Self-Propelled Vehicles. A Practical Treatise on the Theory, Construction, Operation, Care and Management of all forms of Automobiles de HOMANS, James E - 1903

New York: Theo. Audel & Company, 1903. A near-fine copy with a few small spots on covers, internally clean and well preserved. 8vo. v, 626, [6] pages. Frontispiece with tissue guard and a profusion of illustrations in text. Original red cloth, gilt-lettered on front cover and spine, top edges gilt. Provenance: neat contemporary ownership inscription on front pastedown. Second edition (the first was published in 1902). A detailed, profusely illustrated early work on the automobile for "owners, operators, repairmen and intending purchasers," with descriptions of Benz motors and Gottlieb Daimler, Goodyear pneumatic tires, Dunlop, Michelin, Charles Duryea, and extensive details about motors, particularly the gasoline engine "which is the least understood of all." It is written in a popular, and largely non-technical, style. Laid-in is the publisher's prospectus and order form for the book, with testimonials (a bit worn and frayed at top, otherwise fine).