The Kings of the Road, Ken W. Purdy, 1952, Fine Book in Good DJ

The Kings of the Road
Author:
Ken W. Purdy
Publisher:
Bonanza Books
Release Date:
1952
Seller Category:
Cars
Qty Available:
1
Condition:
Used: Very Good
Sku: 00251
Notes: Fine book in a Good dust jacket, Very Good for book plus dust jacket, 8vo, 8 1/4" x 5 1/2." Red cloth-covered boards in a blue dust jacket. Black lettering to dust jacket spine. Almost imperceptible bumps to top tips, minuscule rubbing to edges and head and tail of spine, else covers pristine and intact, binding tight. Dust jacket is clean overall but has sticker residue in upper-right corner on front and chipping at the corners and head and tail of spine, the largest being about 1/2" x 1/2" at the head of spine, protected by a paper-backed Brodart sleeve. Pages slightly age-toned, else pristine and intact. 246 pp. + 15 black-and-white illustrations on eight plates (roughly two illustrations per plate). A classic work of literature about vintage cars. Comprehensive with both technical and aesthetic discussion on vintage vehicles. Some models included: the Mercer, Duesenberg, Alfa-Romeo, Rolls-Royce, and Bentley. Except from front flap: "Here is the story of that royal family of motorcars that flourished in this country and Europe before the 'development' of the monotonously similar, jelly-bodied models of today ... It's about cars (designed to run for twenty years) that herald their coming for a mile and break your neck as you try to watch them pass. And it tells, too, of the men who built and drove them." Ken W. Purdy (1913-1972) was an American author and editor. As a writer, his emphasis was on automobiles and their drivers.