by John Glynn | Jan 15, 2015 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
Fellow 911 owner, artist Nicolas Hunziker, has just uploaded another “can you guess what it is yet?” Porsche painting to Youtube.
The first few minutes had me waiting for something discernable, then a 356 hove into view, then I thought I saw something else: surely Nicolas can’t be painting a water-cooled car. The end result is special and was very familiar – reminded me of a press photo maybe? Something I had seen before. The final dénouement was obvious.
Porsche Unexpected with Nicolas Hunziker
The book Porsche Unexpected was released last year. Telling the story of the incredible Ingram Collection, I bought two copies: one for me and one for a friend’s birthday. I had them both shipped to his house in California and not been able to get there to read my copy yet, but I hear it is very good. I’ll let you know!
Check out Nicolas’ interesting video below. These movies are fun but can be longer than you think (this is art, not speed art), so allow some time to enjoy the experience. Ciao!
by John Glynn | Apr 8, 2014 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
I’m about to jump in the Cayenne and head for Earls Court and the 2014 London Book Fair with our latest project. Cayenne is running well, the first Cult of Porsche book looks great, sun is out. The perfect Tuesday!
Edit: Creative Review has just reviewed the Cult of Porsche book. Read the full review below!
Silk Pearce has designed a stunning book for Ricoh Europe celebrating the enjoyment of classic Porsche cars and demonstrating the exceptional print quality and impact that publishers can achieve using the latest advances in digital print technology, paper and finishing.
“The Cult of Porsche: In the Beginning” showcases original Porsches, as well as owner-modified classics and is the first book in a planned trilogy to be written by long-time Porsche journalist and blogger John Glynn. The text has been richly illustrated with lavish photography by James Lipman, the internationally-renowned automotive photographer.
“Silk Pearce’s in-depth experience of design for print and knowledge of paper has enabled Ricoh to produce a beautiful digitally-printed book with a quality that rivals traditional offset printing. ‘In the Beginning’ demonstrates Ricoh’s advanced digital printing technologies, combined with traditional finishing techniques and we believe the exceptional end product will impress and delight publishers looking to create unique, short-run books for niche specialist markets, as well readers interested in creative design, photography and Porsche’s unique engineering vision,” said Andy Campbell, printing innovation manager at Ricoh Europe.
For further information on ‘The Cult of Porsche’ trilogy, please contact John Glynn: mail@ferdinandmagazine.com
by John Glynn | Apr 6, 2014 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
I spent a good morning with our friends from Ricoh Production & Print on Friday, trimming the first bound copies of our Cult of Porsche book down to size. The work was done at Morgana print finishers in Milton Keynes. If you thought producing books was all about printing then think again: Morgana’s range of print finishing equipment is huge, and it was interesting to learn what the machines all do.
Our work was on the Morgana Digibook 150 Perfect Binding Machine and the EBA 5560 Guillotine. As this first book also showcases Ricoh’s digital print output on a series of boutique papers, care was essential in getting the book through the systems.
Morgana is led by a bona fide Porsche enthusiast (just bought a 911-50), with a few more Porsche owners on the shop floor, so I needn’t have worried. The pre-production prototypes came out perfectly and the beautiful design has been proven. We now have a great example of this project to take to this week’s London Book Fair and share with the industry.
How and Where to Buy
I appreciate the questions on how & where to buy the book! Short answer is I don’t know yet. If we end up with a publisher, standard channels will apply. If we publish ourselves, then you’ll buy it from here. Our finish for this version is high end, so the production costs are steep, but a publisher may do something simpler. Should that occur, any high end finish will be sold via Ferdinand. Jamie & I will autograph & authenticate each copy sold via this website.
My plan is for this first “The Cult of Porsche” series as a trilogy. Readers have the option of eventually collecting all three and housing them in a bespoke box. I’m working on that idea with Ricoh and we’ll see how it develops. It is a very exciting project: not your standard Porsche book and we have plans to add a few tricks in the future. I’m keeping the Book 1 look a bit secret for now.
I followed this little brown impact-bumper Porsche 911 for a short while as as I left Morgana. Good omen!
by John Glynn | Apr 4, 2014 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
Less than 5 days to go to London Book Fair 2014. Version 1 of our Cult of Porsche book has been printed and bound, and I’m off out the door to Ricoh’s print finishers in Milton Keynes to watch them trimming the book down to size.
Bonus is I am driving my Cayenne there – picked it up yesterday following its gearbox rebuild. Running perfectly, but the bill is higher than expected and I have a different tyre on one front wheel. That is bad karma for someone.
