Monopod Edition 05 by Monopod Editions

MONOPOD AUTOMOTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY, ART AND CULTURE

EDITION

Front cover: Carry on Camping, GOW! 2020, Prescott Speed Hillclimb. Image: Philip Newsome.

MONOPOD AUTOMOTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY, ART AND CULTURE

Edition 05 Autumn / 2020

/ 250

MONOPOD FIND US ONLINE monopodeditions.com instagram.com/monopodeditions SAY HELLO hello@monopodmagazine.com GRAPHIC DESIGN Images Automotives

EDITOR Philip Newsome EDITOR-AT-LARGE Guy Loveridge LIFESTYLE EDITOR Siobhan Owen EDITORIAL BOARD Arthur Owen Tim Beavis Teddy Yip

PUBLISHER Blue Flag Press Ltd Level 19, Two International Finance Centre 8 Finance Street Central Hong Kong Edition 05 Autumn 2020

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine, no responsibility can be accepted by the publisher for errors or omissions, and in particular no responsibility can be accepted for the quality of goods and services supplied by advertisers, prices quoted or printersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; errors. All material, unless specifically stated otherwise is copyright of Blue Flag Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part either electronially or conventionally without the permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. ISSN 2518-6957

E-Type reflections, Classic Motor Hub, Bibury, Gloucestershire. Image: Philip Newsome

Editor’s letter

his latest edition of Monopod, the fifth, looks and feels a little different to the previous four. Needless to say, a certain pesky virus has had quite a lot to do with all of this. The year started full of optimism and then somewhere along the way, bit by bit, it all got cancelled. My own particular version of lockdown saw me spending a great deal of time looking back through files and rediscovering my own past and that of my family. I sifted through dozens and dozens of slide boxes, many of which contained Kodachrome transparencies shot by my father, Joe, in the 1950s and early 60s. These were a complete revelation to me. Firstly, because they had survived intact, complete with that lovely crisp colour saturation so characteristic of Kodachrome. Secondly, and more significantly, they portrayed a time when globalisation together with the internet had not yet combined to wreak havoc in our high streets and create a homogenised, rather bland world paralysed by political correctness. The image shown opposite is a perfect example. My father took this in a back street in Italy in the summer of 1960. Nowadays it would be categorised as street photography but back then it was just my dad wandering about with his camera. There is so much to absorb in this photograph, the two carabinieri in a scooter and side car, the Coca Cola lorry blocking the street. But what really catches the eye, and clearly the eyes of the two police officers, is the strikingly glamorous young woman and the little boy beside her. Who are they? I guess we will never know. The Coca Cola van in one sense nods to the future when big brands would dominate world markets but in another is a poignant reminder of America’s involvement in the war which had only come to an end some fifteen years earlier. The colours in the image are as vibrant as the day the picture was taken. The one word that keeps springing to mind when I see this and many other images my father took during that time is ‘analogue’. Taking this word literally, the image was of course shot on film but the meaning goes wider than mere technicality. It is easy to assert that the world was a simpler, more naive place back then. Given the hardships it had recently experienced I do not believe that this was at all the case but there is no question that it was a more mechanical, hand-made world where what you saw was what you got. A world where one’s life revolved far more around the reality of your immediate environment and the people who inhabited it rather than the digitally enhanced reinterpretation of life we are so used to being presented with nowadays. And so this edition of Monopod is dedicated to a more analogue way of seeing the world. Many of the images contained within its pages were shot on film and it is fascinating to read why so many photographers, in spite of the wonders of digital imagery, still prefer to use film. Some of the content reminds us of a time before computers when children made Meccano toys and when considered letters were created on typewriters. In many ways our Coronavirus experience has forced us to embrace the best that modern technology has to offer in terms of video conferencing and internet shopping. It has, however, also forced us to connect with ways of living from our past. Huge challenges lay ahead but maybe if we can retain some of this balance between old and new then things might just work out in the end.

Philip Newsome

Italy, August 1960. Image: Joe Newsome

British summer, Craster, Northumberland. Image: Philip Newsome

TABLE OF CONTENTS 10

When V8s Roamed the Earth

30 American Dream 42 1989 Le Mans 24 Hours 46 Jacqueline Davies 58 1953 Goodwood Nine Hours / British GP 72 Meccano Man 78 Ford Zodiac Mk3 80 The Slides Project 106 Typewriter Traveler 112 Nostalgia Drags, Santa Pod Raceway

WHEN V8s ROAMED THE EARTH Images and words: Ella Mae Walker

became interested in photography at a very young age. My grandad was a photographer and used to cover a lot of motorsports back in the 1950s, from Grands Prix to local motorcycle street racing. He would aways be showing me his photographs and cameras, and taught me pretty much everything I know. I got my very first camera, an Olympus point and shoot, when I was about 6 or 7 years old. My first SLR camera was an Olympus OM-1, and my first DSLR a Canon 400D. I have been immersed in hot rod and custom culture all my life. My parents are both heavily into this scene, so I spent much of my childhood going to events, car shows and drag racing. My other grandad is also really into classic cars and has always had one or two in his garage. So really, I fell into it all quite naturally. I used to flick through magazines which were always lying around, titles like Hop Up, Rodders Journal, Rod & Custom and so on and these were a big influence.

