Do It Yourself
Michael Salemi
Building a Basic Mercedes-Benz Reference Library
When stewardship of my aunt’s 280SL was given to me in 1999, I was frightfully aware of how little I knew about this beautiful but needy car. I joined the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, certain that membership would provide sources to begin my Mercedes education.
I was not disappointed. After seeing an advertisement in The Star magazine, I bought my first Mercedes book: Frank Barrett’s Illustrated Mercedes-Benz Buyer’s Guide (ISBN: 0760304513). In chapter 10, Barrett provides an excellent, albeit brief overview of the W113; this only had me wanting more. I began to find additional books: L.J.K. Setright’s Mercedes-Benz SL & SLC (ISBN: 1855328801) delves into greater detail about Mercedes-Benz’s postwar history, including the SL series. Laurence Meredith’s Mercedes-Benz SL Sports Cars (ISBN: 0750922321) is more professionally written with better photographs than Setright’s. Another Meredith find was Essential Mercedes SL: 190SL & Pagoda Models (ISBN: 1870979893). Mercedes 230 250 280SL: Gold Portfolio written by R.M. Clarke is filled with period road tests and articles providing useful and arcane information.
At a silent auction for a local Section party, I won an original factory service manual covering the Pagoda. By then I was hooked, and finding Pagoda books became a passion. I became a true Mercedes-Benz bibliophile as a contributing editor for The Star, responsibilities which include history and fact checking. It’s great having an excuse to buy things you want. My Mercedes book collection grows regularly in depth and breadth.
Books provide more permanent information than fleeting web pages. Maybe you want to learn more about a specific model you saw at a concours d’elegance; perhaps you’ve read the names Rudi Uhlenhaut or Juan Manuel Fangio and would like to know more about them. You will find what you are looking for in the plethora of books about Mercedes-Benz, but it is unlikely you’ll find them on the shelves in your local library.
Thus, finding books will be a rewarding complement to your Mercedes car hobby, with the search itself providing fun, challenges, and entertainment. Even when you’re not working on the car, you can enjoy your collection in the off-season – from an easy chair, without getting your hands dirty, or busting the bank. Most books on Mercedes-Benz, even those long out of print, are readily available from a number of sources at affordable prices with a quick search.
Mercedes-Benz books fall into categories including:
• Factory-printed or authorized technical books and manuals
• Factory-printed or authorized promotional books and press kits
• Text-heavy history books
• Model-specific books
• Coffee table books
Reviewing these, technical books and manuals start with the factory service manuals. Originals are generally in binders while later reprints are perfect bound. Some are still available from Mercedes-Benz or the Classic Center, depending on model and year. Augmenting these are many parts books, specification books and similar. Publications vary by model, series and year; check with one of the club’s experts on your model to refine your search.
Promotional books and press kits are interesting finds. In my collection are Faszination SL: W113 (2003), Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren World Premiere (2003) and Mercedes-Benz: The Story of Passion (2001). Faszination is excerpted from another book, Mercedes-Benz 190SL-280SL: Vom Barock zur Pagode (ISBN: 3613013673) and published as part of a series. Along with the W113 are similar volumes for the 300SL, R129, R107 and more. The SLR McLaren and The Story of Passion are press kit volumes. These boxed sets include text, glossy color photographs, and often a CD/DVD with digital photos. They are representative of costly press materials issued for special cars. They are generally presented to journalists on a press tour, but can often be found on eBay.
In the 1950s, Daimler-Benz AG published a series of promotional books that contained text meant simply to tie together the lavishly illustrated watercolors of Hans Liska, a noted Austrian artist. The books were presented as sketchbooks and produced in hardbound editions with silk ties to hold the covers together. I’ve found a few and continue to seek more – they are sought-after collectibles. They appeal both to my right brain along with my Mercedes interest. Hardly rare, there are always some for sale on eBay.
Mercedes-Benz is the oldest automotive firm in the world, with a rich, exciting history that is the subject of many great books. One definitive text is The Star and the Laurel (ISBN: 0936573015) published by Mercedes-Benz North America in 1986. The author, the late Beverly Rae Kimes, was a highly respected automotive historian and journalist. With more than 360 pages of beautifully illustrated history in an oversize format, it is surely one of the great tomes on the subject. I will suggest this for Kime’s book – if you have to have only one history book, this might be the one to have.
