I could employ my new camera and tripod. An important part is that I thereby saved any charges for photocopies, which would have been 15¢ each, rather expensive, I think. After 8 days hard work at the Deutsches Museum (9 to 5), I took one of the speedy ICE trains the following day to Basel. I bought a 1st Class return ticket for €120.20 and had an excellent relaxing trip. The train twice attained a speed of 250 km/h while riding very smoothly.

So, on Monday, October 11, when I arrived at the Basel Universitätsbibliothek 9:00 AM, the opening time, I saw in front of the locked door a sign posted, stating that the library was closed from October 11 to 16 due to "Revision", meaning the library staff with helpers were doing a book and document inventory. I had not known any of this before. So, the place was officially closed for exactly these 5 days, which I had planned for my visit already months before in Hawaii, what a coincident! I had come all the way from Hawaii to Basel, and although without prior appointment, I had to find a way inside the library. The people in charge made an exception to allow visitors/students, who had traveled in excess of 50 km to the library. Because I had come from Hawaii (more than the required 50 km) and had my working program pre-planned, they allowed entry. Once inside, I received such extraordinary good service, that I felt like a king. This could have never happened in Germany but the Swiss people are different from the Germans, although they speak basically the same language in the larger part of that country. The word 'Service' is not a German one but 'verboten' is. I had the copy machines for myself, so basically no waiting time, only twice for brief periods. But yes, I worked very hard also, took no time for lunches and allowed myself to go to the toilet only twice during the day. I stayed almost till six at night every day, once even till 7:00 PM and on the last day I was allowed to start at eight in the morning. Normal hours were 9 to 5, and on this Saturday they were closed for good. Lucky me, that I was able to put in all those "overtime-hours". The reason, why I could produce 1,578 photocopies (all of Din A3 size = Dbl. of regular page size) in only 5 days (45 hrs.) was that I was one of very few people permitted inside the Basel Universitätsbibliothek. Of course I had established good rapport with the chief man there and one of his assistants and showed my appreciation for their extraordinary service by presenting them on my third day there with a basket filled with various deli foods and two bottles of whine, nicely arranged.

Before I left for Europe, I had bought seven 512MB Compact Flash cards in Hawai'i, each $52.00. I later had to buy in München another five, two for each at €86 and later another three, each for €65. Had I pre-planned better, I could have saved a lot of money by buying the cards in America, where they are about half the German price. I had also considered buying a laptop. First, they are still rather fragile and break down more often then the large computers. Second, a good laptop from Dell will cost me $1,500 to $2,000 and for that reason the solution with memory cards was the less expensive one. I am of the firm belief that I can produce more pictures in the library without even touching a laptop, thereby cutting down on my unproductive time.

I have 6 batteries for the camera plus a larger external one, which I had only used once two years ago. Normally, on this trip, I got away by using two batteries a day, sometimes starting a third one. I was not aware of the fact that the Nikon 5400 was using much less battery power than the old Nikon Coolpix 880 I used last year. Remember that I did not take pictures continuously all day long. First I had to read myself through 52 issues of one year's motor magazines and simultaneously mark which pages have to be copied. This may take 2 to 3 hours, depending on what magazine I am dealing with. Once I finished this reading procedure, (which I did as fast as possible, without really reading but instead skimming over the headlines only) I start taking digital pictures usually of that last bunch of magazines I had just read. I also have a cable to connect the camera to a power source. I had used it only at one visit two years ago and it now remains an option. My new Nikon used very few batteries, 2 to 3 a day and I never filled more than 1 Compact Flash card a day of 512MB size, equal to 481 to 528 pictures per card at my selected setting.

Back in Hawaii for four weeks now, I had plenty of time to look at my pictures. Each of my pages is about 1 MB in size, so there is no problem in readability. Since it is a photograph and not a scan, my pictures show all kinds of distortions by the small camera lens and various light reflections and shadows on the page. In actual fact, I cannot claim that any of my digital copies belong to a high quality production. But I can finally read what I had deprived myself from doing in the libraries. Each picture needs to be titled, which is a tedious job. Another plus are the photographs in the magazines, which come out in satisfactory quality.

I wrote my observations down for those of you who consider making copies in libraries. I would like to know who else takes a digi camera to the library? Tell us about your experiences.



The following is a related item but of rather negative experience.
A friend of mine told me that he was not allowed to bring his digi camera into the British Library, which appears to have a rather bureaucratic system. It seems to be designed to PREVENT people from getting their hands on the contents. When you enter, you are effectively searched. You are not allowed to take in any bags with you - these have to be left at reception. So no cameras are allowed, just a few papers and writing instruments to make notes.

Of course you can use the copying machines to record the pages of interest.....except that there are NO copying machines. The British library has no copying machines, at least not for use by the public. They will copy for you a day or two later, but they charge 70 cents a copy! It's hard to believe, but true. So everyone busily copies their articles by hand, all scratching away like monks in a mediaeval monastery. Quite pathetic.

They do have microfilm, lots of it and it goes way back and covers the world. And they have quite a number of very old-fashioned microfilm readers. But only two A3 copiers. This is the main newspaper library for the whole of UK - 60 million people - and they have just two A3 copiers. As a result you use the old fashioned machines to find the pages of interest, unload the microfilm, join the queue for the printers, reload the film, find your pages again and print what you want. It's an archaic system.

But that's not all...by far. You are only allowed to request four microfilms at a time and it takes quite a while, maybe half an hour or more, before they are delivered. You may need only one page in each film, but you cannot persuade them to break their rules. So when you've finished, you can submit a request for four more and twiddle your thumbs while you wait. And so it goes on. A very frustrating experience, especially since they have so much wonderful stuff in their collection, if only you could get your hands, or eyes, on it.