W: ellamaeimagery.com Ig: @ellamaewalker

"As far as equipment is concerned, I’m currently using my Canon 6D MkII, and a 1935 Leica IIIa. When out and about, I tend to keep my lenses to a minimum to avoid carrying too much. I primarily use a 50mm, a 16-35mm and a 75-300mm. It’s a bit of a cliché, but my favourite has got to be a 50mm, particularly when I’m shooting film. It’s just so versatile. I also collect vintage cameras. I have a collection of more than sixty which I really need to test and use! Black and white film photography will always be my first love, I love the timelessness and ambiguity of it, by which I mean taking a photograph that could just have easily been taken eighty years ago, or today. The only downside is that film can be tricky, especially if you have to trim or adapt it to fit beforehand, which is when digital comes in handy. Admittedly, I also use my iPhone a fair bit!

"I’ve done a little bit of portraiture, but not a lot. I’ve shot some burlesque shows, which I really enjoyed. Personally, I’m not a great director and I love to shoot people from a more candid perspective, really capturing a ‘natural’ image right in that moment. I also enjoy urban exploration; I’m really interested in history, especially the WWII era, so I’m hoping to do more of that this year. I love documentary, fashion and pin-up photography from the early-mid 20th Century. Man Ray, Bunny Yeager, Irving Penn, Lee Miller, Louis Faurer… My favourite automotive photographers of the ‘40s and ‘50s include Marcia Campbell, Eric Rickman, Gray Baskerville and Tom Medley to name a few. As for modern-day, I really admire the work by Hotrod Postcards, Amy Shore, Shannon Brooke, Tatiana Gerusova, Tim Sutton, Chris Cooper and Hell Bound Photography, among many many others. The list could go on and on.

"I photograph most VHRA (Vintage Hot Rod Association) events, for example Pendine Sands, and GOW, a hillclimb event held at Prescott. I’ve also worked with the Atomic Vintage Festival shooting everything from drag racing to bands and danger shows. In addition, there are many, many other events I would love to cover. As a kid I used to go to Goodwood with my grandparents, but haven’t been recently so I would love to shoot there. There are many events in the USA that I’d love to go to, like the Grand National Roadster Show, Bonneville Speed Week and the RPM Nationals as well as plenty others closer to home across Europe. Basically, I would love to travel.

"I don’t like to edit pictures too much, but when I do I primarily use Adobe Lightroom which makes it easy to make little tweaks. I’ll sometimes use Photoshop, and if I’m on my phone I use VSCO, but that is mainly just for Instagram. I do have a fair few analogue images! At the moment I send off my film for developing and scanning as I don’t currently have access to darkroom facilities. I recently acquired my own scanners, and I’m planning on getting some equipment to process 35mm at home myself. Eventually I’d like to have my own darkroom, so that is on the cards when house hunting!

"What makes a great photograph? That’s a really difficult question! I’ve always been a strong believer that the arts are completely subjective and what I might think is great may not appeal to others and vice versa. For me, a great photograph is something that really tells a story, capturing a moment in time. Technique doesn’t necessarily matter, I’ve seen some amazing pictures shot on a phone, or that are out of focus. Composition is the biggest thing for me. The framing and cropping of an image can make a world of difference. For example, a good photograph could be of a nice car, but a great picture would also be taking into account what’s going on around it and in the background - big white vans and high-vis vests are a bugbear of mine!"

Road art, Rennington, Northumberland. Image: Siobhan Owen

"In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you." Leo Tolstoy

AMERICAN DREAM Images and words: James Davies

'm based in Broadstairs, Kent and have been a professional wedding, fashion and travel photographer for the last six years. It all started a few years back when I decided that I wanted to see a bit more of the world and purchased a ticket to visit South East Asia. Touching down in Bangkok and flinging myself right into the middle of the energetic hustle and bustle I knew straight away that I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let what I was seeing in front of me just pass me by. The open fire cooking in the streets, food market traders jostling for business, exotic animals walking through the city streets and tuk tuk drivers speeding down alleyways, the place was crazy ..but in a good way. My camera was swinging around my neck 24/7 for the year I was out there as I captured every ounce of the life that was unfolding before my eyes. Six years on and I now run my own wedding photography business and landscape photography gallery in Broadstairs. During the spring and autumn I love to take trips over to the USA to photograph the deserts and mountains across Utah, Arizona and California. On these trips I use an old Pentax 6x7 medium format camera as well as Leica M6 film cameras to capture the landscapes and small towns I come across. My main inspiration is a large format film photographer called Gregory Crewdson who creates cinematic, spooky scenes of American suburbia to dramatic effect.

