Hardcover. Portland, Paul E. Merrill, 1st, 1979, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: Good, 166 pages plus additional 28 page pamphlet laid-in. Hardcover. Both hardcover and pamphlet illustrated with full color and black & white photographs. Both book and pamphlet have musty odor. Dust jacket with wear and tape repaired tears along edges. Clean, unmarked pages.
Hardcover. San Francisco, Privately Printed , 4th Ed., 1925, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, dark green covers with gilt lettering. 229 pages. Autobiography of a early 20th century shipping and steamship mogul. With a note SIGNED BY DOLLAR and taped to the front fly leaf. B&w photos. Front gutter partially cracked, otherwise very good, clean.
Hardcover. Lyons Press, 1st, 2017, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, pictorial boards, 142 pages illustrated in color. For many children of the sixties, the gift of a Schwinn was a ticket to freedom, a chance to feel the wind on their face and the steady rotation of rubber at their feet. The Schwinn took many through their childhood adventures, with memories filled of after school, free-range bike rides around the neighborhood with friends, the late afternoon sun shining off of the gleaming painted frame and stainless steel fenders. The 1960s and 70s saw a boom of Schwinn Sting-Rays, which appealed to young riders who had to have the hottest 'muscle' bike in town, and sold like hotcakes to parents everywhere scrambling to get the best Christmas present ever for their kids. From its early years dominating the youth market with Sting-Rays to the teen-friendly Varsity and Continental models to its most recent parent-friendly iterations of the Easy-Steer and Roadster Trikes, the Schwinn weaves itself through 120 years of American history. Clean, bright copy.
Softcover. Motorbooks , 1st, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 156 pages illustrated in color and b&w. Ever since the automobile was made accessible to the masses, car dealerships have been special places where desires, sweaty palms, and that new-car smell are distilled into an intoxicating elixir of freedom and ownership. From Art Deco showrooms of the '30s to modern glass-walled superstores, this nostalgic road trip revisits the architecture, marketing, and business practices that have become inextricably associated with auto retailers. A fascinating text accompanies an equally compelling collection of archival photography recalling past and present car dealer phenomena like new model previews and grand openings (i.e., soaped showroom windows, veiled cars, search lights), promotions and giveaways (banners, literature, buttons, pens, pedal cars, ashtrays, and anything else dealers could use to help make a sale), business practices from early-century animal trade-ins to today's refreshing Saturn-style service, customer relations and service centers, and nontraditional automotive outlets like Sears-Roebuck and hardware stores. Sidebars highlight innovative dealerships and those that have been in business for decades. Bumpto bottom corner otherwise clean, very good.
Hardcover. NY, Alfred A.Knopf, 9th pr., 1946, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, blue cloth covers with gilt design.418 pages plus index, b&w illustrations. Lengthy and insightful history of Stanford, Crocker, Hopkins and Huntington (the "Big Four" of the title) along with the unsung Judah and Colton, along with their wives and families, and how their drive to establish and maintain monopolistic control of transportation to the West shaped California, for better or for worse. Their practices are the pinnacle of free-market capitalism at its best, or the nadir of obstructionist capitalism at its worst. 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.
Hardcover. Seattle, University of Washington Press , 1st, 2008, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 229 pages, illustrated in color and b&w. At first glance it may appear that this volume is one more in a line of celebratory tributes to the power of the industry, full of the colorful advertisements and optimistic tributes to the railroad as the builder of civilization across a majestic landscape. Nearly every page contains an illustration that invites quick perusal. But the text skillfully interprets the images and balances the story that railroads originally told about the region, one that boosted their properties and promoted settlement and travels along their lines . . . . The authors have effectively distilled a large body of historiography into one readable and engaging volume. Clean.
Hardcover. NY, Metro Books, 1st, 1998, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. The late nineteenth century brought a transportation explosion in North America and Europe, much of it produced by the steam engine, which by that time had become strong and versatile enough to power ocean-crossing vessels and large freight trains. Where Rails Meet the Sea tells the exciting story of how the transportation industry was revolutionized by steam power and how the industry in turn changed the face of the world. Written by an expert in the history of ships and trains and heavily illustrated throughout in color and b&w.
