Porsche: Brochures and Sales Literature, A Source Book, 1948-1965 [Hardcover]

Susann C. Miller (Author), Richard F.Merritt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1985

All the known brochures and sales literature on the 356 Porsche from 1948 to 1965 are reproduced in black and white. This book includes the accessories for the 345A, B, and C. Vacation Delivery, Color Chart Codes, Beutler 4-seater, Carrera 2, 904, 917, Carrera RS, Speeder, Aircraft Engine, Rotorcycle, Hunter, Aircraft Engine and the Tractor to name but a few. Introductions are written by Jim Perrin and Prescott Kelly.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book has become the standard reference for Porsche enthusiasts around the world. -- Jim Perrin, Historian, 356 Registry, Introduction, Porsche Brochures and Sales Literature December, 2005 --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Susann C. Miller has been a freelance automotive writer and photographer for the past twenty-nine years, specializing in vintage and historic racing and technical writing. She has authored ten books on the Porsche and was the editor of a Porsche enthusiast magazine. In her spare time Susann can be found racing a 1968 Porsche 911 at vintage weekends on road racing tracks.

Richard F. Merritt's first sports car was a 1952 Jaguar XK-120M roadster and later a 1953 Ferrari V12 roadster. In 1964 he finally purchased a 356SC and still says it was the best car he ever owned. He has written books on Ferrari and has continued being a national judge at concours across the country. He has worked for USDOT in Washington, DC, since 1982, approving or rejecting applications to import cars for testing, research, racing, and show or display. He said he should have retired years ago, but why quit when he is getting paid for his hobby. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: M & M Publishing; Volume 1, Revised edition (1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915927020
• ISBN-13: 978-0915927029
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,749,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SpeedReaders.info Review, December 10, 2009

By 

Speed Readers (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Porsche: Brochures and Sales Literature--A Source Book, 1948-1965 (Hardcover)

Porsche: Brochures and Sales Literature, A Source Book, 1948-1965
by Susann C Miller & Richard F Merritt

Are you are a Porsche person? Do you know about this book? If not, you should.

Are you a researcher or historian? Is this book already in your library? If not, you are missing a worthwhile resource.

Porsche Brochures and Sales Literature, 1948-1965, now in its Third Edition, has been revised and expanded twice since it was first published in 1978. As with most books of this type, the mere act of publishing brings forth additional information. Sometimes the volume of new material, coupled with the popularity (and sales) of the book, warrant these second, third, etc editions.

Although the book is made up of reproductions of factory literature, the co-authors have written captions containing detailed descriptions of each piece, as well as of the individual pages of each. Descriptions begin with measurements in both metric and US, followed by physical properties and appearances including color and tone of paper and inks used. The book is printed in black and white as color reproduction and printing was deemed too costly. Yet the descriptions are sufficiently clear and detailed to enable the book to be used as a source for authenticating and differentiating a true original collectible piece of factory literature from a high-quality copy.

As a reference and research tool, this book is a dream. It contains "all the known brochures and sales literature published or made available by Porsche from 1948 to 1965". The material is arranged chronologically--an accomplishment in itself since, as anyone who has examined or owns manufacturer's literature knows, it isn't always clearly dated. Finding a particular piece or item of information is simplified by a Table of Contents that clearly and thoroughly lists each piece. Better yet, these are not poor quality indecipherable reproductions. You can read every word of every item reproduced throughout the book due to the care taken accomplishing the photocopying or scanning. The book was then printed landscape format on a gloss stock. There's no eye-strain involved in reading each and every page bound between the hard covers. Lest you be concerned or curious; no rules or laws of copyright were broken or "conveniently ignored" either. That said, the reproduction of any pages in this book is restricted under Universal and Pan American copyright conventions.

To give you an idea of the just how comprehensive the information is, it covers and includes; paint numbers, accessories, specifications, technical data, color charts, delivery plans, price lists, Porsche's marine and aircraft engines, the Rotorcycle, the Porsche farm tractor and more. The authors did not limit themselves only to material they had personally managed to acquire. In a show of trust and support of the project, some really rare, obscure and hard to find (thus monetarily very valuable) material was loaned to them for processing in order that it could be included too.

So, what of these authors? Who are they? Well, Susann Miller has now been vintage racing her 1968 Porsche 911L for well over a decade. She has also authored additional Porsche titles including the now out-of-print Porsche Power, Performance & Perfection and the two Source Books, one titled Porsche 911/912 and the other Porsche 911. Richard Merritt divides his automotive attention and enthusiasm between Porsches and Ferraris, and has authored or co-authored books about each.

With just shy of 100 different, multi-paged pieces of factory literature reproduced on its 320 10" x 8" pages, this book is veritable treasure trove of information.

Copyright 2009 Helen V Hutchings (speedreaders.info)

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have Source Book For 356 Owners!, February 22, 2010

By 

L. Raskin "Lee Raskin" (Brooklandville, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Porsche: Brochures and Sales Literature--A Source Book, 1948-1965 (Hardcover)

Susann Miller and Richard Merritt put together a terrific 356 Porsche reference and source book which contains all of the Porsche Factory brochures. If you are restoring a 356,this is the source book to have to be 100% accurate. This is an updated publication of their original book. It contains all the known sales literature on the Porsche 356 including paint numbers, accessories, along with rare models, such as the Beutler, and early street/racing model brochures, like the 550 Spyder and 904. I use this source book constantly to be sure I'm being authentic and correct for restoration information and writing about historic Porsches. It's a sure winner!

Lee Raskin, James Dean and early Porsche historian
Brooklandville, MD