American Funeral Cars & Amb.

Yes! What's out there is all that is available! Pallets, and I mean pallets of these books , still in cases were taken and buried in a landfill! So these ARE treasures!

This is the first that I have heard this. Is there any documentation of this destruction?
 
This is the first that I have heard this. Is there any documentation of this destruction?
I'm not going to reveal the name of the bulldozer driver, you wouldn't know him anyway. Just more of Northern Wisconsin's buried treasures! If you don't believe me, then don't. You prove to us there are thousands of those books out there for sale.
 
I the mid to late 80's I got to know George Dammann the owner of Crestline Publishing. I would visit him a few times a year at his Sarasota FL warehouse with the late Andy Shaw. There were NOT pallets of this book left in the 80's. Maybe less than half a pallet. I bought cases of them to resell back in the days. George said it was his slowest selling book ever which would be understandable with the limited area of interest. The cases had sat so long that the "paper sheets" separating each issue had seriously become stuck to the covers. I was buying a case of maybe 8-12 books for $20. It took quite a while to carefully clean the covers as the covering on the hard cover would tear. I want to say on my last visit there was one and a half layers left on the pallet. It was nice knowing George back then and I did manage to get most all of the Crestline titles at one time.

As a side note, the master sheets or proofs ( I am not up on vintage printing terms) were being used as packing material for new orders. I had a few pages at one time and may still buried in my hoard of crap. :cool:
 
I think there are many of us that have multiple copies of these.

I have 4 of them. I bought my first copy, I'm guessing, around 1980. Possibly late '70s. The other 3 were just too cheap to pass up.
 
Guess I am old enough to recall ordering direct from Crestline Publishing. I think I bought my first Crestline title at Waldenbooks (that makes me old, too) and it was 70 Years of Buick. Subsequent titles came mostly direct from Crestline with an odd one or two from other places. The titles included American Funeral Cars and Ambulances (obviously), American Fire Engines, 70 Years of Chrysler, 75 Years of Buick, Cadillac/LaSalle, and Airlines of North America. No idea what they are worth today but am sure that they can be had for a decent penny. As an aside, I can still remember the day I received American Funeral Cars and, being totally unaware of funeral car history, was overcome by the beauty of the carved panel hearses.
 
Guess I am old enough to recall ordering direct from Crestline Publishing. I think I bought my first Crestline title at Waldenbooks (that makes me old, too) and it was 70 Years of Buick. Subsequent titles came mostly direct from Crestline with an odd one or two from other places. The titles included American Funeral Cars and Ambulances (obviously), American Fire Engines, 70 Years of Chrysler, 75 Years of Buick, Cadillac/LaSalle, and Airlines of North America. No idea what they are worth today but am sure that they can be had for a decent penny. As an aside, I can still remember the day I received American Funeral Cars and, being totally unaware of funeral car history, was overcome by the beauty of the carved panel hearses.

Like you, I ordered my first book from Crestline Publishing and it was American Funeral Cars and Ambulances. Then for over 15 years would go to the annual Iola Car show on the Crestline Publishing grounds in Iola Wisconsin. I would hit their Discount Tent where they would bring out pallets of books and magazines to sell at discount prices. I bought other Crestline books over the years and still enjoy looking at them over and over.
 
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