A book review by motorcycle.co.uk
Its a book listing motorcycle manufacturers from the 1920s. Its that simple. And that impressive. Researched and written down as someone's great passion, and completed after his death as a mark of respect.
The author has gathered information on over 50 British manufacturers from that era, even if it was just one guy in a shed who only ever made 3 bikes. Of course, some of those back-street bicycle makers became BSA and Matchless and so on. But lots didn't, and we should remember them.
Alphabetically listed, with a few pages on each, enough to know who those folk were, where their shed was, and what they made. He talks with affection about their follies and their triumphs, their blind alleys and their successes. He mentions the likes of Norton and Scott and Triumph, but only in passing, because such makes are well covered elsewhere. The author prefers to dwell on the less well known, and the book is the richer for not taking the easy path.
Liberally sprinkled with period adverts and photos, and those lovely line drawings which seem to be a lost artform, the book's layout becomes a pleasure. And its all in black and white, no colour reprographics here, because that wouldn't be appropriate.
I could go on about the demise of the Net Book Agreement, and the commoditising of 'literature' in your local supermarket, but... Suffice it to say that its good that someone writes this stuff down. Its good that small independant publishing houses like Panther Publishing exist. Because if somebody didn't do it, all that information would be lost.
For the restorer or historian of the period, this has to be an invaluable addition to your library.
For the non-expert, it is a fascinating glimpse into a past time.