The American Automobile

New York: Random House - A Ridge Press Book, 1975. First Printing . Hard Back. Very Good/Very Good. 8 3/4" X 11 1/2. Stein, Ralph - Photograohy. 252 Pages Indexed. Blue boards with gold embossed lettering to spine and front cover. Very slight wavy wrinkling to a few pages. No stains, marks, or stamps. Dust jacket has slight edgewear and scuffs at corners. Ralph Stein, the outstanding authority on mankind's motorized conveyances, has written this excellent book for admirers and connoisseurs of the finest American automobiles ever produced. Present here are the biographies of 22 great pre-1940 marques, plus electrics and steamers, all of them beautifully portrayed in period pictures, as well as in extraordinary contemporary color photography by the author. This book combines all the qualities which distinguish Mr. Stein's books -- wit, affection, unshakable opinion, meticulous research, and an expansive prose style. The result is 252 pages of delightful reading, uniquely illustrated The America automobiles are: Steam Cars, Cord, Electric Cars, Simplex, Chadwick, Lincoln, Stearns, Lozier, Ford, Mercer, Duesenberg, Stutz, Pierce-Arrow, American Underslung, Cadillac, Biddle, Winton, Auburn Speedster, Welch, Peerless, Locomobile, Franklin, Packard, and Thomas. The author is the owner of a perfectly restored Welch, one of four known to exist in the U.S. (See page 57.) A collector's collector, he has also assembled a priceless array of antique cameras, and has brought his considerable expertise in photography to bear on illustrating his text.