Books

About my books and why I self-published.

I decided to go down the route of self-publishing mostly because I am realistic about the barriers into traditional publishing. Self-publishing opens up possibilities for books that simply don’t fit into the traditional publishing mold. The only way I could create something as unique as these books was to self-publish.

“Portrait Of An Automobile Dealer, Third Edition”, was recognized by Peerless Rockville with the 2016 Arthur M. Wagman Award for Historic Preservation Communication for documenting the history of Reed Brothers Dodge. This distinguished honor recognizes outstanding achievement by writers, educators, and historians whose work has heightened public awareness of Rockville’s architectural and cultural heritage, growth and development.

The book contains 224 pages and is enhanced by over 600 photographs. Readers will find an historic timeline that showcases the company’s 95-year history, how Reed Brothers Dodge came into being, and how the company overcame the inevitable changes and challenges throughout almost a century of being in business. The dealerships influence continues to this day on the site of its former location, now the Bainbridge Shady Grove Metro Apartments.

Honoring the rich historical legacy of this site was extremely important to us, said Tom Keady, President & Chief Executive Officer of The Bainbridge Companies. With the sculpture and the floor plan names, our residents and visitors feel a real connection to the site’s past, and we pay tribute to Reed Brothers Dodge’s role in creating a vibrant Rockville.

“Portrait Of An Automobile Dealer, Third Edition” is electronically catalogued in the Montgomery County Historical Society’s online collections database and the printed book is available in the onsite, non-circulating library. The book has been donated to the Director of Curatorial Services at Meadow Brook Hall, the historic home built by Matilda Dodge Wilson, widow of auto pioneer John Dodge and her second husband, Alfred Wilson, and was added to the Peerless Rockville Museum Collections which contains more than 7,500 physical objects dating from pre-Colonial times to the present.

“Lewis Reed Photograph Collection (1898-1960)” contains 374 pages and 2500+ photographs, the majority of them more than 100 years old, taken by Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge. It has informative captions throughout that provide small snippets of history on the people and places pictured. Many photographic images in this collection have never before been seen publicly in print and are available in this book for the first time.

Lewis Reed was a well-known photographer in the county and many of his early photographs are now part of Montgomery History’s photo archives. His photography has appeared as a resource in highly regarded historical publications including, “Rockville Images of America” by Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation (with Ralph Buglass), “Montgomery County Mills, A Field Guide” by Michael Dwyer,  “Montgomery County: Two Centuries of Change” by Jane C. Sween, “Montgomery County (Then & Now)” by Mark Walston, “Montgomery County (MD) Images of America”, by Michael Dwyer, “Rockville: Portrait of a City” by Eileen S. McGuckian, Montgomery Magazine, historic landmarks “Then & Now”, and “Gaithersburg: History of a City”, and by the media, including on the national television show, American Pickers, Science Channel ‘Impossible Engineering’, Maryland Public Television, and on TV’s most watched history series, American Experience on PBS.

Preserving the Legacy

How Reed Brothers Dodge came into being, and how the company overcame the inevitable changes and challenges throughout almost a century of being in business… all adds up to a great story. Most importantly, the books reveal past generations to us in the most direct way. They provide something tangible and something that will always be valued, and a lasting and true legacy for future generations.

Both books are electronically catalogued in Montgomery History’s online collections database and the printed books are available in the onsite Jane C. Sween Research Library.

Click on each of the abbreviated book titles in the drop-down menu next to this page’s “BOOKS” tab for information on the book and how to purchase a copy.