VINTAGE 1959 hardcover The Book of Sports Cars Markmann Sherwin, European, U.S.

Description

This auction is for one hardcover copy of “The Book of Sports Cars,” by Charles Lam Markmann and Mark Sherwin, with a foreword by Briggs S. Cunningham. It is an encyclopedia of cars and automotive personalities from the dawn of the industry through the late 1950s.
This book measures just about 11 1/8 inches tall, just about 8 5/8 inches wide and 1 inch thick. There is no dust jacket or paper cover. Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York. There are 324 pages. Copyright 1959. Library of Congress Catalog number is 59-11021.
This book is organized by country, by builder and by drivers. Under each country in the table of contents are the cars from that country. The countries are Great Britain, France, United States, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Austria, Spain, The. Netherlands, Sweden and Japan. The builders are Sydney Allard, W.O. Bentley, A.C. Bertelli, Marc Birkigt, Ettore Bugatti, Colin Chapman, Louis Coatalen, Briggs Cunningham, Albert de Dion, Fred and August Duesenberg, Enzo Ferrari, Amedee Gordini, J.A. Gregoire, Donald Healey, Ernest Henry, Antoine Lago, Vincenzo Lancia, Albert Lory, the Maserati Brothers, Wilhelmina Maybach, Laurence H. Pomeroy, Ferdinand Porsche, Georges Roesch, Harry C. Stutz, Rudolf Uhlenhaut and Gabriel Voisin. The drivers include about 60 different names. See the photo of this page to learn more details.
Card covered in the book include Aston Martin, Austin-Healey, Frazer Nash, Jaguar, Lotus, M.G., Morgan, Rolls-Royce, Triumph, Bugatti, Delage, Peugeot, Renault, Auburn, Chrysler, Cord, Corvette, Ford, Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Ferrari, Maserati, Adler, Benz, Porsche, Mercedes, Minerva, Nigant, Russo-Baltique, Austro-Daimler, Spyker, SAAB, Volvo and Datsun, and many, many more.
The book is printed on a heavy and smooth paper. The photos appear to be all black and white, hundreds of them, each measuring about 3 inches by 4 inches in size. There are bios of each type of car and the company that made it. There are lots of technical details, too, regarding cylinders, engine specs, clutches, housings, racing times, etc.
There are photos of most of the builders, and the drivers, too, great images of people wearing hats, goggles, uniforms and sometimes with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. Very cool stuff. Was surprised but delighted to note there is information and photos of women drivers, too, including Camille Du Gast, Gilberte Thirion, Elisabeth Juneck, Dorothy Levitt, Denis McCluggage, Evelyn Mull, Elsie Wisdom, Kay Petre, Sheila Van Damn and Dorothy Turner. Also sections on various races and venues. Several pages of acknowledgments and a bibliography are at the end of the book. There is no index.
Overall, this book is in good condition, but there is damage to the top of the spine. There are some stains on the back cover. See photos. Despite this issue at the top of the binding, all pages are intact, and the binding is good.
This book will ship media mail.
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