[CR] FS - vintage & vintage-related cycling books, part 3

(Example: Framebuilders:Alex Singer)

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 10:26:35 -0500
From: "Russ Fitzgerald" <russfitzgerald@embarqmail.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR] FS - vintage & vintage-related cycling books, part 3


More vintage cycling reading material! Prices don't include shipping, and there are pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/russ.fitzgerald/CyclingBookSalePart3

1. Jan Heine, The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles, Vintage Bicycle Press, c2005, 1st edition, printed in France, SIGNED, no. 43 of 50 of a limited run. I know it's been reprinted; but this one is very clean, and signed, and one of 50, AND it comes with the bonus stuff - three very nice 8 x 10 glossy photos AND a pristine single sheet flyer for Vintage Bicycle Quarterly. Very, very, very clean, almost mint, with only a tiny little dent/bend on the bottom right corner of the front cover to detract from its perfection. $75.

2. James Arnold, The Joyous Wheel, Hamish Hamilton, 1940. A glorious, strange, wonderful book about the joys of local and regional rides in Britain before WWII. According to Wikipedia, Arnold was a commercial artist; his block print illustrations for The Joyous Wheel are certainly lovely enough to support that. There don't appear to be many copies of this book out there, but how many could have been printed in the dark days of Britain in 1940, anyway? $75.

3. Fitzwater Wray, aka Kuklos, The Kuklos Papers, J.M. Dent, 1927. A collection of writings by the author of "Cycling Notes," a column in The Daily Mail, spanning the period 1905-1927. Worn, no gilt on the back cover, slight bow to the cover, $30.

4. Francis Jones, The Happy Cyclist, St. Catherine Press, 1948, 1st ed., paperback with a dustjacket. A neat little introduction to cycling sort of manual, if a little odd. The few line drawings are in the historical section, featuring assorted pre-1885 machines, while the photos are all of architecture ideal for viewing by a touring cyclist. Worn, some stains on the bottom edges of some pages, $20.

5. Ronald English, Cycling for You, Lutterworth Press, London, 1966, c.1964. Another general cycling manual, some line drawings, some action photos including some pix of riders competing in a CTC touring competition. Hardcover, nice dustjacket, $20.

6. Roland Geist, Bicycling as a Hobby, Harper, 1940. Rebound in blue, ex-library copy. To my knowledge, this is the ONLY American cycling manual written for adult cyclists in the years between the wars. Geist patterns a lot of his stuff on British practices. It's a neat item if you're looking into the abortive cycle bike boom of the late '30s that produced the Schwinn Paramount and Superior, as well as the planned but never launched Malvern Star invasion of the U.S. market. $20.

7. Daniel Rebour, Le Petit Livre Jaune, translated and augmented by Harry Aspden, no date, Rouen, France for VAR. English translation, features many VAR tools in lovely line drawings, just a glorious immersion in sheer Rebour-ness. The front cover has a nasty crease, back cover has a blemish, inside is in great shape. $5

8. William Fotheringham, Put Me Back On My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson, Yellow Jersey Press, 2003. A really fine biography of the first Englishman to wear the yellow jersey, nicely researched, and a great read. $5

9. Paul Kimmage, A Rough Ride, Stanley Paul, 1991. Overlaps the very end of the CR period, covers the dark underbelly of professional racing, an ideal companion to Fotheringham's Put Me Back On My Bike, $5.

10. The Literary Cyclist; Great Bicycling Scenes in Literature, edited by James E. Starrs, a cycling-related anthology, funky bottom corners on several pages, $5.

11. Peter Nye, Hearts of Lions: The Story of American Bicycle Racing, Norton, c.1988. Nye's ground-breaking attempt to reclaim the history of American cycle racing in the pre-internet age. Lots of photos, lots of stories, this copy is worn and kinda beat but all there and all together, how about $5?

12. The Official Tour de France; Centennial 1903-2003, Wiedenfeld & Nicholson, lavishly illustrated, features many photos as well as translated reprints of contemporary commentary and articles. Good, clean copy, $10.

13. Philippe Brunel, An Intimate Portrait of the Tour de France, Buonpane, 1996. Some stories, lots of great photos, you know you want it, no dustjacket, otherwise nice and solid and clean, some funky scratched area on the bottom of the back cover, $25.

14. Nancy Nieman Baranet, Bicycling: The Bicycle in Recreation, Competition, Transportation, A.S. Barnes, 1973. Nancy Neiman Baranet was a pioneer of American women's bicycle racing, and I believe the first American woman to race professionally overseas, right? This is her book, which was assisted by Gene Portuesi, who not only ran Cyclo-Pedia, but he was her coach at once point. Better than average bike boom book, cool pix, some ideas that would shock the modern American cycling world. Ex-library copy, still very good, dust jacket with plastic wrap, $10.

15. J. Durry & J.B. Wadley (translator), The Guinness Guide to Bicycling, Guinness, 1977. A beautiful, beautiful book filled with great photos, nicely written, translated by a great British cycling writer. Just a lovely book, and you know you want it. Terrible tattered dust jacket, otherwise very good, hardback, $20.

16. Roland Geist, Bicycle People, foreward by Dr. Paul Dudley White, Acropolis Books, 1978. It's mostly about artists, songwriters, inventors, writers, etc., celebrating the bicycle throughout the ages. Dust jacket is good, protected by plastic wrap, excellent condition, good companion to Geist's 1940 book (above), $35.

Thanks for reading through this list!

Russ Fitzgerald
Greenwood SC USA