Motorcars of the Classic Era

Michael Furman

• List Price: $50.00
• Our Price: $35.00
• You save: $15.00 (30 %)
• Used Price: $7.05
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 Stars
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Product Details

Book Description: The automobiles of the classic era-1925 to 1948-were distinguished by their graceful designs, premium craftsmanship, and unusual materials. The French Bugatti, Talbot, and Delage, the American Duesenberg and Packard, the Italian Alfa Romeo-such legendary cars brought art and simple elegance to the road. These and many other spectacular models from the automobile's golden age are featured here in the extra-ordinary photographs of Michael Furman. Never before has a photographer compiled such a collection of cars, created with impeccable artistic appreciation and an exacting eye for detail.

In more than 150 full-color photographs, Motor Cars of the Classic Era captures the breathtaking beauty of these objects of desire, some of them extremely rare and published here for the first time. An informative text and an illustrated index of technical information describe the qualities that make each car unique. Sure to appeal to both the high-end automobile collector and the more casual car aficionado, this book is a visual tour de force, a deluxe, beautifully designed volume that matches in spirit the exquisite automobiles it celebrates.

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• ISBN: 0810946661
• Dimensions: 13.1 x 9.9 x 1.2 inches
• Weight: 4.95 pounds
• View the complete item listing at Amazon.com

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Customer Reviews

Classy look at a classy era

Avg. Customer Rating: 5 Stars

I do love the creme de la creme cars from the 30's for their unique style and presence, and I had not found a book that came close to doing them justice till this one. There is not much detailed information on the models, just a short narative in the back, but the aesthetics of the pictures is almost overwhelming and for me obviated the need for more statistics. The cars are segmented by country, and it is fun to look at the differences in the underlying styles (and true to stereotype the French are clearly the most outrageous). There are some great, great cars in here (from the impressive Mercedes 500K to the fabulous Bugatti Atlantic) and I must say I fell in love with the Scarab pictured on the cover (kind of an elite VW van that would clearly not make it out of a design shop today!). It would be hard to make the selected autos look anything but terrific, but Furman's sensual photo's magnify the impact and luster of each model. The close ups of selected fittings, while not quite as breathtaking, do provide the sense of the individual and artistic attention paid to each of these very special creations. What a great gift for anyone who loves great design and great cars. If I could hand out 6 stars I would.

Nice photos lost in the binding.

Avg. Customer Rating: 2 Stars

I saw a review for this book in one of the classic car magazines and ordered the book. I myself produce a cable tv program. One of the vehicles that we featured was the Stout Scarab, the cover vehicle for this book. When the book arrived I was very dissappointed that almost 10 percent of every automobile photo was lost in the binding of the book. If ever there was a need for fold out pages or a wider format this was it. Though the photos are beautiful, so much is lost that in the whole it is painful to look at. I returned the book.

Charles Derer

Coffee Table Picture Book

Avg. Customer Rating: 3 Stars

This is not a book about cars; it is an excercise in photography. If you are looking to read about the cars, you will be extremely dissapointed. Other than a tag stating the car model and year, there is no text whatsoever on pages with photos. Tiny capsule captions for each photo are found at the end of the book. The photos are exquisite, but they are all studio shots; none show the cars in their natural surroundings. Most of the photos are only postcard size. Those that are larger run across the center gutter due to the portrait page orientation. A lot of the photo is lost in the gutter. For those that want beautiful photos along with some historical background of the car and manufacturer, I recommend books by Dennis Adler.

Unsurpasssed Photo Elegance & Substance; a new standard!!

Avg. Customer Rating: 5 Stars

To any vintage auto enthusiest (of the late 1920's through 1940's) this book's a sumptuous, informative feast for the eye and soul.

Most of the work (first 3/4's) showcases the author's deep photogenic appreciation of all those talented entra war era automotive craftsmen (just American & European, I believe). Those who balanced their well developed sense of (Moderne/Deco/Streamline) auto design, with practicality and graceful function. The last 1/4 of the book holds interesting/informative text for each auto presented prior.

Well, ok, so I stumbled onto a book display of this work leaving an Exhibition of Art Deco earlier today: spent a transfixed 20 minutes carefully thumbing through it. Hey, the book just topped off a thoroughly satisfying afternoon at the Musium of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, ok?!?

And... I suppose, the fact that not more than 20 ft behind me- standing, silently, yet gracefully parked & roped off from the rest of the exhibition's attendees was one of the true automotive icons of the age: a mint 1937 Cord 212 Speedster, didn't hurt matters much either (BTW: only 2300+ were ever produced of this well deserved Streamlined classic).

Turns out (as another vintage auto admirer of the book commented over my shoulder) this is the very white and red Cord included in the oversized coffee table tomb of which this review is jotted.

Whether novice or 'in the know' on the topic, this book's the "real deal!!"

KP

Whatta book, folks!

Avg. Customer Rating: 5 Stars

Seriously, if you're into cars from this era, you simply cannot do better. It's just not possible. Mike's photography is just short of stunning, and the accompanying text is intelligent and easy to understand. You won't regret buying it. At all.