W: jj.davies.co Ig: @shootitfilm

I love the richness in colour and texture of film compared to that created by digital cameras. I also love the slower process of taking a 'film' photograph and the fact that you need to ensure that you meter and compose for the scene correctly before pressing the shutter. When I'm driving I'm always on the lookout for old classic American cars to photograph. There's nothing better than finding a well used Mustang or Chevrolet with an old motel sign behind it. Capturing it on film really adds to the character and life of the shot."

Opposite, Mercury Grand Marquis, Palm Springs. Above, Wonder Valley, California.

Above and opposite, Roy's Motel and Cafe, National Trails Highway, Amboy, California.

Monument Valley, Arizona.

Above, Mojave desert. Opposite, liquor store, Massachusetts.

Above, South Beach Food Market, Miami. Opposite, Brooklyn, NYC.

Early morning, East side Boston, Massachusetts.

Eye Witness Tim Beavis watched Mercedes win the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans

ercedes brought back its famous Silver Arrows to international motorsport in 1989, immediately tasting victory in the most important sportscar race of the year, the Le Mans 24 Hours. The beautiful C9 was easily the best car that season and the first winning Silver Arrow since 1955. Jean-Louis Schlesser became driver world champion following seven victories in eight races with Jochen Mass runner-up. For Le Mans though that situation was reversed. While Schlesser sat on pole position in car #62 and looked certain to add to his impressive string of victories it would be the Mass, Reuter, Dickens #63 entry which would emerge victorious from an unlikely 11th place on the grid. They would be followed home by the Baldi, Brancatelli, Acheson #61 Mercedes.

"June 1989 and a young chap from Dorset decided to make his first venture to the home of endurance racing and head to Le Mans in his Triumph TR6. Armed with a ridge tent, sleeping bag, a parking pass for Maison Blanche and a general entry ticket I had no real idea of how close I could get to the cars. I took with me my trusty Pentax ME Super and a Tamron 300mm lens in the hope of getting some good shots for personal use and to bore my family and friends with when I got home. Once at the circuit it was clear to me this was going to be no ordinary weekend trip. The different areas in which to take photographs, the iconic structures such as the Dunlop bridge and the pit grandstand with the ability to perch above the pit garages and look down on driver swaps, wheel changes and all types of mechanical intervention was unique. Of course the balcony above the pits is now long gone, and those of us who have sat there are among the lucky ones that now tell tales of 'those days'. I took along a number of rolls of 400ASA Fuji film as at the time I rather liked the colour results they gave and had already had some success at the British and European Grands Prix, Brands Hatch 1000km and also at Wimbledon for the All England Tennis Club Championships. I had researched what to do in poor light resulting in a rather grainy result which looking at them again all these years later gives great character and depth to the images. Being young and wanting to explore the circuit I did my best to go to as many different places as possible to shoot. Many said they had tried to enter the woods alongside the Mulsanne straight, but had failed and been ejected by the Gendarmes patrolling the area.That was challenge number one, the other was to reach the Mulsanne corner signalling pit. As you can see I succeeded in both, quite how I am unsure, but the memories of the differing speeds and the noise will live with me forever. Mercedes was the big challenger that year, with its Sauber C9, and had assembled quite a team of drivers ranging from several experienced Le Mans regulars to a number of 'hot shot' F1 drivers. They were taking the race to the TWR Jaguars who had won the previous year. Personally, my allegiance was with the Richard Lloyd Racing Porsche of Bell, Weaver and Needell. I spent a good few hours sat above their pit box. Sadly they retired on lap 339. At the end of the race I packed up my exposed rolls of film and headed for the ferry not really knowing what I had managed to record. As some will remember, in that pre-digital era you had to wait to see and either be elated or disappointed with your work once developed. Safe to say I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t disappointed and the longer the gap between the race and looking at the results of my trip on film, the happier I am. I feel they portray an era not just of wonderful Group C cars but a sport that was, compared to nowadays, simpler and more accessible, Areas that were 'off limits' still gave a chance to enter and for the last time the Mulsanne straight was indeed straight, and long, very long. Ig: @racertim & @admission.7.6

Gianfranco Brancatelli leads the two Brun Motorsport 962Cs through the Mulsanne Corner.

Above, pole sitter Jean-Louis Schlesser blasts through the forest down the Mulsanne Straight, the last year that cars would run uninterrupted and at full speed for the whole 6 km length of this historic stretch of track. The following year would see the introduction of two chicanes designed to slow down the cars which by that point were approaching 400 kph (250 mph). The speeds on the Mulsanne, known in French as the Ligne Droite des HunaudiĂ¨res, were becoming so high that many of the drivers were concerned about their cars staying on the ground over the humps and bumps of what, for the rest of the year, is a part of the French national road system. The FIA did not want repeats of the accidents that claimed the lives of Jean-Louis Lafosse in 1981 and Jo Gartner in 1986 and decided that enough was enough.

