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When the inexpensive paper used in magazines approaches thirty to fifty or more years of age, it begins to rot. Magazines produced on newsprint-grade stock tend to deteriorate much faster than those on glossy stock, but eventually, unless they have been sealed in little plastic sleeves since the day they were printed, all of them will slowly turn to dust. Their pages will fade from white to yellow and from yellow to brown. Their spines will stiffen and protest when opened. Once-innocent corner thumb-creases will become clean tears and cracks, and individual pages will actually shatter into miniscule fragments if they are turned with too much zeal. By far the most distinctive attribute of decomposing periodical stock is the smell, a rancid and acidic odor that often appears in magazines that are only ten or fifteen years old. But this stench is evident only at close range. Stand a couple of feet away from a stack of monthlies printed in the 1950s and you’ll barely notice it, but if you sit down and flip though them page by page, it’s virtually impossible to ignore. This I know because I’ve spent the better part of the last nine years carefully reading through thousands of magazine and trade-journal issues—many of which were printed fifty, seventy, or even ninety years ago—at very close range. I’ve shattered my fair share of pages, cracked my fair share of spines, and breathed in more than my fair share of rotting fiber dust. And I’ve loved every minute of it. Or at least, I have been deeply grateful, from the moment that I first conceived of this project back in 1999, that so many periodicals have survived the ravages of time more or less intact. For as I have written this history of automotive performance tuning and speed equipment manufacturing in the United States from the days of the Model T to those of the import tuner, enthusiast periodicals and industry trade journals have been absolutely indispensable. Some primary and secondary monographs , collections, how-to manuals, and edited volumes have been vital as well, as have several caches of documents and a handful of one-on-one interviews with key figures. But without the magazines, this project never would have progressed beyond a brainstorm. ESSAY ON SOURCES 328 e s s a y o n s o u r c e s magazines During the Model T and Model A eras of the 1910s, 20s, and 30s, dedicated enthusiast periodicals did not yet exist. However, general-interest automotive magazines regularly published photographs and features of modified cars, how-to articles for those who wanted to learn how to improve their cars’ performance and handling, and reader forums in which performance-tuning matters were often discussed at great length. By far the most useful of these general-interest periodicals—for my purposes, at least—was The Fordowner, put out by the Hallock Publishing Company of Cleveland, Ohio. During the 1910s, this magazine was owner-oriented and was therefore filled with content that was useful for consumers. But over the course of the 1920s, 30s, and early 40s, it gradually evolved into a trade-oriented publication, with tips for shop owners, dealers, retail-parts outlets, and investors. Its name changed several times during these years too, as its editors worked to better match their masthead with their content: The Fordowner became Ford Owner and Dealer in 1920, Ford Dealer and Owner in 1925, Ford Dealer and Service Field in 1926, and Ford Field in 1939. Throughout the 1910s, 20s, and 30s, however, there was at least one constant in this magazine’s front office: Murray Fahnestock, its technical editor. Fahnestock must have been an enthusiast himself, for he regularly wrote with noticeable passion about organized (and unorganized) motorsports, overhead-valve conversions, underslinging methods, high-speed cams, racing bodies, and, perhaps most importantly, the companies and the men who manufactured aftermarket high-performance parts for Fords and other inexpensive makes. Motor Age, another general-interest publication from the days of the Model T and the Model A, also gradually shifted its focus from end-users to shop owners, dealers, and parts producers. Although it did not have a technical editor as rabidly devoted to the pursuit of speed as The Fordowner’s Murray Fahnestock, Motor Age did nevertheless run a number of how-to stories about Model T and Model A performance tuning, and news about aftermarket companies frequently...

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