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NOW AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE
Raymond Henri Dietrich
Automotive Architect of the Classic Era & Beyond
by Necah Stewart Furman, Ph.D.
This biography of Raymond H. Dietrich, known as “the automotive architect of the classic era,” is not only an entertaining and well-researched societal history, telling the Dietrich story within the context of the times from the turn-of-the century through the eight decades of his life, it is also replete with over 600 photographs of art on wheels—the elegant Dietrich-designed classic cars of the 1920s and 1930s. Car collectors and restorers will find the “Cavalcade of Dietrich Design Work” chapter to be a treasure-trove of 78 archival-type automotive photographs tracing the development of Dietrich’s extraordinary talent and innovations. Historians and auto enthusiasts alike will appreciate how this handsomely illustrated book evokes a sense of time and place as the author skillfully transports the reader from one era to another in the life of a fascinating man who left such an impressive legacy of classic car design. This biography will interest both the general reader and the car collector.
Pulitzer nominee and prize-winning author of seven books and many articles and reviews, Necah Stewart Furman, Ph.D., was selected by the Dietrich family as his biographer. Granted numerous hours of taped interviews, she was also given access to Dietrich’s personal business and legal files, photographs, designs, and lithographs.
Well-known automotive author Richard Burns Carson employs his engaging literary style in writing the annotations for the photographs in the final chapter, while respected historian and coachwork specialist Walter E. Gosden lends his imprimatur with the Preface.
Described as a "tour de force," "amazing," and "an indispensable reference," by the likes of SAH Director Ruben Verdes and Editor and Director Classic Cars Seen, Michelle AH Cousineau, respectively. Comments by reviewers and car enthusiasts alike testify to the book's excellence in scholarship, literary style, and value as a collector's item.
- Written by Pulitzer Prize nominee Necah Stewart Furman, Ph.D., this comprehensive, entertaining, and long-awaited biography of famous classic car designer Raymond H. Dietrich is an accurate record of his life and times based upon records and interviews unavailable to others.
- Over 600 photographs and documents, many never previously published.
- Traces the eight decades of the designer's life and times revealing little known aspects of his career; his triumphs over tragedy.
- Contains almost eighty archival photographs with annotations by automotive author, Richard Burns Carson.
- Includes a "Back to the Future" section of beautifully restored Classics renovated by present-day owners with loving care and technical expertise, photographed by acclaimed photographer Hugues Vanhoolandt.
- Automotive historians, car collectors, and those simply looking for a good read will appreciate how this handsome biography of Raymond H. Dietrich evokes a sense of time and place, and also manages to correct published misinformation in the process.
- ISBN: 978-1-956309-09-6
- Page Size: 290mm x 254mm
- Page count: 632
- Image count: 615
- Hard cover with dust jacket
- First published 2023
Thank you, Locomobilist and SAHB, for the reviewMarch, 2024
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Thank you, Jürgen Lewandowski, for the nice review in Motorworld Bulletin
Issue 171, April 2024
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English translation:
If there is currently a publisher that produces the best
books on the subject of automobile design, then this crown certainly belongs to
the American house Dalton Watson, from which in 2023, among other things,
volumes such as Bugatti - The Italian Decade about the EB 110, a book about the
Allard Motor Company, a fascinating work about the Figoni body series on
Delahaye chassis and a great book about futuristic car design sketches were
published. And now Glyn and Jean Morris have published another volume about
Raymond Henri Dietrich, the man who had a decisive influence on American
automobile design for decades. Born in 1894, Dietrich founded Le Baron
Carrossiers in New York in 1920 with Tom Hibbard, then worked with Howard
“Dutch” Darrin in Paris and then dressed Studebaker, Dodge, Packard, Lincoln
and Franklin with his designs.
His Lincoln Phaeton models in particular won trophies at the
major concours - and from 1932 to 1938 Dietrich was responsible for the
Chrysler models and created vehicles of timeless beauty. And the fact that the
groundbreaking Tucker was not a success was less due to its design, which came
from Alex Tremulis and Dietrich, and more due to the fact that the Tucker was
massively bullied by the major manufacturers in Detroit and Preston Tucker
after 51 vehicles were built was bankrupt.
Today, the models designed by Raymond Henri Dietrich are
among the great classics of American car history - anyone who drives to Pebble
Beach in a Packard Twelve Sport Phaeton or a Lincoln KB Five-Passenger
Convertible Sedan can be pretty sure that they will take home a prize take. A
wonderful book about a remarkable designer who also achieved success as an
entrepreneur. As is often the case, this work is unfortunately only available
in English.
Thank you, Earl Rubenstein, for the review.February, 2024
In 1978, I read a book, “History of Packard” that was excellent. However, Necah Furman’s biography “Raymond Henri Dietrich, Automotive Architect….” exceeds that book in detail, endnotes, appendices, and accuracy 1,000%, especially as it relates to the story of his association with the Packard Motor Car Company. Likewise, her coverage of Dietrich’s Car of the Dome design contribution and the comparative photos of the car on pages 254 and 255 is another example of the interesting detail in the book.
I knew Ray and Marion Dietrich personally since 1970 and would pick them up at the Los Angeles International Airport when they were there visiting, after which we would have dinner at my home. On one of those occasions Ray authenticated my 1935 S8 Dual Cowl Phaeton with a personal letter, which is photographed on page 246 in Furman’s biography of Ray and explains the car’s brass tag M631 as his accounting number to Murray Body Company for supervising the Packard’s construction.
This outstanding book is the definitive biography of Ray Dietrich, as she had access to him and his materials while he was still alive. It is a valuable resource for classic car people and a fascinating read.
Earl Rubenstein
Former President of the Packard International Motor Car Club
Thank you, SpeedReaders.info, for the review.February, 2024
Click on the image or this link to be taken to SpeedReaders for the full review.
Thank you, Classic & Sports Car, for the review.March, 2024
Publisher's Note:
While Dietrich was still alive, the author completed only an initial draft "manuscript." It was not released as a published "book" until recently. Therefore, this is the first comprehensive and family-sanctioned biography of Ray Dietrich in print. While there is no photo of Car of the Dome in the final full color appendix, the book has two photos of this special car on pages 254 and 255.
Terrific article in deRivaz & IvesJanuary 18, 2024
Click the image above or this link to be taken to the deRivaz & Ives page
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