Topic: Anybody else accumulate literature?

[John Hubertz]

Hey all....  perhaps out of my frustration at having to wait till the owner returns from Florida to pick up my 450SEL, I've been a bit naughty on ebay....

I've spent about $50 total and gotten:

1.  an original "mini" brochure of all the models (undated - probably '76 or '77 as it does not include the 6.9)



2.  a 1977 large all-model brochure



3.  a 1977 - 78?  (copyright 77) all-model dealer showroom brochure (pretty neat in whitish-silver cover with a blue MB emblem)




Anybody else collect miscellany like this?

I love eBay!  I've gotten everything from my bosch foglamp "cores" that I rebuilt to a New Old Stock trunk cloisonne (spelling?) emblem/lock cover for my Mark VIII.

(btw - the dashmat dash cover arrived and it looks VERY nice.  They are quite simple and I bet they'd not mind making a mirror for an Aussie or two.....  I bought some new post-it velcro patch thingies at the hardware for $3 so I can mount it up without the included velcro that has traditional adhesive backing)

Arggh!  I want my car to arrive!

J

[Mforcer]

Nice start to your collection

I have collected a small box full of W116 literature. Just about any brochure I have come across from around the world is now in my collection. Most of the brochures and magazines I have can now be found in the Library at www.w116.org/library.php. I have found that with many of the brochures, there are only slight changes over the years.

[OzBenzHead]

I have three file boxes full of brochures, booklets, magazine adverts, and the like (all sealed in airtight baggies with moisture absorbers) - about 130 at last count; plus some large posters (75th Anniversary factory-issued reprints of 1920s originals).  I backed off collecting such stuff about a year ago because I'd run out of storage space.  Along with a couple of dozen M-B-related books (coffee-table picture variety as well as narrative/history) and 4,500 pages of workshop manuals, there's just no room left.

[John Hubertz]

There is an amazingly rare book for sale on ebay right now - the story of Mr. Mercedes by his son - 1st edition, copyright 1977 I think.  It is $9.99 I think....

[OzBenzHead]

There is an amazingly rare book for sale on ebay right now - the story of Mr. Mercedes by his son - 1st edition, copyright 1977 I think.  It is $9.99 I think....

John: I have that book: My Father, Mr Mercédès by Guy Jellinek-Mercédès (1966)  (translated by Ruth Hassell) (1st English-language edition), London: G T Foulis & Co., printed in Holland by Bosch & Keuning, Baarn.

The original edition was in French, and published 1961 by Editions France-Empire (Paris). My copy has a note under the copyright and editions entry declaring that "This edition not for sale in USA".

Perhaps the copy on eBay is the 1st American edition?

The book makes fascinating reading, and at $9.99 would be a worthwhile purchase (I'm sure I paid very considerably more for mine but can't locate the details just now).

[OzBenzHead]

Another M-B book I have (and paid quite a lot for last year) is The Car of Kings: The Mercedes "K" and "S" by Herbert Lozier (1967) (1st edn), Philadelphia: Chilton Book Co. It is in absolutely mint condition; it contains over 160 photos/illustrations in its 410 pages, and includes, at the back, a reproduction of the complete 90-page Introduction Book No. 6202 SS E for Mercedes-Benz Sports Cars Type SS and Type SSK.

[Mforcer]

I have spent enough on MB literature as it is but now I may just need to expand my collection again

[michaeld]

That's a good question, John.

I've come late into this 116 game, but I've found I want to know as much as I can about these cars.  I guess as much as anything, I want to know the story; I want to connect with the w116 experience.  Obviously, car manufacturers build their cars so that people will buy them NEW; so the ads, and all the reviews and articles from the 70's are a huge part of the story of these cars.  I'd like to see all your libraries.

Because these cars were so expensive in their day (at least in the USA), they are fairly rare.  There just isn't a ton of information out there about them, is there?  I haven't been out there driving up the bids on Mercedes ads and articles (at least, not yet), but I certainly HAVE spent some serious time online surfing the web for stuff about these cars.

[Mforcer]

Before this site, there was very little information about these cars on the web. If you haven't done so, do check out the Library for most of my collection of magazine articles.

In my travels around the web, I found that most car magazines simply write about the car industries in their own country with the addition of the sports cars and exotics from overseas. I can't see the W116 sedan being regarded as either. There are plenty of reviews of W116 in their home country of West Germany but unfortunately I am unable to read German. This leave the only source of W116 material I have coming from the UK, USA or Australia.

Happy reading in the library!