A.Q.'s E.L. Cord Book #1,000 on eBay

A statement in the brochure that advertized the original E. L. Cord book assured buyers that once what was advertized as the limited edition of 2500 books were sold, that that would be it, by this statement; "The destruction of all printing plates has been legally witnessed and attested to by an officer of the Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania". Sure sounded like there would be no more, didn't it? Assuming that statement is true, the "repop" edition must have been made by copying the individual pages of an original book. Sleazy, in my opinion.

Like Chris, I picked up a reprint. Not going to debate the "new" IQ's integrity as to whether or not they should have reprinted, but I think it's a pretty nice book. While I suspect it will increase in value over the years (to a lesser extent than the original), I bought it to read and as a reference.

I have a number of the AQ ELC books. The first couple were given to me by my Grandmother for Christmas one year. They were "censored" by her as she did not like a paragraph or two about some escapades that my Grandfather may or may not have done.

It wasn't till I picked up a few more copies on eBay some years later that I finally got to see what was under the heavy white paper that she had glued over the offending paragraphs.

Actually, I was a little dissapointed. I was expecting something really juicy. If you are curious about what she censored, just ask me when you see me in Auburn sometime. I don't care to point the paragraphs out in a public forum.

Like Josh said, the originals were a little better quality. I did think the reprints were nice though.

That said, I prefer the new book by Josh Malks and have it in my office in full view of everyone that enters.

The AQ reprint was fabric bound and the quality of printing and stock was visibly lower than the original. As stated, the original was leatherbound with gilt page edges, and came in a custom case.

When the original volume came out, AQ explained its high price by its exclusivity, promising (in writing) that it would never be reprinted. After AQ changed hands, the new management decided that the original statement really meant "reprinted in its original form". This bit of sophistry really annoyed some early purchasers.

The reprinted volume retailed for $195.

Well, as Charles has just pointed out, that doesn't seem to be true in the case of this book.

I forget how much I paid. Something like $125. As in the first run only a limited number were printed.

As I understand it, the original run had leather binding, gilt edging, etc. The reprint has cloth binding and no edging.

One of the lessons I learned early on was that if a major automotive work comes out, you buy it, because as expensive as it seems at the time, it will only get more so with time.

I've seen the book for sale on Amazon for $145. That must be a reprint. I didn't even know it was reprinted. How much was the museum getting?

What is the difference if any between the original and the reprint sold through the ACD Museum a few years ago? Just the quality of publication? I bought one of the reprints in despair of ever being able to afford one of the originals.

Sold new for $395. That was a lot of money for any book in the 1970s.

The signed E.L. Cord book (Errett Lobban Cord: His Empire, His Motorcars) sold for $260. A little lower than I expected. Amazon has three used for sale from $363 to $500. What did this sell for new?

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