Opposite, Jochen Mass on his way to victory.

"Forward thinking...

...with one foot stuck firmly in the past"

ogether with many other people of my generation I was the first in my family to go to university. I studied printed textiles design at Liverpool John Moores University in 1992 and following graduation I rented warehouse art studios in Liverpool for a few years before moving down south. Shear bloody mindedness in wanting to become an artist has always kept me going, plus supportive parents who never once told me to go get a 'proper' job. I've had many interesting offers and commissions along the way, creating work for The National Theatre, Channel 4, Weatherspoons, Bernie Dexter, Hop Up Magazine, What Katie Did, Firstsite, Northampton Museum and many more. Living on fresh air in the dry spells, with something always around the corner if you keep at it.

W: jacquelinedaviesart.com Ig: @jacquelinedaviesart

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a big Eames fan and admire so many textile designers from back in the day, but if you're talking cars, I love old school hot rod illustrators like Gus Maanum, Tom Medley, Dick Teague and Pete Millar's Hot Rod Cartoons. At home we have a big library of books from the thirties through to the fifties which are either design- or car-related. I'm a big collector of 'stuff' too. I love Mid-Century furniture and we have a 1927 Model T roadster, a 1929 Model A sport coupe, a 1953 Chevy Tin Woody and a Digue Minorette caravan, so I'm always surrounded by inspiration. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m currently working on my own collection of fashion novelty textile prints, a few interesting overseas private commissions and always of course new designs for Pendine Sands.

Finishing touches

"I suppose I would call my style primitive and not too polished, forward thinking with one foot firmly stuck in the past. I've had a couple of things said about my style which I like. One was "it's happyâ&#x20AC;?, and other is from an old tutor who said "you think flat". I think both are very true.

"I love simple illustration, although simple does not mean easy. I need to see an idea in my head before I can hit the paper with a pencil. Sometimes thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 3am in the morning, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ok. Although I mostly look to the past for reference, I like to push forward and create new design work. I guess I have always been an ideas person."

1953 Goodwood Nine Hour Race and British Grand Prix Images: Monopod Archive Words: Philip Newsome

W: philip-newsome.com Ig: @philip.newsome.photography

ersonally speaking, I saw lockdown as an ideal opportunity to spring clean the endless boxes of old slides, packages of prints and all the other ephemera I had collected down the years, a collection that seemed to grow ever larger with each new project I embarked upon. Little wonder that sales of film scanners rocketed during this extended period of enforced isolation. One day, as I emptied the contents of an envelope containing what I thought to be early Macau Grand Prix images, out dropped an old faded film packet containing a small number of very moth-eaten 120 colour slides as well as some equally scruffy strips of 35mm black and white negatives. I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make out the subject matter and so set about scanning the films and within no time the images contained in this article came to life on my computer screen. With considerable help from my old friend Guy Loveridge it became clear rather quickly that both these films were shot in 1953 and featured the start of the second Goodwood Nine Hour race (above) as well as images taken at that year's British Grand Prix. I am just happy that these films survived and that, almost seventy years on, we are now all able to enjoy their contents."

During the immediate post war period there had been little in the way of long distance races held in the U.K., a situation exacerbated by the loss of Brooklands as a racing venue. Great efforts had been directed towards the development of Goodwood circuit but the races held there up to this point had been much shorter in duration. One major concern about holding an endurance race at the track arose from the arduous nature of the circuit itself with officials wondering whether cars or drivers could stand up to nine hours continuous driving round the somewhat tortuous track. As much as anything this was a considered reflection of the precarious reliability of British-built cars of that period. However, after much discussion, the Goodwood Nine Hour was introduced in 1952, a sportscar race starting at 3pm and ending at midnight.

cal authorities and others, the arrangements were at last completed in time for the first practising day.

In order to ensure as great a margin of safety as possible, the committee finally decided that no driver should be allowed to exceed a period of approximately two successive hours at the wheel. The 1953 BARC yearbook chronicles the challenges of running such an event at that time:

“The cars had to carry illuminated competition numbers, and although, so far as we could estimate, everything possible had been covered, it was not without some trepidation that we awaited the first practice period after nightfall. Happily, all went well; the lights worked; the drivers found their way round the circuit quite safely, and practising was completed without any untoward incident."

