At 7:49 PM -0500 4/23/08, Robert Clair wrote:
>... any chance this interesting pub may find a us supplier ?
At Vintage Bicycle Press, we have considered offering the book from the Embacher Collection in the U.S. We'd be able to handle bank transfers and shipping on a bulk basis, making it a bit cheaper for individuals than trying to order directly from Austria.
However, with the U.S. having lost so much of its value, the price still would be high - somewhere around $ 85-$ 100 including shipping.
We'd need to get at least 10 orders to make it worth while. If anybody is interested and willing to pay the price, please contact me. Then I can see whether it is worth pursuing.
Since I have a copy of the book, here is a brief book review:
The book is a picture book, almost devoid of text. The photos are very good, the print quality is excellent, and the bikes are a mixture of interesting historic machines and curiosities. If you want to see "L-shaped" cranks, bikes with skis under the front wheel, and bikes that fold into a suitcase, you'll find them all there. Non-orthodox frame configurations are a special love of Mr. Embacher: Pedersen, Flying Gate, Hetchins all are present as modern reproductions, plus some truly odd frames that only Germans could have made in an attempt to make "non-conformist" bikes. And a few really neat carbon-fibre bikes, such as the one on the cover of the book. You'll also find a lovely Herse, some nice 1950s racers, and a Singer that already was featured in "The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles." Some of the bikes are of great historic interest, but many are equipped with more modern parts. It's a bit of everything...
As has been said before, the collection is not concerned with history, nor performance, but with the aesthetic aspects of bike design. It's a very different focus from what I see in many U.S. collections, such as Chuck Schmidt's, where all bikes look alike - main triangle, rear triangle, fork, wheels with roughly 70 cm diameter...
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.bikequarterly.com