Hardcover. Cambridge MA, MIT Press, 1st, 2011, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, pages. A colorful account of Le Corbusier's love affair with the automobile, his vision of the ideal vehicle, and his tireless promotion of a design that industry never embraced. Le Corbusier, who famously called a house "a machine for living," was fascinated-even obsessed-by another kind of machine, the automobile. His writings were strewn with references to autos: "If houses were built industrially, mass-produced like chassis, an aesthetic would be formed with surprising precision," he wrote in Toward an Architecture (1923). In his "white phase" of the twenties and thirties, he insisted that his buildings photographed with a modern automobile in the foreground. Le Corbusier moved beyond the theoretical in 1936, entering (with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret) an automobile design competition, submitting plans for "a minimalist vehicle for maximum functionality," the Voiture Minimum. Despite Le Corbusier's energetic promotion of his design to several important automakers, the Voiture Minimum was never mass-produced. This book is the first to tell the full and true story of Le Corbusier's adventure in automobile design. Architect Antonio Amado describes the project in detail, linking it to Le Corbusier's architectural work, to Modernist utopian urban visions, and to the automobile design projects of other architects including Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd Wright. He provides abundant images, including many pages of Le Corbusier's sketches and plans for the Voiture Minimum, and reprints Le Corbusier's letters seeking a manufacturer. Le Corbusier's design is often said to have been the inspiration for Volkswagen's enduringly popular Beetle; the architect himself implied as much, claiming that his design for the 1936 competition originated in 1928, before the Beetle. Amado Lorenzo, after extensive examination of archival and source materials, disproves this; the influence may have gone the other way. Although many critics considered the Voiture Minimum a footnote in Le Corbusier's career, Le Corbusier did not. This book, lavishly illustrated and exhaustively documented, restores Le Corbusier's automobile to the main text.
Hardcover. NY, Tudor Publishing, reprint, 1939, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in an edgeworn dust jacket. 436 pages. A history of American steamboats from its earliest days to the twentieth century. Covers the steamboat vessels on all of America's major waterways and regions with a focus on the eastern seaboard. Many illustrations.
Hardcover. Hartford CT, Guyde Publishing Co., 1927, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Limp red cloth covers stamped in gilt, now faded. Vintage travel guide for the northeast. Maps, advertising, photos, large folding map inside rear cover with a tear to one panel, no paper loss. Previous owners embossed stamp on front fly leaf, otherwise clean, very good.
Hardcover. NY, Simmons-Boardman Publishing, 1919, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, A gargantuan volume, 1334 pages, 8 1/2 x 12". Compiled for manufacturers in the railroad industry. Definitions and Illustrations of American railway cars, their parts and equipment. Thousands of b&w photos, plans and elevations of railroad freight cars, postal cars, passenger cars, sleepers, etc. all shown in minute detail. The same treatment is given to equipment such as brakes, couplers, etc. The book has been professionally rebound in dark blue cloth with gilt lettering on front and spine. Scarce. Mild water stain to first 50 pages, otherwise clean. No out-of country shipping on this very heavy volume.
Hardcover. New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 1st, 2002, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 223 pages, illustrated in color and b&w. What Pennsylvania Station was, is, and might be in the future, through knowledgeable text and excellent pictures and drawings. A good read for those who want a detailed look at one of New York City's most famous architectural treasures, how it was lost, and how it might be reborn once again. The section on its rebirth in the Farley Post Office building was written before work was delayed on the project. Clean copy.
Softcover. Hanover PA, Privately Published, 1st, 2001, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 48 pages with photographs of various electric locomotives and cars, abbreviated rosters and index. A fine and bright copy.
Hardcover. London, Dennis Dobson, 1st, 1969, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 76 pages, hardcover. Illustrated in color by Ronald Searle. PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY SEARLE'S AGENT (John Locke) with his stamp on front fly leaf. Very good condition. Dust jacket has age tanning to spine, one chip at bottom of spine.
Softcover. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1st, 1981, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, 141 pages. Illustrated color and b&w captioned photographs throughout text. Light edge wear to wrappers. Small water stain on bottom of front cover. Else a clean, tight copy.
Hardcover. Euston Station, London Midway & Scottish Railway Company, 1st, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 43 pages. Dark blue cloth covers, gilt titles to front and spine, 15 color and b&w plates including frontispiece, smaller b&w figures throughout. Light rubbing and edgewear to covers, mild foxing to endpapers, pages crisp and unmarked; overall, a very neat, tight copy.