A recent find of mine is the forgotten Three-Pointed Star: The Story of Mercedes-Benz by David Scott-Moncrieff, published in 1956 and extensively revised in 1979. It covers M-B history up to 1979 in an astonishingly detailed text of 470 pages. Glancing through this book makes me parrot the old adage, “They don’t make ’em like that anymore.” Generally unheard of today, Scott-Moncrieff was a noted Rolls-Royce collector and author of the era.
Smaller and less detailed is the 1955 book, The Complete Mercedes Story by the MBCA’s own W. Robert Nitske. My copy came with a perfect, vintage-1955 brochure for the Mercedes-Benz Museum, left behind by the book’s first owner! Nitske is better known for his book titled Mercedes-Benz Production Models, 1946-1975 (ISBN: 9780879380472) followed with several revisions. That is a great reference book for brief model descriptions, original prices, unit production data, and specifications revised through 1977.
Once you get into model-specific books, offerings rise exponentially. An Amazon book search of “Mercedes 300SL” returned nearly 350 results; for the 190SL, 133; for the Ponton, 16; and for the SLK, 201. When searching for model-specific books, only the most ebullient collector with deep pockets would buy all of them. You have to research, and then pick and choose which books will best suit your needs.
Finally, there are the coffee table books. My first coffee table book was found at a warehouse club around the holidays. Titled Mercedes (ISBN 3895088994), this large book was originally published in two volumes and reissued as single book for the coffee table. While the pictures tell a good story, the text in French, English and German is excellent, too. A similar find is The Ultimate History of Mercedes-Benz (ISBN: 1405453176). Published in the UK and printed in Indonesia, it is quite impressive and was affordable.
One particular book of mine will never see a coffee table; this is the French art book titled Carrosserie Passion (ISBN: 9782950115867) by Paul Bracq. After an arduous search, I was lucky to find this 1992 limited-edition gem still new and sealed. I paid dearly for it, and then was blessed to have it signed by l’auteur himself while visiting his studio. Bracq also signed for me a recent French book, Les Mercedes Pagode by Jean-Luc Fournier (ISBN: 9782953137439). I can’t read French, but the pictures tell a story I know a bit about.
Speaking of signed editions, the late John Fitch, he of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz racing team and inventor extraordinaire, tried to break a speed record at Bonneville in a friend’s 300SL a few years ago. Fitch authored Racing with Mercedes (ISBN: 0970507352995). My friend bought a case of books, had Fitch sign them, and I thought it was a good idea to get one. Fitch tells a great story of his time with Mercedes-Benz.
Finding books about any of the topics surrounding Mercedes-Benz is quite easy. Start with eBay searches in its book section – but don’t neglect eBay Motors. Alternate these searches with Amazon. Use a variety of keywords in your searches, such as Mercedes, Mercedes-Benz, or your model’s name or nickname. Once you discover a few books, additional searches by author will help you refine a search. You will soon note the number of authors is considerably smaller than the offering of books. Authors such as Barrett, Setright, Meredith, Nitske, Dennis Adler, Karl Ludvigsen, Graham Robson, John Olsen, Bruce Adams and Jim Luikens, to name a few, have all penned multiple books on the marque.
There are specialty dealers in automotive books, such as Motorbooks International, and several in the UK and Europe. Mercedes-Benz Classic has many for sale as well. Often, Mercedes-Benz books had a short shelf life and went through one printing. Even if out of print, most are easy to find. While eBay is a good source, Amazon is better – there is good categorization and the ability to choose books by condition and seller. Quite a few books in my collection were discovered on eBay, then purchased for a lower price from an Amazon used-book seller. Some are ex-library editions complete with protective jacket.
I confess that this mania for Mercedes-Benz books and Internet searching led me to the bizarre world of vintage vinyl. In a weak moment, I recently purchased two old vinyl albums: “Sing a Song of Sports Cars,” sung by Paul O’Shea (1960), a ridiculous parody with 300SL racer O’Shea and a car on the cover, and “Mercedes-Benz: A Sound and Pictorial History” (1961), two LPs curiously full of 75 years’ worth of assorted engine noises. Discussion of those, as they say, is for another time. Happy searching!
