Tag Archive | new book annoucement
August 3, 2025  

Now Available: Portrait Of An Automobile Dealer, 4th Edition

4th Edition CoverAfter nearly a decade in the making, the Fourth and final edition of “Portrait Of An Automobile Dealer” is now officially available through Blurb.com print-on-demand bookstore.

The journey began back in September 2012 with the release of the first edition. Self-publishing  has offered the unique opportunity to continuously update and refine the book over the years, each edition building upon the last with new content, images, and historical discoveries. With complete creative control, I’ve been able to add important new research and give the book a fresh visual identity with each release.

The Second Edition was published in 2013, followed by the Third Edition in 2016, which was recognized by Peerless Rockville with the Arthur M. Wagman Award for Historic Preservation Communication. This recognition acknowledged both the book and its author for documenting and preserving the history of Reed Brothers Dodge and celebrating Rockville’s cultural heritage.

The newly released Fourth Edition marks the culmination of this project and features:

  • More than 70 new images
  • A new cover image and dust jacket color to distinguish it from previous editions
  • Updated and confirmed historical dates and events
  • Freshly uncovered material from the now-digitized Montgomery County Sentinel

These new additions make this final edition the most complete and definitive account of Reed Brothers Dodge to date. Whether you’re a returning reader or discovering the story for the first time, this edition offers a rich, visual, and thoroughly researched journey through one of Montgomery County’s most enduring automotive legacies.

The book “Portrait Of An Automobile Dealer, Fourth Edition” is available through Blurb.com print-on-demand bookstore. If you would like to check out the hard copy book or purchase a copy, please visit: https://www.blurb.com/b/12491295-portrait-of-an-automobile-dealer-fourth-edition

You can preview the entire book on the site, just click the “Preview” button under the cover image. It looks best full screen, and you can flip through the pages by clicking the bottom corners.

A Note About Pricing: You’ll notice that the price of the book is higher than usual. That’s because it’s printed using “print on demand” technology. This means each book is made one at a time, only when someone places an order. Unlike traditional printing it’s a more flexible option, especially for smaller projects like this one; but it does make the cost per book higher. The book is not priced for profit; it’s sold strictly at its base production cost, with no markup or additional fees.

March 18, 2018  

On the Self-Publishing Horizon … Again!

I’m excited to announce that for the last year or so, I’ve been thinking about self-publishing a photo book specific to my grandfather, Lewis Reed, with a working title of, “Lewis Reed Photograph Collection (1898-1960).”  Looking back at photography from the past is a fascinating experience for me, and with a newfound interest in history, the curious part of me wants to learn more: When was the picture taken? Where? What is it? Who’s in it? The majority of his photos are more than 100 years old and many are lacking labels and/or dates, which requires quite a bit of research and a little photo detective work on my part.

With that in mind, I will be frequently spotlighting photographs that may not directly pertain to the history of Reed Brothers Dodge, but will have a lot to do with it’s founder, Lewis Reed. I will not try to be an historian; I will post photos and supply a few paragraphs of context. Many photographic images in this collection have never before been seen publicly in print and will be available in this book for the first time.

I’ve been sitting on this post for a few weeks, timid to hit the ‘publish’ button. Likely because the size of the project is overwhelming and committing to it is a bit daunting (although exciting at the same time). It doesn’t help that as the ambition of my projects and goals increase, so too, can self-doubt. Below is the Draft Table of Contents for the book, which I’m sure will see some revisions as I progress.

Having said that, I will be switching my focus and time to mostly photo identification and researching/writing for the book.

Time to get to work!

Draft Table of Contents

Draft Table of Contents