Phil Noyes author of Trailer Travel, A visual History of Mobile American is putting together material for a new book.
Please read over the attached letter from Phil and see if you can assist on this project.
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Hello fellow trailerites!
Some of you may know me from a book I co-wrote, “Trailer Travel, A Visual History of Mobile America” or the PBS documentary I produced, “Mobile America”.
Well it’s been eight years since the book came out and I have been avidly collecting every scrap of trailer related ephemera that I can get my hands on, as I know many of you have as well. I thought it was time to make the “Big Book” of trailers and much to my surprise, the same folks that published the last book agreed! So…I have a year to put this monster together and I need your help. The book will be a 256-page hardcover with over a thousand images. Much like the first book, all the images will be archival and that’s were you all come in.
I am hoping you will dig into your collections for me and send me your gems. I am looking for the really unique stuff, the stuff that will blow everybody away. The weird and wonderful. I can’t pay you anything, but your name will appear next to the image and in the credits at the end and if you own a shop or website that deals with “trailer” stuff, I can also ad you to the “Recourses” section at the end as well.
Here are a few of the themes I am looking for:
Weird and wonderful journeys – I have several journal/books about interesting trips people have taken, including a wonderful trip to Africa from 1939.
Strange and wonderful creations, like the Trailorboat, or the Telescoping Apartment.
Humorous postcards.
Valentine or any other greeting cards
Games and game boards.
Great magazine covers.
Hollywood…maybe you have a great shot of Rita Hayworth lounging in a Westcraft?
Personal snapshots…these are my personal favorite, as they tell a story, especially if there are a whole lot from one trip.
Sheet music and Playbills…many of the trailer companies had songs that they put out and several “trailer” related plays came out over the years.
Brochures.
Kodachrome –color slides.
Trailer Art, like all those images from the 1930’s Fortune Magazines.
You get the idea.
Now, I can’t stress enough that all these images need to be original and not things “borrowed’ from the Internet. You have to actually own the image and it needs to be original and not a copy. Lots of people sell things on EBay that are new prints from old negatives and that won’t work. If you have any concerns, just ask me and I’ll help figure it out.
The best bet is if you can have the image scanned at 300dpi and 10 inches by 12 inches, or close to that. The image should be saved as a Tiff or Jpeg. Kinko’s or anybody with a scanner can do this and if you live close to Los Angeles and have lots of goodies, I’ll come to you.
I really look forward to seeing what you all come with and I can’t thank you enough. With your help, I hope to make a book we can all be proud of.
Please send all pics and correspondence to: vintagetrailer@me.com
Happy trails!
Phil Noyes