At Sir Stirling’s suggestion, Porter Press have reprinted their most popular Scrapbook on the 60th anniversary of his amazing 1955 year which of course included the Mille Miglia win and first GP victory. The first editions are already going up in price; they have limited it to just 900 second edition copies.
The first of a series of Stirling Moss scrapbooks which now includes as separate volumes 1926-54, 1956-60, and 1961, the 1955 Scrapbook evokes memories of the heyday of classic motorsport.
Stirling Moss is a national treasure. Arguably the world’s greatest all-round racing driver, he was a hero to several generations of schoolboys and enthusiasts throughout the world. Moss is now so iconic his name is often used as a metaphor for “racing driver” – the name alone invokes mental images of speed, bravado, the jet-set lifestyle and a bevy of beauties with whom to live it. By 1961 his career was at its peak; absolutely at the top of his game, a charismatic sportsman famous across the world.
But 1955 was the first really crucial year for Moss. This is the year when he averaged almost 100mph to win the thousand mile Mille Miglia. It was the year of his first Grand Prix victory, winning the British GP by inches from World Champion Fangio. Victory in the grueling Targa Florio clinched the World Sports Car Championship for Mercedes-Benz, too.
Young Moss was a man of extraordinary energy. He was one of the first of the jet-setters and went out with a succession of stunning ladies. He only had to be seen with a fabulous female twice and all the papers would be reporting they were engaged. If he sneezed, the Press wrote about it.
Above all, he was a dedicated sportsman and probably the first to make motor racing his sole profession. Not only was racing his passion but his bread and butter. He went rallying in the winter, not just for the fun of it, but to earn some money during the racing off-season.
The Stirling Moss Scrapbook 1955 is packed with intriguing detail, superb illustrations and a plethora of period cuttings from around the world. Throughout his career he created his personal scrapbooks, several volumes per year, and he kept a diary and photo albums too. This book dips into his personal records and is spiced throughout with treasures to delight and fascinate. These are supplemented by period comments and many of his anecdotes. Moss has a fund of stories and is refreshingly non-PC!
This book is a celebration with a difference. It paints a vivid picture of the fun and flavour of fifties motor racing, spiced with Stirling’s anecdotes as told to award-winning author Philip Porter. It’s a light-hearted look at the fun, the excitement, the lifestyle, the challenges, the tragedies, the victories, the crumpet…
To celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the events depicted in the Scrapbook, it has been reprinted and is now available to order. Described as “a fascinating insight”, “immediately collectable” and “a fascinating insight second only to delving into the albums with Moss himself”, this book is an unmissable read and a must for any historic racing fans.
For more about this or other books by the same publisher visit www.porterpress.co.uk.