Michael Salemi
Building a Basic Mercedes-Benz Reference Library
When stewardship of my aunt’s 280SL was given to me in 1999, I was frightfully aware of how little I knew about this beautiful but needy car. I joined the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, certain that membership would provide sources to begin my Mercedes education.
I was not disappointed. After seeing an advertisement in The Star magazine, I bought my first Mercedes book: Frank Barrett’s Illustrated Mercedes-Benz Buyer’s Guide (ISBN: 0760304513). In chapter 10, Barrett provides an excellent, albeit brief overview of the W113; this only had me wanting more. I began to find additional books: L.J.K. Setright’s Mercedes-Benz SL & SLC (ISBN: 1855328801) delves into greater detail about Mercedes-Benz’s postwar history, including the SL series. Laurence Meredith’s Mercedes-Benz SL Sports Cars (ISBN: 0750922321) is more professionally written with better photographs than Setright’s. Another Meredith find was Essential Mercedes SL: 190SL & Pagoda Models (ISBN: 1870979893). Mercedes 230 250 280SL: Gold Portfolio written by R.M. Clarke is filled with period road tests and articles providing useful and arcane information.
At a silent auction for a local Section party, I won an original factory service manual covering the Pagoda. By then I was hooked, and finding Pagoda books became a passion. I became a true Mercedes-Benz bibliophile as a contributing editor for The Star, responsibilities which include history and fact checking. It’s great having an excuse to buy things you want. My Mercedes book collection grows regularly in depth and breadth.
Books provide more permanent information than fleeting web pages. Maybe you want to learn more about a specific model you saw at a concours d’elegance; perhaps you’ve read the names Rudi Uhlenhaut or Juan Manuel Fangio and would like to know more about them. You will find what you are looking for in the plethora of books about Mercedes-Benz, but it is unlikely you’ll find them on the shelves in your local library.
Thus, finding books will be a rewarding complement to your Mercedes car hobby, with the search itself providing fun, challenges, and entertainment. Even when you’re not working on the car, you can enjoy your collection in the off-season – from an easy chair, without getting your hands dirty, or busting the bank. Most books on Mercedes-Benz, even those long out of print, are readily available from a number of sources at affordable prices with a quick search.
Mercedes-Benz books fall into categories including:
• Factory-printed or authorized technical books and manuals
• Factory-printed or authorized promotional books and press kits
• Text-heavy history books
• Model-specific books
• Coffee table books
Reviewing these, technical books and manuals start with the factory service manuals. Originals are generally in binders while later reprints are perfect bound. Some are still available from Mercedes-Benz or the Classic Center, depending on model and year. Augmenting these are many parts books, specification books and similar. Publications vary by model, series and year; check with one of the club’s experts on your model to refine your search.
Promotional books and press kits are interesting finds. In my collection are Faszination SL: W113 (2003), Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren World Premiere (2003) and Mercedes-Benz: The Story of Passion (2001). Faszination is excerpted from another book, Mercedes-Benz 190SL-280SL: Vom Barock zur Pagode (ISBN: 3613013673) and published as part of a series. Along with the W113 are similar volumes for the 300SL, R129, R107 and more. The SLR McLaren and The Story of Passion are press kit volumes. These boxed sets include text, glossy color photographs, and often a CD/DVD with digital photos. They are representative of costly press materials issued for special cars. They are generally presented to journalists on a press tour, but can often be found on eBay.
In the 1950s, Daimler-Benz AG published a series of promotional books that contained text meant simply to tie together the lavishly illustrated watercolors of Hans Liska, a noted Austrian artist. The books were presented as sketchbooks and produced in hardbound editions with silk ties to hold the covers together. I’ve found a few and continue to seek more – they are sought-after collectibles. They appeal both to my right brain along with my Mercedes interest. Hardly rare, there are always some for sale on eBay.
Mercedes-Benz is the oldest automotive firm in the world, with a rich, exciting history that is the subject of many great books. One definitive text is The Star and the Laurel (ISBN: 0936573015) published by Mercedes-Benz North America in 1986. The author, the late Beverly Rae Kimes, was a highly respected automotive historian and journalist. With more than 360 pages of beautifully illustrated history in an oversize format, it is surely one of the great tomes on the subject. I will suggest this for Kime’s book – if you have to have only one history book, this might be the one to have.
