Viva Espana! But not as in the hit of Imca Marina, but as in 'Spanish Post-War road and racing motorcycles'.
That book appeared in the Osprey Collectors Libaray, around the mid-eighties. After the tip, we thought it would be useful to have a look at boekwinkeltjes.nl, a site on which people can offer… the hands books.
The book with stiff cover is about the Spanish motorcycle industry. And that was once quite impressive. Brands such as Derbi, Montesa, and Ossa were quite iconic. And the 400-500 cc four-stroke single-pits from Sanglas were tough in an endearing way. The writer, Mick Walker, is a craftsman and a passionate motorcycle enthusiast. In this way we learn Aleu, AMS as well as the 'standing names'. ARC, Avello, BH, BJR, Clua, Cofersa, Coronat, Darlan, Ducson, Edeta, Elig, Evysca, Gimson, Gorrion, Huracan, Kobas, Lube, Mavisa, Merlin, Montfort, Motobic, Motor Hispania, Mototrans (Ducati license) , Movesa, Mymsa, Narcla, Pony, Reddis, Rieju (still in the market), ROA, Rovena, Ruter, Sandrain, Serveta, Setter, Torrot, Villof, Yamaha Semsa and Yankee.
The book, which is almost 200 pages and rich with (black and white) photos, is indicative of a time when there was still wide interest in (this kind of) books.
The range of 2de hand books in the automotive segment at book stores, Amazon and Bol.com lets you enjoy the most interesting pieces of car and motorcycle history for little money.
What is particularly striking is the difference in depth between the 2de hand books and the more recent stories about the same subject matter that are becoming more superficial per generation of internet users. These texts are often the blurred result of more and more copy-paste work.
We remember a whole series of stories on different sites where there was always Mr Boulange. It was about a French brand. We searched a bit further and found the source in the gaps of the internet. Mr Boulanger was fully mentioned in that text. Somewhere along the way, an over-typer had lost the 'r'. And at least six followers had largely duplicated the story. Even without the 'r'.
We know of course that the internet is something of a transient nature and that in a few years' time we will just read books and printed sheets again because the server parks have generated so much heat that we live in a tropical climate and so much biomass has been added that paper is sustainable and costs nothing more.
Ai, that's a bit short. Yet…
Then the quality in publications also returns. Black on white. Simply because it is being researched and written again.
In the meantime, providers of 2de hand books are an endearing option for days of reading pleasure.
Even if they are on the internet. 🙂