New Caravan History Book

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

For those of you interested in Australian caravan history, it is really exciting to tell you about the release of a new book Recreational Vehicles:  A World History 1872-1939 written by Andrew Woodmansey:



Andrew is an Australian caravan/recreational vehicle writer based in Sydney.

As implied by the title, the book covers the development of 'recreational vehicles' - caravans and motor homes - around the world up to the commencement of World War II. It includes a chapter on Australia, as well as chapters about the UK, France & Belgium, the USA, Germany and New Zealand.

What is particularly exciting about the book from an Australian perspective is that during his research on Australian caravans, Andrew, with the assistance of Richard Potter (Vantoura), Bill Propert (of the Propert family) and me, completely overturned some of the things we thought we knew about the development of the caravan industry in our country. Now that the book has been released I will write up a couple of those discoveries for the Down History Lane section of the Forum.

Andrew's book does not seek to provide a compendium of caravan manufacturers in each country, but instead provides an overview of recreational vehicle development and some of the major - and some of the quirky - episodes during that development. The book is full of gorgeous contemporary photos. And important for the likes of people such as Cobber and me...it includes an Index!

Andrew has also set up a new website which will provide further insights into the history of recreational vehicles: www.rvhistory.com

If you're interested in the book, it's published by Pen & Sword and is available online from Booktopia.

Sorry if this looks like an advertorial, but I really am pretty excited about the arrival of this book and the fact that includes info about Australia!

Don Ricardo

[cobber]

WOW !!
That is exciting news Don R.
Covers a period of RV history I am particularly interested in 🤪. It will be interesting to see what previously held views you had have been overturned  😉

I will have to buy it before it sells out.

Cobber

[Mustang]

Great to have your input from this forum Richard, well done.

Edit
I have now ordered this amazing document, I dare say it will be in short runs by book printing standards, & would suggest members get in early. The purchase at this stage is a pre-order.

[woody99]

Thank you Don Ricardo for your kind words about the book. The Acknowledgements page of the book reads in part:

"In Australia, my sincere appreciation goes to Richard Dickins, probably the most knowledgeable person in Australia on the topic of early Australian RVs. Thank you, Richard, for your research and detective work on my behalf. Thanks also go to Richard Potter, Bill Propert, Michael Tierney, Jeffry Gill, Trevor Gill, Chris Heysen, David Cook, Tori Dixon-Whittle, the Caravan and Camping Industries Association of South Australia, The Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club of Australia and the members of the Vintage Caravans forum who keep the photos and memories of early Australian RVs alive." To that I must add my thanks to Cobber who was my first contact point with the forum and who suggested that Don Ricardo might be able to help - something of an understatement!

I am of course most grateful to anyone who wants to buy the book but would ask for their patience. There are severe pandemic-related shipping delays currently in bringing the book over from the UK combined with a 10% depreciation of the UK Pound against the A$ since the start of the Ukraine war. Air shipments to Australia are possible but are more expensive and taking 2-3 weeks. The book should be available in small numbers from April 6th onwards - I will update rvhistory.com/book as I become aware of where it's available. I feel sure that you will find the wait (and cost) worthwhile.

My thanks again to you all for your important contributions to the book and to the hobby generally. Keep up the good work!

Andrew Woodmansey
(Woody 99)

[Don Ricardo]

Mar 30, 2022 16:51:00 GMT 10 cobber said:

WOW !!
That is exciting news Don R.
Covers a period of RV history I am particularly interested in 🤪. It will be interesting to see what previously held views you had have been overturned  😉

I will have to buy it before it sells out.

Cobber

Hi Cobber,

Not only the "previously held views (I) had", but everyone I think.

You will love the book!

Don Ricardo

[cobber]

G’day Don R & woody99,

I received my copy of this wonderful quality book a couple of days ago. Naturally I went to the Australian chapter first 🙄, then the English chapter.

I can’t begin to imagine how long it took to research and gather the information in this book.
The text is interesting, informative and easy to read and there are wonderful large,sharp,black and white photos on almost every page of the book relevant to the text on the preceding page, it is a beautiful book, highly recommended for anybody even slightly interested in the development of this great hobby.
Congratulations woody99 😉

Another great resource Andrew has provided is the web site mentioned by Don R. the web site www.rvhistory.com

Cobber.

