Bugatti -- le pur-sang des automobiles

Cambridge MA: Robert Bentley, Inc.. Near Fine in Very Good dj. 1964. "Revised or New Edition". Hardcover. [no discernible wear to book, but prospective buyers PLEASE NOTE that it does have a bit of an odor to it, apparently acquired from a long-ago house fumigation; the jacket has some wrinkling and is tanned along the spine, with some laminate separation along both vertical edges of the front panel]. (B&W photographs, diagrams, charts, etc.) A very comprehensive history of "the most celebrated and sought after vintage and racing car that has ever existed," which was manufactured in the French region of Alsace from 1910 until 1947. According to the Foreword, this is a "revised or new" version of "the original Bugatti book," published in 1954, but with "another Author roped in with the full support of the previous ones" -- a curious statement given that the primary author of the earlier edition, one Barry Eaglesfield, is not mentioned at all, the current Foreword citing and lauding only the contributions of his co-author, C.W.P. Hampton. (For that reason I don't think this can properly be called a "second edition" of the earlier book; it seems more in the nature of a "new and improved" edition, re-worked at least in part to correct unspecified "editorial faults" of the 1954 edition. I'll bet there's a backstory there, which might explain the "disappearing" of Mr. Eaglesfield.) ****NOTE that additional postage charges will be assessed for international shipping of this heavy book; if this concerns you, please contact us for a shipping quote before placing your order. As always at ReadInk, domestic Media Mail shipping is free.**** . (Inventory #: 29075)