The Mini Library Reviews...

Mini.
by M Steward

This small volume from the Osprey Colour Series is included with the coffee table Mini books largely because of it's predominance of large full colour photographs on almost every page. They feature a selection of Minis and derivatives in mostly stationary 'posed' pictures, of uniformly excellent quality and detail. Only a few of the photos are of Mini's in action. Captions are perhaps too succinct - a dedicated Miniac reader would almost certainly like to know more about the featured cars. Accompanying text, too, is brief, summarising the evolution of the Mini. Overall, the book is more than a 'coffee table' conversation piece. It provides a 'potted' history of the Mini for the uninitiated, to whom the book seems to be directed, but also it has appeal to restorers and collectors for the detail shown in the photographs. Not all Mini models are included.

The following summaries of the eight sections of the book refer also to the phographic content, the main feature of each section.

Foreword & Introduction:

A short foreword by John Cooper highlights the success of the Mini. The Introduction is simply Alec Issigonis' comment on the sameness of all cars today, excepting, of course, the Mini;

Body and soul:

Steward notes that the Mini has lasted so long because 'many of its features have endeared themselves to the Mini driver'. Three pp. of text outline the development of the Mini - 'A' series engine, subframes, brakes, suspension. Pics (half to full-page) include a Monte Carlo Cooper S, engine bays and interior of early Morris/Austin 850's, a BL AA service van, a BL pickup, a Mini Countryman;

Early days:

A concise summary of the launch of the Mini, and the slow sales at first, which picked up when the 'trendy middle classes' found the Mini. The introduction of the various models is treated sequentially, with high quality pics of the: Wolsely Hornet, Austin Mk1 Cooper, Morris Mk2 Cooper S, Mini Moke;

Sell, Sell, Sell:

Again, about 3 pp. of text and 18 pp. pf photographs, trace the sales success of the Mini, and the marketing ploys. Advertising posters are pictured, including the '1965 First Million' advertisement, as is a page of clippings on the fuss created by BL's 'Nips in and out like Ronald Biggs' Mini ads. Pics include the Clubman family, and limited edition Minis: Park Lane, Ritz, Advantage, Redhot & Jetblack, Mary Quant Designer, Picadilly, Mini 25, City, Mayfair, and finally, a well-kitted out 1960 Austin;

The Men:

About 4 pp. of text are devoted to a brief history of two men behind the Mini: Alec Issigonis and his design career, for which he subsequently was knighted (in 1969); John Cooper, his need for speed, appointment as a consultant to BMC, and the evolution of the Mini Cooper. The glossies relate more to the variants of the Mini than to the men, although both Issigonis and Cooper are pictured. Pics include the add-ons, the Cooper features, Cooper Mk 2 'S' police car, Austin Mk 2 'S', Mk 3 Cooper, Innocenti Cooper, Riley Elf, the Heinz cabrio's, Radford Mini hatchback; Wood & Pickett Clubman, W&P Margrave, W&P luxury Mini interiors;

The Cars:

Four pp. of text and 22 photographs dedicated to variants of the Mini - commercial and home made. Exteriors and interiors show all the details - Jaguar seats and dash in a Mini (!), The Ogle Mini, Wildgoose Motorhome, truncated Mini, the world's lowest road-going car, the GTM, Hustler, Innocenti 120 cabrio, Innocenti de Tomaso, a NZ Mk2 Cooper, the sadly depleted yellow Mini of Goodbye Pork Pie, among others....a pity that some of the great Oz variants could not have been included here.

The future:

This is pre-BMW, but even then, in 1989, it was clear that motoring law and design restrictions were catching up with the Mini......and that 'it will be a bureaucrat who decides that the Mini has had its lot.' Only a couple of paragraphs conclude the text....Issigonis' fitting comment that 'your car with its fins will last till next year and then it will be out of style - MY CAR WILL LAST FOREVER!' Pics include a double page spread of the Japanese-text retro-ads on how to age your Austin Rover Mini (!), some high flying Min's with all or most wheels of the ground, a 4.7 litre Chevrolet-powered Mini, rally cars, twin-cam Lotus-powered Clubman van, among others.

Verdict from an Oz perspective: photography is terrific, text is informative but limited - the information and pics of UK models make a worthwhile addition to the Mini bookshelf. 'Foreign' Minis are not well documented - only a few of the Italian Innocenti range are shown, and the southern hemisphere is represented only by 1.6 cars from New Zealand......tsk! For the dedicated Miniac, useful as a restoration guide for the features of the selection of models shown, also useful, when depressed by inability to own a Radford or Wood & Pickett conversion, to drool on the glorious photographs thereof. Pages are glossy, they wipe off (!).

Russ Shiel

Return to Coffee-table books or view book details

http://www.comp.glam.ac.uk/pages/~minis/minilib/review5.htm
Copyright © 1996, Russ Shiel - validated (3.2s)