“ALL IN THE GOLDEN AFTERNOON.”—The sun beats down, the chauffeur attends to something, the ladies look resigned, the gentleman sleeps it off; motoring in a 24 h.p. Fiat, 1985. This picture symbolises the story Anthony Bird tells in “The Motor Car, 1765-1914.” In 1905 motor-cars were taking a shape presentday motorists will recognise; before that, shapes were bizarre, styling peculiar; and from the viewpoint of comfort, motor-cars were no places in which to sleep. But it was in these years, at first with steam engines to give traction, later with petrol engines, that experimenters pioneered the luxurious vehicles of today. In telling about the early motor-cars Mr Bird avoids a mass of designs, dates and statistics; he has written a story which, while sufficiently authoritative and factual to satisfy the most avid “old-car” enthusiast, provides bright entertainment for the ordinary reader. Mr Bird should have many readers; he himself notes that devotees of the “old-car” cult are prepared to pay high prices for reproductions of earlier models. “The Motor Car, 1765-1914” is published by Batsford.

Press, Volume C, Issue 29524, 27 May 1961, Page 3

“ALL IN THE GOLDEN AFTERNOON.”—The sun beats down, the chauffeur attends to something, the ladies look resigned, the gentleman sleeps it off; motoring in a 24 h.p. Fiat, 1985. This picture symbolises the story Anthony Bird tells in “The Motor Car, 1765-1914.” In 1905 motor-cars were taking a shape presentday motorists will recognise; before that, shapes were bizarre, styling peculiar; and from the viewpoint of comfort, motor-cars were no places in which to sleep. But it was in these years, at first with steam engines to give traction, later with petrol engines, that experimenters pioneered the luxurious vehicles of today. In telling about the early motor-cars Mr Bird avoids a mass of designs, dates and statistics; he has written a story which, while sufficiently authoritative and factual to satisfy the most avid “old-car” enthusiast, provides bright entertainment for the ordinary reader. Mr Bird should have many readers; he himself notes that devotees of the “old-car” cult are prepared to pay high prices for reproductions of earlier models. “The Motor Car, 1765-1914” is published by Batsford.