Posted 27 January 2000 - 04:35
My 1960s race programmes (I went to 30+ meetings a year those days) were eaten by termites, SCG and C&D escaped the throwout by being water-damaged beforehand, I had the English mag Motor Racing for a number of years - it went likewise, a few years of Autosport, but Motor Sport I managed to protect until the house was demolished. A book I have lost is the Moss/Pomeroy one. But occasionally I get to pick something up at a garage (yard) sale or bookfest. Like five binders of Racing Car News (1970s), which are surplus to my needs, but someone will want them. And a friend found a pile of stuff on a tip once and I've got some replacements from them.
One little win I had was that in talking to the daughter of a photographer/racer of the late forties she told me she had her father's collection. I asked about Australian Motor Sport and she found he had the first five years in bound volumes, and she was kind enough to send them to me for a reasonable figure. That's 1946-50. Full of good stuff from those hopeful years. Lobethal, Bathurst, Ballarat (Gurney won there later) and Nowra airstrips, 1948 AGP at Point Cook naval base, all about the 500 movement growing, various specials, tips on how to build specials, incredible stuff. And the things that were planned but never happened, like a 4-mile circuit near Benalla (Vic).