"Sixty Miles of Pencil"

By P. R. Reynolds and K. R. Clark. 126 pp. 11 1/8 in. x 8 1/2 in. (Gentry Books Ltd., 55/61, Moorgate, London, EC2R 6BR. £3.00.)

This is something out of the ordinary. Described as an intimate impression of the Brighton Run, it consists of pencil drawings of 63 veteran cars which took part in that event in 1970. One’s initial impression is that it is rather an expensive nonsense, for the sketches are so realistic and accurate they could have been done from photographs. After reading Reynolds’ description of his sketching technique and realising these were drawn from the roadside, admiration is enhanced. And as each full-page picture gets a lengthy account of the veteran depicted, from Clark’s pen, in which the history of most of the cars is unfolded, one of the most fascinating aspects of the veteran-car cult, but now often neglected, even in programmes of old-car events, this big tome has some merit.

Admittedly the text tends to be jolly and journalese. Admittedly good photographs, especially colour ones, could catch the “Brighton” atmosphere almost as effectively. But it is a book which will please would-be artists, will appeal to VCC members, especially those depicted in its pages. So it can be set down as a good present. There is a Foreword by—guess who?—Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, who is a Director of the Publishing company; it is an interesting history of the Run itself, from the revival of the original 1896 Emancipation Run in 1927 onwards, and in which his Lordship estimates the spectators at two million a year and says it costs some £100 to enter for this now International event. —W. B.