“Other problems arose. For example, the provision of lighting on the circuit was no easy task owing to the short supply of mains electricity, to say nothing of the great expense of special installations. However, after some tussles and extraordinarily fine cooperation from lo-

“The marshalling of the race also required special attention. One could hardly ask professional or honorary officials to be on duty for the entire nine hours so that for pretty well every duty relief services had to be provided. All the race officials cooperated in a splendid job. “Another ambitious project was the scoreboard organisation. Apart from the main scoreboard in the paddock, subsidiary boards were installed at various corners all operated from one central control. On these boards were accurately maintained the lap by lap positions of the first four cars throughout the nine hours of the race.

The works Aston Martin DB3 driven by Peter Collins and Pat Griffiths eventually won that inaugural running and one year on an impressive array of cars lined up at the start.

These two images (above and opposite) show all of the entries for the 1953 event lined up opposite the main grandstand. Opposite, we can see the no. 7 Gordini T15S of Schell and Lucas, the two Ecurie Ecosse Jaguars of Stewart/Dixon (no. 8) and Lawrence/Curtis (no. 9) as well as the Abecassis/Whitehead HWM Jaguar (no. 11). Moving along the line up of cars (above) it is clear that a wide variety of machines contested the race from an Allard J2X (no. 17) to an Aston Martin DB2 (no. 16). Overleaf, Stirling Moss in the works Jaguar C-type (no. 1) makes a good start and soon took the lead but would retire on lap 269 with engine problems. While the works C-type of Rolt/Hamilton (no. 2) would retire just one lap later, the third works Jaguar of Whitehad/ Stewart (no. 3) did survive and would go on to finish in third place behind the two works Aston Martin DB3s of eventual winners Reg Parnell and Eric Thompson and runners up Collins/Griffith. While only four images from the 1953 Goodwood Nine Hours race appeared that lockdown morning they nevertheless paint a very evocative picture of what it was like to be in the August Bank Holiday crowd at the start of one of the most eagerly anticipated motor racing events of the year.

1953 British GP

Silverstone was the venue for the sixth British Grand Prix which was held in characteristically changeable conditions. Crowds were huge in anticipation of British hero Mike Hawthorn repeating his victory at the French Grand Prix two weeks earlier. It was, however, Hawthorn's Ferrari teammate and reigning World champion Alberto Ascari who would secure a dominant win after 270 gruelling laps, one minute ahead of the Maserati of Juan-Manuel Fangio, with Giuseppe Farina third. Hawthorn finished the race in a rather distant fifth place. Ascari did not put a foot wrong throughout, his total dominance underlined by the fact that Farina and Hawthorn were two and three laps adrift respectively come the chequered flag. These images were taken somewhere out on the circuit and illustrate perfectly the open, barren nature of the Silverstone circuit at this time. Shot on 35mm film, no doubt with a standard lens, these images might seem rather tame in comparison to what is possible with modern equipment and yet the passing of time has infused them with a uniquely contemporaneous quality and feel. Swiss driver Baron Emmanuel 'Toulo' de Graffenried's Maserati (above) retired from the race after 34 laps with clutch problems.

de Graffenried's Maserati (opposite) glides past the Birso advertising hoarding. Roy Salvadori's Connaught (above) expired on lap 50 of the race with a cracked suspension arm.

Home hero Mike Hawthorn (opposite) brought home his Ferrari in fifth place some three laps adrift of the winner, Ascari in the sister Ferrari. Felice Bonetti's Maserati (above) finished the race one place behind Hawthorn, albeit a further five laps back.

Jimmy Stewart's streamlined Cooper-Bristol (opposite) retired on lap 79. Above, Felice Bonetti (#25) dices with Ian Stewart in the Connaught-Lea-Francis (#15).

Meccano Man Thierry Monnier

hen I was a little boy there were no smartphones or computers and the internet wasn't even a distant dream. Indeed, television had only just arrived. My older brother already had small cars, soldiers, a fortress and all the other toys that fascinated boys back then ..and of course boxes of Meccano. And that is how I learned to build bridges, cranes, trucks, cars and so on. At that time we didn't have a lot of money and boxes of Meccano were expensive so it was more than a little frustrating. But you could still build something, play with it and then take it apart to recreate yet something else. This could could go on forever! I then completely forgot about Meccano for many years until one day I found a beautiful old box in a flea market, and then a second one and then another. In this way, I started a new collection many years after the first. I cleaned all the parts and started to renovate them, to put them back in order. Then of course I started to make things and I have never stopped."

Ig: @titi_meccano

In 1901 Frank Hornby (1863-1936), a clerk from Liverpool, invented and patented a new toy called ‘Mechanics Made Easy’. Hornby, who had a keen interest in architecture, had originally invented the toy for his two sons, as a way of introducing them to the basics of engineering. ‘Mechanics Made Easy’ was a model construction kit, consisting of perforated metal strips and plates with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. The only tools needed for the sets were a screwdriver and a spanner. Rods, wheels, pulleys and gears were added later to the sets. In 1901, Hornby applied for a patent for ‘Mechanics Made Easy’ and the construction toy went into production. Early sets were packaged in tin boxes and the parts were produced in unpainted metal. In 1907, Hornby registered the Meccano trademark, and in 1908, formed Meccano Ltd. To keep pace with demand, a new Meccano factory was built in Binns Road, Liverpool in 1914. This became Meccano Ltd’s headquarters for the next 60 years. Over the next 25 years, various numbered sets were introduced and by the mid-1930s, ten full sets were available as well as several accessory sets.

To mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the company, colour was introduced and in 1926, red and green sets were produced. From 1934, blue and gold sets were also available in Britain. From the early 1960s the Meccano company was in financial trouble, unable to operate independently and was subject to various takeovers from manufacturers such as Tri-ang and Airfix. During this time the colour combinations changed again, first to yellow and black, then to yellow and blue. Plastic Meccano sets were also produced for younger children. In the 1980s Meccano was manufactured in France and in 2000 it was taken over by the Japanese firm, Nikko. Today, Meccano continues to be made in France and China. The success and popularity of Meccano has been, and continues to be, phenomenal. In order to cater to its huge popularity, Frank Hornby started a Meccano magazine in 1916, which later became a general hobby magazine that continued to be published until 1981. In 1919 Hornby founded the Meccano Guild to bring together the various Meccano clubs that had sprung up all over the world. This tradition is continued today by the International Society of Meccanomen.

Ford Zodiac Mk3 (It doesn't get much more analogue than this) Images and words: Philip Newsome

y dad Joe bought this car, new, from Grahams of Dewsbury in 1966. He ran it for a few years and then decided to trade it in for a newer model. Unfortunately, he was only offered ÂŁ50 so decided to keep it. After a few more years it disappeared under wraps where it lay for another twenty years or so. In 1993, I decided that it really needed to see the light of day again. After easing its arthritic old bones back to life we have enjoyed its relaxed laid back ways ever since. With its sumptious bench seats, greenhouse glass and column gearbox you simply have to take life easy and as it comes in a graceful old lady like this."

W: philip-newsome.com Ig: @philip.newsome.photography

The Slides Project A collection of vintage slides found at estate sales and auctions, meticulously curated by Wayne Ford

started The Slides Project in 2016 after stumbling upon vintage slide collecting almost by accident. I’m a huge fan of photography (and am a photographer myself ) and I was thinking of an economical way to add some unique framed photos to the walls in my home. Since slides are basically a ‘negative’ I could scan / enlarge them at home and print them up to be framed. Looking on eBay I was shocked to find so many boxes of old slides for sale, most probably recently acquired from estate sales. I bought a few different lots, focusing on 1950s & 60s world travel in the hope of finding a few interesting shots to print. When they arrived and I started to look through them, I was fascinated by the quality and subject matter of what I was seeing. The color and tone quality of Kodachrome slides are especially brilliant. Each one was like a little time capsule of a far off land! The people, the cars, the street life were all very different depending on the location and period in which they were taken. Our world society wasn’t as homogenised as it is now. I could instantly be transported to Times Square in 1958 or the canals in Venice in 1963 or a street corner in Quito in 1959. When I was kid I collected baseball cards, comics, coins, and even pez dispensers. The feeling of hunting through the vintage slides and discovering one that felt like it could have been taken by Slim Aarons or Vivian Meyer was akin to that nostalgic feeling of opening a pack of Topps and finding a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card.

Ig: @theslidesproject

Opposite, St. Moritz 1960. Above, Beirut 1958.

Unknown location 1960.

"The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there." L.P. Hartley The Go-Between

"I became a little addicted and spent way too much time (and money) scrolling through listings on eBay and going to nearby Estate Sales to find more vintage slides. I focused more on world travel and less on Americana which is the majority of what's available. I do like shots of people, especially if it feels like environmental portraiture but I tend to buy more street scenes or interesting location shots. I’ve accidentally purchased a lot of crap as well. It’s hard to tell exactly what you are buying sometimes on eBay. I would get a lot of blurry photos, boring family photos, or faded photos but that just added to the excitement of finding ‘a good one.’ Among all the crap you will also find some fairly decent travel photographers or maybe they just got lucky on a shot or two.

Opposite, Finland 1960. Above, Nassau 1964.

Spain 1960.

Above, Italy 1960. Opposite, London 1963.

"My collection grew fairly quickly that first year, probably too quickly, now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m much more selective in my purchases. The vintage slides market on eBay now is also totally different, the lots are usually picked through and the 'good ones' sold as singles or in small batches. The prices have also gone up 4x to 5x times. I actually donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paying these prices! It now takes longer but you can still find some good deals or get unsearched batches. I have a hard time paying the higher costs so I hunt for the diamonds in the rough that are reasonably priced. I will occasionally buy singles if I think they are a really great image. The best way to acquire vintage slides or photos is probably estate sales, although it can be really hit or miss if they even have any. A lot of them are probably, understandably, kept in the family. At the first estate sale I ever went to I really hit the jackpot - ten carousels filled with travel slides from a man who traveled all over the world during the 50s and 60s. Each slide was numbered and also included was a binder of information corresponding to each number. I think I paid $40.