Softcover. NY, Wayner Publications, 1st, 1971, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 100 pages. Very good, in illustrated wraps. Minor shelf wear and age-toning to creme paper covers. All text. No previous owner marks.
Softcover. Sagle ID, Comanche Press, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 256 pages. An illustrated history of the Spokane International Railway before it was acquired by the Union Pacific. Illustrated in b&w and color. Clean copy.
Hardcover. Milwaukee WI, Kalmbach Publishing, reprint, 1971, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover. Kalmbach facsimile reprint of the Simmons-Boardman 1941 edition. 1312 pages featuring steam locomotives, elecrtic locomotives, diesel locomotives, industrial locomotives, locomotive shops, and engine terminals. Many hundreds of photographs and dimensional diagrams of locomotives and their various parts. Impressive color foldout on heavy stock of Alco-GE diesel-electric locomotives in paint schemes for The Milwaukee Road, Rock Island, Santa Fe, Southern, and New Haven. A similar foldout for EMD features early shovel nose E-units in schemes for Union Pacific, Burlington, Santa Fe, Rock Island, Missouri Pacific, plus nine more, plus FT schemes for Santa Fe, Seaboard, Rio Grande, Great Northern, Western Pacific, Milwaukee, and Southern. Bound in dark blue cloth. Clean.
Softcover. NY, Quadrant Press, Revised Ed., 1972, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover in pictorial wrappers, 136 pages. Fascinating history of the 'short-lived short line' illustrated with B&W photographs and reproductions of train plans and diagrams, timetables and tickets. Includes text from original 1962 edition, as well as "When the Westchester Was New, " a collection of articles reprinted from railway trade magazines of 1910-1912, describing and illustrating the line in its early days. 8.5 x 11". Clean copy.
Hardcover. Yakt Publishing, Inc., 1st, 2016, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 396 pages. "The Rusty Dusty" summarizes the development of the Great Northern Railway in Washington State, emphasizing the Wenatcheef,,"f,,EURf,,"Oroville route, their last significant branch there. The line brought modern mechanized transportation to eastern Chelan and Okanogan Counties, shipping ten thousand carloads of fruit to national markets in its best years. The volume also outlines Great Northern President James J. Hill's support of Wenatchee Valley irrigation projects. Clean copy.
NY, Simmons-Boardman Publishing, 1947, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover. Bound in original dark blue cloth with lettering printed in gold. Thirteenth edition of this massive encyclopedia covering every aspect of building and maintaining steam, electric, diesel and industrial locomotives. Illustrated throughout with hundreds of black and white photographs and dimensional diagrams of locomotives and their various parts. Sections include Dictionary of Terms, data on US and Canadian steam locomotives, locomotive boilers, water supply, fuel supply, cabs, boiler mountings, the engine, foundation and running gear (trucks, roller bearings, axles, etc.), lubrication, couples and draft gears, brakes, signals, tenders, safety appliances, locomotive shops and engine terminals. Filled with numerous detailed advertisements from parts manufacturers explaining the various goods they sell. With bibliography and indexes for advertisers (by name and by product). 1418 pages. Previous owner's signature on early page, otherwise clean copy.
Hardcover. Denver CO, Sundance Limited, 1st, 1974, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, pictorial boards, 416 pages illustrated in color and b&w. Handsomely done history of the Rio Grande written by an outstanding railroad author. The book covers the railroad from the very beginnings of the Denver & Rio Grande in 1870 though to the 1970s, as well as its subsidiaries, the Western Pacific, and associated railroads. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs. With numerous maps, rosters, gradient profiles, timetable, locomotive dispositions and extensive bibliography. 416 pages with index. Note: the cover of the standard 1974 edition shows a Rio Grande diesel; the cover of this Special Limited Edition shows two steam locomotives. The Limited Edition includes many color photos and has a reprint of a "Denver and Rio Grande" pamphlet from 1881 covering grades, distances and elevations in a rear pocket. States Special Limited Edition, but no number, signature or limitation given. Clean copy.
Softcover. NY, National Railway Publication Company, 1939, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, original printed paper wrappers, 1536 pages. Thick handbook for the railroad steamboat trade, with detailed schedules, maps, advertisements, all pertaining to the shipment of goods. Printed on thin, cheap stock that's tanning. Still very good wth clear tape reinforcement to spine.
