The big story
Books on Minors and Morgans are in, but Ferraris and Porsches are out
Which books are in vogue
‘Drivers like James Hunt and Gilles Villeneuve are popular at the moment’
Got the car – get the book. Almost all old car-lovers have a collection of books and magazines relating to the car they own or their motoring interests, but as with the buying and selling of cars, books and magazines are in state of flux.
Specialist Simon Lewis says that while demand for oncecollectable books and magazines has tailed-off thanks to niche publishing, more specialist titles are being published, meeting the demands of readers who thought their pet subject warranted no more than a small feature in a magazine. He reports that one recent author/publisher book he stocked was the quickest-ever selling title.
‘The last couple of years has seen the rise of author/publisher works, and these will be covering more specialist subjects. Suddenly any enthusiast can write a book about, say, European Formula 2 racing, and get it printed. And now, rather than a large print run, it’s possible to print just five at a time,’ Lewis says.
Demand for motoring biographies – and especially drivers – has changed of late, with interest in drivers from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s rising and that for pre-war drivers tailing off, as Lewis explains: ‘Drivers like James Hunt and Gilles Villeneuve are popular at the moment, while recently there was a sudden demand for Graham Hill’s Life at the Limit. I had four in stock and they all sold very quickly, perhaps because of the death of his wife Bette in December.
‘Thirty years ago interest in prewar drivers such as Raymond Mays and Prince Bira was strong, but that’s not the case these days.
One-make books, so often the backbone of any classic enthusiast’s library, are a mixed bag, with some car makers in less demand than they were. Ferrari and Porsche are two particular cases where not only the cars but the books relating to them are seeing a downturn. However, other makes, two British ones in particular, remain popular.
‘There’s a lot of demand for Lotus books, not only here but from mainland Europe, and Germany in particular, while books about
Bentleys – not only the Cricklewood cars but ‘Derby’ models, too – have always been popular.
And while Morris Minors and Minis of all types remain popular in the classic movement, books about them are appreciably less so.
‘I don’t get many calls for books about MGs – there’s a lot more demand for Morgan titles,” Lewis says.