The Book of Phantoms

“The Book of Phantoms”
by Kenneth Ullyett. 144 pp. 8-1/2 in. x 10-3/8 in. (Max Parrish Ltd., 6, Chandos Street, London, W.1. 35s.)

A companion volume to “The Book of the Silver Ghost” by the same author, this is hardly a “necessary” addition to Rolls-Royce history, in view of the number of recent books on the subject. But it does include some new material, notably photographic reproductions of the instruction books applicable to the New Phantom, Phantom II, V12 Phantom III, Phantom V, and straight-eight Phantom IV R.-R. models, the last-named including, by gracious permission, a facsimile of those in a handbook issued with a Phantom IV supplied to special order by the Royal Family.

The bulk of the book is devoted to photographs, lengthily captioned, and there is a brief introduction covering the history of the Rolls-Royce Phantoms. This concludes the answer Bill Aykroyd, personal assistant to Hardy Amies, gave to the question of why he bought a Rolls-Royce:—”You feel such a fool without one.” Not an essential book but necessary, one supposes, to avid collectors of R.-R. literature and an improvement on the Silver Ghost volume. — W.B.