Unknown location 1960.

"I began thinking of myself as an amateur archivist. I’m potentially saving these photographs, from our collective past, that at some point will get harder and harder to find. I think we are at a moment in time now when people from that era are passing away and these family collections of slides are being unearthed, maybe they haven’t even been looked at in 50 years. Slide film was really only popular from the 1940’s through to the early 1980’s so it’s a limited resource of imagery that can easily get lost or destroyed. I love discovering and bringing these vintage photos to the light, scanning them and sharing them on @theslidesproject.

Opposite, Nuremberg 1964. Above, unknown location 1960.

Above and opposite, South America 1966.

Unknown location 1950s.

"I had big dreams for The Slides Project and still do, but life tends to get in the way of what at the end of the day is still a hobby. The Instagram account was only the first step. Although I was one of the first vintage photography accounts on Instagram, some others have now (with slightly different aesthetics) become really popular. I do love seeing all the new accounts though, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a growing vintage film photography community! Each account has a little different focus, some are sharing their grandparents'qq collection, several are more focused on Americana, and one is just into really weird photos.

Above, Dominican Republic 1950s. Opposite, unknown location 1960.

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Above, Times Square, New York 1957. Opposite, Pigalle, Paris 1950s.

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"I've also learned a lot about places all over the world while trying to research the content or location of an image. Places I hope to go some day and photograph myself. I wonder if 60 years from now my travel photographs will somehow be unearthed from the digital cloud and be put on some platform for all to see. It seems unlikely, but then there was also no way for these people back in the day to imagine something like Instagram.

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Los Angeles 1950s.

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Typewriter Traveler Words and Images: Steve Parry

o why typewriters? Although I had thought about typewriters for some time, it wasn't until I stumbled upon a docu-movie called 'California Typewriter' while on a flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco, that I got totally mesmerised and hooked. The movie just struck a chord inside me, from the romance of typing to the beauty of the machines. I was also disheartened by the thought that specialist businesses like California Machines, featured in the movie, could potentially go out of business (sadly, they have since). I decided I had to start doing my little bit to make sure these skills didn’t die out and preserve these mechanical marvels. And so the journey began. I purchased my first typewriter while killing time on a trip to Pau, France. It was a fully serviced vintage 1968 Hermes 3000 in excellent working order and cosmetic condition. I was instantly attracted to the classic look and seafoam mint green keys. When it eventually arrived from New York State, I realised that whilst it was good for home/ office use, it was too bulky and heavy to take on my travels, so I shifted my focus to finding portable typewriters. It is not an easy feat to find decent, fully functioning typewriters in Hong Kong at a reasonable price, so I relied on finding suppliers online. A month later came my first portable purchase from a U.K. supplier, a custom chrome plated 1965 Olivetti Lettera 32. I have since purchased over 20 machines from this dealer. After buying several other portables, I came across a 1922 Corona 3, which is a ‘folding typewriter’, definitely a magnificent piece of engineering for its time. And once again I shifted my focus to finding more folding typewriters as they are the original and perhaps ultimate portable. While I now own half a dozen Corona 3’s, my prized possession is the aluminium

1910 Standard Folding Typewriter No.2 - the second generation of the first folding typewriter, which a few years later became the iconic ‘Corona 3’. This model stayed in production between 1912-1941. Typewriters have a special charm and unlike computers there is an awful lot more interaction between the machine and the user. Each typewriter has its own personality and quirks. You have to work with them to produce the result you want, for example finding the right key pressure for the ink to hit the paper creating a precise and clear character. It may be a struggle sometimes but the pure magic of the sound of the margin bell, the automatic advancement of the ribbon and sweeping action of the carriage return, combined with beautiful end results, make it all worth it. Moreover, it often makes people smile when they see or hear you type, and it is quite a conversation starter. In a world of emails and instant messaging, you still can’t beat the excitement of receiving a typed letter through the post. People keep and cherish them, and memories are made for generations to enjoy. My collection of typewriters has now grown to over thirty machines, sourced from the USA, Canada, U.K. and the Netherlands. As an extensive business traveller, I enjoy bringing at least one or two typewriters with me on each trip, so that I can chronical my travels as well as typing letters to friends and family. Last year, I made 22 international trips, involving 65 flights to 13 difference countries, all with a typewriter or two. Unfortunately, Covid19 has curtailed my traveling this year, but I still take them with me around Hong Kong whenever I am able to.

W: typewritertraveler.com Ig: @typewritertraveler

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Above, 1968 Hermes 3000.

