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Automobiles in the West. A significant

Currency:USD Category:Antiques Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Automobiles in the West. A significant
Automobiles in the West. A significant collection of the superlatively rare West Coast automobile magazine Motor West - The Motoring Authority of the Pacific Coast. 31 original issues, various dates 1917-21, with some consecutivity (request complete list). "An Illustrated Automobile Magazine of Quality." 9 x 11 -3/4 , 32-96 pp. each, red and black covers, black and white text. Profusely illustrated, with photos, news, and ads focusing on West Coast auto business and industry, shows, dealers, trends, "trade briefs and factory gossip," racing, accessories, and more. An attractive magazine in the style of its Eastern peers such as Motor Age, well written, attractively designed, and substantial. Published in Los Angeles, references are also present to Western locales, from San Diego to Seattle, even occasionally mentioning Hawaii. Among the items found in the earliest issue alone, Nov. 15, 1917: "Los Angeles Show an Index to Pacific Coast Prosperity"; "Oregon Close to 50,000 Car Mark"; "Early Days of Motor Car Industry in Los Angeles," with photo of first motor delivery wagon in L.A., a 1902 Waverley Electric; "Los Angeles Sets Styles in Car Bodies and Tops," with eight photos of stunning cars by Earl et al, showing California's "fertility of ideas...." In other issues: preview of the Heine-Velox, costing up to $25,000; "San Francisco Hub of Central Calif. Touring"; "Good Times in N.W. Bring Car Sales," "Hawaiian Trade Conditions Good," "Seattle Dealers Sell 17,500 Cars," "Second Annual Pacific Auto Shows," and much, much more! A wide variety of marques, both car and truck, prominent and obscure, are encountered in both photos, text, and ads. Important provenance: ex-library, then -Bill Harrah's librarian, with rubber stamps of each. Most with small green mailing label, contemporary blue "First Copy" and date rubber stamps. Most with spine, cover, and fore-edge handling wear, some cover creases and tears, many with partial or full spine repairs with kraft paper tape, one with front cover replaced with kraft wrapper when new, two with back covers replaced thusly, and one with both covers replaced, probably due to postal damage. But in all, condition about good to very good, and entirely satisfactory. A superb, richly detailed chronicle of the automobile industry and business on the West Coast in this early period. Excessively rare: no issues before 1923 in Smithsonian Road Transportation Library; none before 1939 in California State Library; none of any date in Library of Congress, Los Angeles or San Francisco Public Libraries, etc.