CLASSIC CAR AND CARAVAN COMBOS DOWNUNDER
Don and Marilyn Jessen Published 2018 by Imagination Press, which supplied the review copy ISBN 978-0-99511-042-7; $39.99 Review by Mark Holman
The Jessen family have played an important role in the New Zealand caravan industry, so it is appropriate that Don and Marilyn Jessen have collaborated on this latest book from Imagination Press. It follows the format of similar titles in that it brings together, in words and many photos, the experiences of the owners of some delightful combinations of classic cars and caravans in both New Zealand and Australia. Clearly, the authors have enjoyed visiting shows and meeting owners on both sides of the Tasman.
There’s a wonderful variety of machinery depicted in the book, both in terms of the caravans, in a large range of sizes, and of the towing vehicles. We’ve all seen a real increase at shows around the country of these combos, with a lot of effort by owners going into equipping the caravans (and themselves!) with period accessories and often creating matching colour schemes. The owners seem to really enjoy showing visitors around their treasures too. The backstories of the 40 combos included in the book, which runs to 200 large pages, are described in terms of where the cars and the caravans came from, how much work has been needed on them, and how they are used. For instance, in Australia, Marcus and Alison have a choice of five ’vans for which they bought a ’66 Falcon XP as a tow car. The caravan featured in the book is a 1950s home-built with a riot of period colours inside, including yellow, turquoise, and pink! On this side of the Tasman, Kerry and Roni feature with a very unusual mix: a 1941 Ford pickup with Chev 350-cubic-inch (5735cc) motor towing their 1954 Airstream Flying Cloud. The caravan has most of its original aluminium panels, but they made a new and stronger chassis for it. The interior has been redone in a Wizard of Oz theme!
You can turn to any page of this book and see some vehicular delights — whether it’s a 1952 Chev Ute with a ’65 Super Sunliner, or a 1962 MKII Zephyr convertible towing a rare Glenroy from the same year. There’s a lovely nostalgic summer feel about this book, which reflects the pleasure the owners get from the featured vehicles.