Though there are as many reasons for collecting literature as there are individual collectors, there is only one reason for the production of the brochures — the sale of cars. Car dealerships have provided customers with sales brochures to entice them to buy their cars for over a 100 years. These brochures range from small simple leaflets which could be printed inexpensively and given out to everyone who came into the showroom to very ornate elaborate books, which were given only to wealthy car owners who could be depended upon to buy their next car from the same dealership.
There are two basic types of brochure collectors. Some collect because of nostalgia; others collect because of the historical significance of the brochures and cars that they represent.
The collecting of brochures began in the 1930s when nostalgia for cars of their youth made people have a desire to find original brochures for their cars. If you are one of these individuals, certain cars hold a fascination for you - whether it’s a luxurious limousine carrying royalty that you saw during a parade, the Ford your grandfather drove, the first car that you got to drive or the first car that you “got lucky” in. As you get older you find yourself thinking of those cars that were important in your youth. So you find a brochure, read a book, look at pictures in magazines, hang a poster on the wall - all of these things are considered automotive literature, things that you read or look at, that have to do with the sales of new cars.
Other people approach collecting from a historical perspective. They look at automobiles as marvels of design and engineering, and the brochures as objects of art which illustrate the beauty of the cars and their mechanical aspects. Rob McLellan falls in this class.
He collected his first sales brochure when he was three years old. His father was buying a new car — and young Rob was enchanted with the bright colored Indian feather on the Pontiac brochure. When he went off to college his mother (like many of yours) threw away his “treasures.” But he has since replaced that brochure with another original and went on to amass large collections of Rolls-Royce and Bentley literature, Pierce-Arrow, Aston Martin, Locomobile, Ferrari, Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg, Lamborghini, etc.
As individuals amass large collections of literature they begin to realize that they have invested quite a lot of time and money in the hobby. Literature is like fine wine - the longer it matures, the more valuable it becomes. One collection out of California that we purchased required three tractor trailer trucks to transport from California to Texas — that was over 1,000,000 items. The collector had dedicated his life to building up one of the largest collections of brochures, dealer literature, magazines and memorabilia that has ever been collected. The brochures were, for the most part, either obtained free at dealerships or traded for in the international market. When he sold the collection 60 years later he realized a good return on his investment.
Obviously this collector made a valiant attempt to obtain at least one of EVERYTHING that was ever printed by automotive manufacturers. Most collectors, however, of necessity have to limit the scope of what they collect. Some collectors focus on one specific make and year such as the 1964 Galaxie. Others want literature for all Ford Motor cars of the 1960s. One collector wants everything that was printed on cars in 1966 -the year he was born.
McLellans Automive Literature is one of the nicest companies to deal with when obtaining literature. And currently they are donating 5% of every sale to the car club of your choice. And we here at the Ford Galaxie Club would love for you to designate this club as your choice. You don’t have to be buying Galaxie literature to get them to donate either. So if you own another marque and want some literature go to:
http://www.mclellansautomotive.com
or call them at: 713- 772-3285
These folks take care of you and your literature will look like the day it was printed in most cases.
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