Description
Authors: Arnold Davey & Anthony May, Hardbound, 497 Pages, ISBN:9780715376959, 1st Edition, 1978 **SECOND HAND BOOK IN PERFECT CONDITION**
This is the definitive history of a remarkable line of thoroughbred motor cars, from modest beginnings at the turn of the century and the production of the first motorcycles — whose open-ended cylinders were perfectly placed to fill up with grit! — to the present day, when an electronic dashboard is just one of the exciting features of the latest prototype.
Several years' painstaking research have gone into the compilation of this book; the authors, both officials of the Lagonda Club, drew on four important sources: firstly, contemporary letters, drawings and photographs; secondly, interviews with ex-employees, drivers and customers whose memories stretched back forty years or more (in particular Frank Feeley, who worked for the company from 1926 to 1954, rising to become chief body designer); thirdly, contemporary magazines and other publications, including of course the official Lagonda Club Magazine from 1951 to date; and finally, the cars themselves, which in some rare cases remain intact.
The Club also has relevant papers left by W 0 Bentley; access to the collection of photographs left by Bert Hammond, who was chief tester (among other things) during his career at Lagonda, from 1902 to 1935; and the assistance of Ivan Forshaw, the Club's technical adviser for 25 years, whose collection of press cuttings from the twenties and thirties covers practically everything published on Lagondas.
Lagonda — a History of the Marque is a fascinating account of the company's achievements, from the earliest pioneering days, through trial and experiment, to the realisation of some of the finest, fastest and most elegant cars ever produced.