I’m also meeting some book publishers and a literary agent at the show. Am totally new to books, so anyone wants to give me a few pointers then drop me an email to mail@ferdinandmagazine.com. Here’s our press release with Ricoh UK:
London, 8 April, 2014 – A digitally printed coffee table book celebrating the ownership and enjoyment of classic Porsche cars, illustrated with lavish photography, will be launched by Ricoh and its publisher The Cult of Porsche at the London Book Fair (LBF) at stand R505 on April 8, 2014.
The book, titled The Cult of Porsche: In the Beginning, documents beautifully preserved classic Porsche cars and inspiring owner-modified machines that pay tribute to Porsche’s unique engineering vision. The book was written by long-time Porsche journalist and blogger, John Glynn, with pictures by internationally renowned automotive photographer, James Lipman, and designed by Silk Pearce. ‘Ferdinand: The Cult of Porsche’ is John’s curated Porsche news blog with a massive global readership of nearly 250,000 unique users.
“In the Beginning is part one of our first classic Porsche collection,” says John. “Spread over three volumes, the first Cult of Porsche book trilogy traces an emotional line entwining true Porsche enthusiasts. It showcases wonderfully original cars as well as beautifully modified classics, to honour the legacy of Ferdinand ‘Ferry’ Porsche.
“Doing justice to James’ incredible photography has always been a Cult of Porsche priority. When the opportunity arose to print a beautifully designed book on Ricoh’s digital print machinery, we jumped at the chance. Our work was the ultimate test for Ricoh’s technology and this exceptional end product will delight readers, while doing justice to the material.”
The Cult of Porsche: In the Beginning is digitally printed and delivers the impact and quality that until now has been associated only with offset printing. It provides a practical example of the benefits digital printing can bring to publishers: a cost effective route to market and; a fast and straight forward way to produce short-run books and those requiring frequent updates. It can also benefit authors who want to print their own work with an affordable printing method, and the opportunity to collaborate on bespoke solutions.”
Gareth Parker, strategic marketing manager – production print, Ricoh said: “Collaborating with John, James and Silk Pearce to create this beautiful book has been an enormous pleasure. The project has enabled us to demonstrate the first class results publishers can get by printing digitally to create unique, short-run books. As readers’ habits change, publishers must change their mindsets to embrace the capabilities of digital, and the sellable impact it can offer. By adopting new technologies today, publishers can start to transform their businesses for the future.”
by John Glynn | Mar 6, 2014 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
Today is World Book Day, a day when thousands of book fans celebrate their favourite reads and swap books that have inspired them. I was super inspired by a book today: my own book!
The first Cult of Porsche book (written by yours truly, with images by James Lipman – of course) is currently under development, in partnership with our friends at Ricoh Production Print UK. Today brought another meet with lead designer, Peter Silk (below), at the Silk Pearce design agency in Colchester.
My boyhood ambition was always to write about cars. I came to England specifically to do that and nothing inspires me more than a great story. This book is overflowing with beautiful images, and truly great stories. Silk Pearce’s design know-how, Peter’s exceptional knowledge of paper, and production expertise from the professional printing team at Ricoh have provided us with an incredible canvas for our first collection of work.
Today, Peter presented some design mockups. I may have got overexcited. Detailed discussions on look and feel, and what is at the heart of this Cult of Porsche concept movement, before looking at our work in mockup layouts: honestly, it was incredible.
I took a few pics of the mocked-up content, but I’m not going to share them. The material is just too special: you’ll have to wait and see! Our timeline is based around a print launch at the London Book Fair in April, we’ll start taking pre-orders later that month and send the first Cult of Porsche book into production. I expect books to be shipping by May at the latest.
Follow Ferdinand Porsche Magazine to see sneak previews when the time is right. Our first project is sure to be sought after and numbers will be limited: makes it even more exciting!
by John Glynn | Feb 18, 2014 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
The thrill of working with Ricoh UK to print our first Cult of Porsche book keeps growing. This week is my first design meet with the creative team, so Jamie and I have been chopping and changing the list of cars to feature in our three-book series.
We have lots of content to draw upon. As well as shooting brand new material only available in this series, there is some epic work dating back across our seven-year association. Do we try to pick our favourites for book one, or do we go with famous names, fancy locations, biggest build budgets?
None of the above. Our work is not about money, stance or scene. It follows an atomic string of Porsche through standard cars and hot rods, race cars and projects. It is the ghost that rides in the passenger seat, occasionally inhabiting the driver.
With light and shade at the heart of our material, it takes a special kind of photography to really tell the story. Jamie’s multi-layered images pull every ounce of drama from the subject. The energy Mr Lipman brings to our partnership is indescribably excellent.
Reviewing the work we’ve done to date for our first book together, I can’t imagine that many people get to experience chemistry this explosive. Working with James is the most exciting thing I have ever done. It’s not a job: it’s a match made in heaven. And so are these cars and their owners.
