Tractor-trailer load of racing literature donated to AACA Library

Photos courtesy AACA Library.

[Editor’s Note: Steve Moskowitz of the Antique Automobile Club of America recently sent us this writeup regarding an extensive donation to the club’s library.]

Holy Cow, Batman, a trailer-truck load of literature has arrived at the AACA Library & Research Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania! Yes, a completely full, double- and triple-stack 54-foot commercial trailer was full of literature, films and ephemera, mostly about the world of racing. This is the collection amassed by former publisher of Speed Age, Don O’Reilly. The collection was donated to the library by a very good friend and supporter of the AACA.

Don O’Reilly was a prolific writer, photographer and historian, which led him through a career of many assignments with NASCAR and magazines. Don practically invented the genre of writing about auto racing beyond the Indy 500. He brought stock car racing and his love for local race tracks to mainstream publications and had a lot to do with starting NASCAR on its way to such great heights today.

O’Reilly must have had a big garage, as he had collected a massive treasure of early magazines ranging from his own ventures to all the other popular race car magazines of the era. He also collected titles such as Popular Mechanics and Automotive News. Basically, if there was a story about the automobile industry or racing, he saved it! Voluminous photographs, home videos and other resources are being uncovered by the AACA Library staff. Every day is going to be a treasure hunt going through the 500-plus boxes that arrived recently.

The Don O’Reilly Collection will be properly archived, digitized where appropriate and catalogued for future historians and fans to use. The AACA Library & Research Center is a 501(C)(3) organization, and the library is a free public library. With over 1.25 million items in its holdings, three librarians with their master’s degrees and a purpose-built facility, the library is a great resource for the collector car hobby. For more information about the library, visit AACALibrary.org.

from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/1VSdTzf