Softcover. self-published, 1st, circa 1990, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 48 pages. The author was a traveling salesman and railroad buff. In the course of his work in the 1930s, he had the opportunity to photograph many of the trains he traveled on. The variety of locomotives and the trackside structures captured should make this invaluable to historians and railroad fans.. Also includes 2 carefully drawn maps. Clean copy.
Hardcover. NY, Simmons-Boardman, reprint, 1985, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, reprint of the 9th edition, 1930. VG cond. hardcover, no dj. Red boards w/ bright gilt lettering on spine. Extensively illustrated in b&w. 1440 pages. Square, straight, tight, Some numbers in ink on inside front cover, otherwise bright & clean, overall very good condition.
Hardcover. New York , Viking, 1st, 2004, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover. SIGNED BY AUTHOR. 434 pages, b&w photographs. Light edge wear to dust jacket; else a very clean, tight copy.
Record # 809012
Price: $18.00
Vintage Transportation Books — Used & Rare
Our transportation shelf spans railroads, motoring, and motorcycling in used, rare, and out-of-print editions. Subways, carriages, and maritime work round out the range. The range includes historical accounts, illustrated references, auction catalogues and antiquarian volumes on the vehicles and travel of many eras, from horse-drawn days to modern rail.
Recent listings include Francis Bradlee's The Eastern Railroad, Stefan Hohne's Riding the New York Subway, David L. Hough's More Proficient Motorcycling, and Virginia Thorndike's signed On Tugboats, alongside the illustrated 1906 Locomotive Dictionary and Harold Blank's Wild Wheels.
Condition and availability vary across this used and rare stock, and older illustrated references and antiquarian volumes are often scarce single copies, so it is worth checking back often. Order online to take one home.
 "Voiture Minimum. Le Corbusier and the Automobile by: Amado, Antonio")
 "Steamboat Days: The History of the Steamboat in America by: Dayton, Fred Erving & John Wolcott Adams (Illust.)")
 "Official New Motor Trips: New England New York Canada Pennsylvania New Jersey Florida by: N/A")
 "Car Builders Dictionary and Cyclopedia-Ninth Edition-1919 by: Roy V. Wright-Editor")
 "New York's Pennsylvania Stations by: Ballon, Hilary")
 "New Haven Electric Locomotives & MU Cars by: Liljestrand Robert A. and David R. Sweetland")
 "Monte Carlo or Bust! by: Davies, Jack, Ken Annakin, Allen Andrews, and Ronald Searle")
 "BEETLE BOOK, THE: America's 30 Year Love Affair With The \"Bug\" by: Steinwedel, Louis William")
 "Old London Coaching Inns and Their Successors: The London Midland and Scottish Railway and Travel and Transport in Four Centuries by: Groom, Arthur")
 "The Pullman Scrapbook: A Treasury of Pullman History and Operations from the Pages of The Pullman News by: Robert J. Wayner")
 "Corbin's Road aka Spokane International Railway by: Paul Rechnitzer,Jack R. McElroy, Jack Woodbury")
 "1941 Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice. Definitions and Typical Illustrations of Railroad and Industrial Locomotives... 11th Edition 1941 by: Wright, Roy V.(E")
 "Westchester's Forgotten Railway: an Account of the New York, Westchester & Boston Railway Company by: Arcara, Roger")
 "The Rusty Dusty: Great Northern's Wenatchee-Oroville Branch by: Mac McCullough / John E Langlot")
 "1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice: ...Steam, Turbine, Electric and Diesel Locomotives for Railroad and Industrial Service ... Including a Section on Locomotive Shops and Engine Terminals (Thirteenth Edition--1947)")
 "Rio Grande... to the Pacific! by: LeMassena, Robert A.")
 "The Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Canada, Porto Rico, Mexico and Cuba. 72d Year, No. 9, October 1939 by: National Rai")
 "ORIG VINTAGE MAGAZINE AD FOR CHANDLER MOTORS: The New Royal Eight by: N/A")
 "ORIGINAL VINTAGE MAGAZINE AD FOR PLYMOUTH: \"Merry Christmas, Grandma...\" by: Norman Rockwell")
 "New England Rail Album: A Traveling Salesman Remembers the 1930's by: George Phelps")
 "Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice: Ninth Ed. 1930 by: Wright, Roy V. (Ed)")
 "Old Iron Road, The: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West (SIGNED COPY) by: Bain, David Haward")