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Opposite, 1922 Corona 3. Above, 1910 Standard Folding Typewriter No.2.

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Nostalgia Drags, Santa Pod Raceway Words and Images: Paul Martin

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live in Milton Keynes a town of roundabouts and concrete cows. I am a full-time Sales Manager, part-time photographer and part-time garage rocker combining a love of American cars with a return to analogue photography. I had spent a number of years previously photographing local bands in Eastbourne before moving North with my job. I found myself spending more and more time at gigs photographing the audience as part of my documenting the experience. I have since found that drag racing offers the same opportunity to record both the event and those taking part. Shooting gigs requires fast lenses and due to the confines of the venues I found myself using three fast primes namely 24mm, 35mm and 50mm which when used with the smaller sensor of the Canon EOS 20D offered me all the options I needed. At Santa Pod it became apparent that I needed a longer lens to capture the action. After a bit of research, I acquired a Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm manual focus lens in an Olympus fit with an adaptor to Canon EF for ÂŁ20. This led to some successful images and along with some additional Olympus short primes I also picked up a Canon EOS 1N SLR and started to shoot both film and digital images. I sold the Canon and bought an Olympus OM-1n SLR and used that with the 20D and the Olympus manual focus lenses to produce the images for this feature. This means that whether Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m using film or digital, all focussing is manual as is exposure on the digital camera. Films are lab processed then scanned using an old Nikon CoolScan IV onto my Mac which is still possible due to Vuescan software. As a custom car/street rod obsessed teenager I first spent hours building models of the cars I aspired to own and then spent a number of years training to spray cars during the day and in the evening part time working with local street rod builder Bob Wise. At some point after that I discovered I was a better DJ than car sprayer and so clubbing took over from cars, and then photography took over from DJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ing. A move back to Milton Keynes and a visit to Santa Pod reignited my passion for cars with the nostalgia meeting particularly appealing to my teenage memories. In music it is always claimed that you can hear the difference between vinyl and digital, it sounds different, warmer, fuller. Musicians hunt down vintage guitars and original effect pedals in the belief that modern equivalents are unable to match the tone of the originals. In many ways, it is the same with photography 'Is film better than digital?'

W: paul.martin.photography Ig: @paul.martin.photography

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"I really learnt to be a photographer using a digital camera. I had photographed with film for many years before I bought my 20D in 2005 but you need to take a lot of pictures to really know your camera and with film that costs. Say you need to take 10,000 images to really know what your camera can do. An entry level digital DSLR or mirrorless camera will set you back maybe £300 or so with a shutter life of 50,000 activations. Taking and developing 10,000 colour film images with the associated film cost is maybe £4000. Digital allows you to experiment and learn at a very low cost. My first set of images from Santa Pod were correctly exposed and sharp but somehow sterile and to my eyes at least, didn’t reflect the atmosphere of the event, although the camera and lens were the same ones I had used at hundreds of gigs where the results were great. The introduction of the Vivitar lens was the turning point. The images were different in tone and once I introduced a few prime lenses and film into the equation the results, at least to my eyes, captured more of the feeling of being there. Potentially not as 'perfect' as digital, certainly with a lot of focussing mistakes but when they were right, they were right.

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Of course all the film images are scanned and the processor inevitably makes decisions about colours and sharpness that I have no control over. Back in the day, photographers shot in black and white as they had control over the final print in the darkroom, which if you worked in colour was prohibitively expensive. Home scanning and Photoshop gives today's photographers the same control over their colour output. So for a small loss of control I’m a total fan. I spent a lot of time when I was learning to play guitar believing that it was the entry level guitar I had bought that was holding back my progress, rather than just me needing to practice more. I was recently reading reviews of the latest digital cameras where cameras costing £2500+ were marked as having autofocus fast enough for motorsports. And yet there are thousands of images of F1, Le Mans etc from the 80’s and earlier, when all cameras were manual focus, which shouldn’t have been possible. Shooting film, guessing exposures, manual focussing means you won’t get perfect results every time, but it does open the door for experimentation and those unexpected, conventionsally imperfect images that your digital camera spends its processing muscle eliminating on your behalf. Whether that’s for you is a personal decision but I have just picked up a Zenit B with the famous Helios 58mm lens for £25 which will be accompanying me on my next trip to the Pod."

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"I didn't want my Mom to know I was drag racing for 20 years so I told her I was in prison." Tommy 'T.C.' Lemmons Don Garlit's crew chief

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Above: West End, Glasgow. Image: Siobhan Owen Back cover: Beautiful D-Type Jaguar rear, Classic Motor Hub, Bibury, Gloucestershire. Image: Philip Newsome

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Monopod Edition 05

Articles inside

Typewriter Traveler

Nostalgia Drags, Santa Pod Raceway

Jacqueline Davies

American Dream

Meccano Man

1953 Goodwood Nine Hours / British GP