History of Trains By Massimo Ferrari & Emanuele Lazzati
History of Trains By Massimo Ferrari & Emanuele Lazzati (Collectible First Edition Copy)
An Authoritative, Richly Illustrated Global Chronology of Rail Transport, Engineering Evolution, and Cultural Impact
An Authoritative, Richly Illustrated Global Chronology of Rail Transport, Engineering Evolution, and Cultural Impact
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: History of Trains
- Authors: Massimo Ferrari, Emanuele Lazzati
- Publisher: Crescent Books, New York / Avenel
- Publication Date: 1990
- ISBN-10: 0517033151
- ISBN-13: 9780517033159
- Edition Details: First American Edition, First Printing (Collectible Transportation Release)
- Binding: Original publisher's premium hardcover cloth boards, complete with the original illustrated dust jacket, now beautifully preserved and stabilized inside a clear Cellophane archival sleeve.
- Physical Format: Large Format Quarto (4to), 232 pages. Lavishly enhanced with archival black-and-white layouts, high-definition full-color locomotive plates, global transit maps, and detailed mechanical engineering diagrams.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Very Good Plus to Near Mint (VG+/NM)
- Exterior / Boards: The original publisher's cloth casing remains in spectacular condition, showing straight edges and sharp corners. The spine is completely crisp, intact, unbumped, and perfectly unbent, keeping the book true.
- Interior: The text block is structurally tight, secure, and robust. Internal pages are completely clean, bright, and intact, showing only a very light, uniform vintage tanning along the far outer borders, quite typical for 1990 North American art-paper stock. Free from standard consumer ink inscriptions, ownership marks, or dealer pencil annotations.
- Preservation: This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. It is now fully protected with a clear Cellophane cover to keep the boards and spine perfect.
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The Dust Jacket: Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Condition: Present and complete. Shows only some very slight, microscopic signs of storage handling wear along the upper edges. Beautifully stabilized, clean, and seamlessly displayed beneath the archival Cellophane cover.
Synopsis & Railway History Value
Published in 1990 by Crescent Books, History of Trains is a sprawling and comprehensive global account of the rail transport systems that reshaped modern civilization. Renowned transport historians Massimo Ferrari and Emanuele Lazzati trace the technical arc of the train, spanning from the pioneering days of early steam engines, through the golden age of coal and diesel, to the supersonic high-speed machines of the modern era.
Going beyond simple engineering metrics, the book explores the deep cultural impact of rail travel, analyzing the train's iconic presence in art, literature, and its strategic deployment during major global conflicts. The geographic coverage is vast, detailing the network expansions and famous passenger services across Western Europe, the Americas, the Soviet Union, and Asia. This volume is a necessary reference guide and an essential addition for railway enthusiasts, model railroaders, and serious collectors of transportation history.
Author Profile: Massimo Ferrari & Emanuele Lazzati
Massimo Ferrari and Emanuele Lazzati are highly distinguished Italian transportation historians, researchers, and technical writers celebrated for their comprehensive documentation of industrial infrastructure and locomotion history. Frequently collaborating with major European research institutes and transport museums, their work is renowned for its cross-disciplinary depth—successfully linking meticulous mechanical specifications with cultural, sociological, and artistic movements. Their ability to synthesize international transit archives ensured that this work remains a landmark popular overview of global rail evolution.
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