Kenneth Howard/Von Dutch [Hardcover]

St John Morton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001

The standard edition is hand bound in cloth. There are some very limited editions of this hand crafted book on Von Dutch. Some are covered in leather and cloth with "cord embossing" and a slip case. Others are in full leather. Available from the publisher on special order.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A real tribute to an artist we all looked up to. -- A

A really nice book written by the "elder statesman" of the custom paint world. -- Herb

A very well done book by a true craftsman. -- AutoArt magazine, January, 2002

From the Publisher

This book on the "famous" Von Dutch a.k.a Kenneth Howard, contains many photos taken from other sources. There have been thousands of photos taken of this very colorful man and his work since the early 1950s. After Dutch died in 1992, there was a conflict between his family and the "executor" of his estate. Some of his work was put on display, but many of his works were kept from public view. There were very few photos of his family except his daughters in early life and at some art shows. The "owners" of many Von Dutch photographs have not allowed them to be published.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 65 pages
• Publisher: St. John Design Studio (December 1, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0970088132
• ISBN-13: 978-0970088130
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,194,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book put together by St. John Morton, October 26, 2002

By 

Elvis-from-Hell (Fort Lauderdale, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kenneth Howard/Von Dutch (Hardcover)

This is the first book devoted exclusively to hot rod artist Von Dutch (although there is currently another one in the works by (I believe) Last Gasp in connection with a retrospective of his work currently showing in California). This book is a private publication (i.e. self-publication) put out with obvious care by St. John Morton. Apparently, it's available in 3 forms (the least expensive being the hard cover edition, another edition with a leather spine and slip cover and the third, most expensive edition which has a full leather cover). I bought the leather spined, slip covered edition which is hand signed and numbered by the author.

The downside to this book is that most of the photos of Von Dutch's pinstriping, paintings and custom car work have already appeared in the Last Gasp publication "Kustom Kulture." There are, however, a few new pieces in this book. The other downside is that some of the images look like very high quality photocopies of images published elsewhere. As long as you understand that this is a private pressing book, I think you'll be very happy with it. Again, it's obvious that the author devoted loving attention to the creation of this book. And, to date, it's the most comprehensive review of Von Dutch's work available.

Definitely worth owning.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very high quality, Handcrafted limited production book, March 5, 2005

By 

John O. Morton "'St.' John Morton" (Aptos, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kenneth Howard/Von Dutch (Hardcover)

This high quality book is computer printed in full color with some B & W photos, then hand bound. Some of the photos are very rare. The standard edition is machine bound in a nice hard cover. The collectors edition is handbound in leather & cloth with a matching slipcase in hard cover.

This 60 page book was designed as a catalog for the Von Dutch Art show at CSU Northridge (California) in 2002.
Due to a conflict with the Kenneth Howard estate, this book was never available to the public until 2003. An excellent edition for the Kustom Kulture fan, written and published by 'St.' John Morton, a "Hall of Fame" member who has been custom painting & pinstriping since 1955.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars collector bias, May 8, 2003

By 

SMC (Lynwood, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kenneth Howard/Von Dutch (Hardcover)

I understand other works on Von Dutch/Kenneth Howard are on the horizon, but you have to give credit to St John Morton who has put together a photo essay of the "legendary" craftsman, machinist, artist, and renown pin striper (as of this writing) for doing it now!