[Roehm3108]

Well, well, well DonR. The furtive comments et al finally have joined the dots. This explains a lot of hints! Sounds like something great has come together.

[Jennison]

I too now own a copy of this beautiful book and can only echo cobbers and DONR’s earlier comments. Full of wonderfull photos and information highlighting the innovative thinking of early caravan/rv pioneers from around the world. I have found it very interesting that so many of these pioneers were unknowingly all “marching to the same tune” seeking ways to make their vans more efficient in use of space, aerodynamics, lightness in weight and strength in construction. Andrew has done an amazing job researching and putting this all together
I would commend this to all whether you are a dedicated VVer or a modern grey nomad to get yourself a copy, it’s great reading.
Jenno

[Franklin1]

G'day All, I'm not having much luck getting a copy of this book. I ordered and paid a total of $90.20 back in April for the book and shipping.

The current status of my order is that Booktopia don't know when they will get supply...

To rub salt into the wound, I discovered in late May that the price of the book had been reduced by 30%, from $85.25 down to $59.40 ...

And ever since paying for the order, I've been getting emails for promotions of "free shipping" and other benefits...

If you are thinking of purchasing this book, I would suggest you sign up for an Account with Booktopia, and then do nothing but sit back and wait! Eventually you should get an email offering 'free shipping' for a limited period of time. That will save you approx $7.95 as well as the saving from the lower price of the book itself.

cheers,

Al.

[Mustang]

Hi Al,
I eventually received mine at the high prices above.
I also have been in touch with the publisher to reproduce extracts from the book, they have been very responsive.

Maybe worth an email to them. Definitely a book to have.
Harriet Fielding <[e-mail]>
Brent

[cobber]

Gee Al you can sure feel disappointed in Booktopia but you won’t be disappointed in the books quality or content when you get it, hope that helps 😁

For anyone else thinking of buying the book can I suggest you look at Amazon, $55 free delivery 😩- 

Cobber.

[cobber]

Andrews web site mentioned above.  www.rvhistory.com   has A very interesting item about Jennison vans recently posted on it.

www.rvhistory.com/post/an-australian-rv-pathfinder

Congratulations Andrew, my only complaint is ……. it doesn’t have a ‘Like’ button. 😜

Cobber.

[woody99]

Thanks to everyone who has bought the book Recreational Vehicles: A World History and/or visited my site at rvhistory.com. I hope you have found some of the blogs (now 52) to be of interest – they always have a good readership from Australia.

I have this week launched an eBook trial on the site to see if this format is appealing to those with an interest in RV history. The idea is that ebooks fill the gap nicely between the blogs and the print book. The first eBook is a curated selection of fifty early RV patents from around the world (including two from Australia from Messrs. Propert and Jennison), an idea I first explored in the Appendix of the print book. I think it's a fascinating glimpse into the minds of the early caravan and motorhome inventors and helps explain why we've ended up with the RV shapes and sizes we have today.

For the time being the eBooks will only be available from Amazon as a Kindle Edition, but this may change depending on interest.

Further details at: www.rvhistory.com/about-1

Best Wishes to all.

Andrew

[shesgotthelook]

I am looking to sell my copy of this book. Unfortunately the postage is a bit steep due to weight (& prices set to increase next week )
If you are interested, send me a message & I'll see what I can do. NOW SOLD

SGTL

[Jennison]

Hi SGTL
I know a fellow who would be interested. He is an older chap who may be more comfortable with your phone number to arrange things if that is ok with you. If so message it to me and I will pass it on to him
Regards
Jenno

[CanAm]

woody99 - just grabbed a copy, looking forward to a great read (& hopefully some inspiration to get stuck into the Baravan )

[woody99]

For those interested I have made a free pdf ebook available on Fifty Early RV Patents at the bottom of this page on my site:

www.rvhistory.com/book

Seasons greeting to all!

Andrew

[cobber]

Thanks Andrew,
I regularly check the BLOG on your site and was pleased to see you have finished your “History of the Curtiss Aerocar” research and able to devote time to updating the Blog, I enjoyed your item about the RV of the future it was interesting to see how many innovations of the future have been done in the days of vintage caravans.

Cobber.