A recent find of mine is the forgotten Three-Pointed Star: The Story of Mercedes-Benz by David Scott-Moncrieff, published in 1956 and extensively revised in 1979. It covers M-B history up to 1979 in an astonishingly detailed text of 470 pages. Glancing through this book makes me parrot the old adage, “They don’t make ’em like that anymore.” Generally unheard of today, Scott-Moncrieff was a noted Rolls-Royce collector and author of the era.
Smaller and less detailed is the 1955 book, The Complete Mercedes Story by the MBCA’s own W. Robert Nitske. My copy came with a perfect, vintage-1955 brochure for the Mercedes-Benz Museum, left behind by the book’s first owner! Nitske is better known for his book titled Mercedes-Benz Production Models, 1946-1975 (ISBN: 9780879380472) followed with several revisions. That is a great reference book for brief model descriptions, original prices, unit production data, and specifications revised through 1977.
Once you get into model-specific books, offerings rise exponentially. An Amazon book search of “Mercedes 300SL” returned nearly 350 results; for the 190SL, 133; for the Ponton, 16; and for the SLK, 201. When searching for model-specific books, only the most ebullient collector with deep pockets would buy all of them. You have to research, and then pick and choose which books will best suit your needs.
Finally, there are the coffee table books. My first coffee table book was found at a warehouse club around the holidays. Titled Mercedes (ISBN 3895088994), this large book was originally published in two volumes and reissued as single book for the coffee table. While the pictures tell a good story, the text in French, English and German is excellent, too. A similar find is The Ultimate History of Mercedes-Benz (ISBN: 1405453176). Published in the UK and printed in Indonesia, it is quite impressive and was affordable.
One particular book of mine will never see a coffee table; this is the French art book titled Carrosserie Passion (ISBN: 9782950115867) by Paul Bracq. After an arduous search, I was lucky to find this 1992 limited-edition gem still new and sealed. I paid dearly for it, and then was blessed to have it signed by l’auteur himself while visiting his studio. Bracq also signed for me a recent French book, Les Mercedes Pagode by Jean-Luc Fournier (ISBN: 9782953137439). I can’t read French, but the pictures tell a story I know a bit about.
Speaking of signed editions, the late John Fitch, he of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz racing team and inventor extraordinaire, tried to break a speed record at Bonneville in a friend’s 300SL a few years ago. Fitch authored Racing with Mercedes (ISBN: 0970507352995). My friend bought a case of books, had Fitch sign them, and I thought it was a good idea to get one. Fitch tells a great story of his time with Mercedes-Benz.
Finding books about any of the topics surrounding Mercedes-Benz is quite easy. Start with eBay searches in its book section – but don’t neglect eBay Motors. Alternate these searches with Amazon. Use a variety of keywords in your searches, such as Mercedes, Mercedes-Benz, or your model’s name or nickname. Once you discover a few books, additional searches by author will help you refine a search. You will soon note the number of authors is considerably smaller than the offering of books. Authors such as Barrett, Setright, Meredith, Nitske, Dennis Adler, Karl Ludvigsen, Graham Robson, John Olsen, Bruce Adams and Jim Luikens, to name a few, have all penned multiple books on the marque.
There are specialty dealers in automotive books, such as Motorbooks International, and several in the UK and Europe. Mercedes-Benz Classic has many for sale as well. Often, Mercedes-Benz books had a short shelf life and went through one printing. Even if out of print, most are easy to find. While eBay is a good source, Amazon is better – there is good categorization and the ability to choose books by condition and seller. Quite a few books in my collection were discovered on eBay, then purchased for a lower price from an Amazon used-book seller. Some are ex-library editions complete with protective jacket.
I confess that this mania for Mercedes-Benz books and Internet searching led me to the bizarre world of vintage vinyl. In a weak moment, I recently purchased two old vinyl albums: “Sing a Song of Sports Cars,” sung by Paul O’Shea (1960), a ridiculous parody with 300SL racer O’Shea and a car on the cover, and “Mercedes-Benz: A Sound and Pictorial History” (1961), two LPs curiously full of 75 years’ worth of assorted engine noises. Discussion of those, as they say, is for another time. Happy searching!