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Book Review: ‘Collage, Jackie Stewart’s Grand Prix Album’

There can be few more personal mementos of family life than a scrapbook. In a stunning collaboration with Genesis Publications, the career of a triple World Champion as recorded by Stewart’s wife, Helen, is reproduced in 208 pages – the edited facsimile of the very scrapbooks she kept during the great Scot’s driving heyday.

The story starts in 1955, with a 16-year-old JYS and his shooting trophies, and ends in November 1973 showing the couple’s invitation to the marriage of H.R.H. Princess Anne to Capt. Mark Phillips, all carefully ‘glued’ into place as were the 100s of other photographs, race-clippings, menus and travel tickets in between.

As a spry-looking Sir Jackie Stewart remarked at the Monaco and London launches of the project, it is very much ‘Helen’s book’. Originally filling 17 volumes, the content has been carefully selected by the Stewart family to show, as Stewart poignantly put it, “all the highlights, with none of the lows”.

Book Review: ‘Collage, Jackie Stewart’s Grand Prix Album’ Book Review: ‘Collage, Jackie Stewart’s Grand Prix Album’

In addition to Grand Prix racing, Stewart competed in long-distance races, Indianapolis, Can Am, Formula 2 and saloons – all of which get a mention, very often accompanied by commentary from JYS.

The book, hand-crafted by artisan book-binders in Scotland, is limited to 1500 individual, numbered books, all hand-signed by Sir Jackie Stewart.

Limited-edition, hand-made books from Genesis are collectors’ items and previous subjects include Eric Clapton, Sir Peter Blake, David Bowie and Keith Richards. ‘Collage’ includes a DVD featuring a video montage of Stewart’s career, a short film of Lady Helen and the original family albums, and a music video produced by sons Paul and Mark to celebrate their father’s 70th birthday (with a little help from an ‘old shooting friend’ who can also play the guitar a bit: Eric Clapton).

The book is priced at £295.00 plus shipping and is available worldwide from www.genesis-publications.com.

We were able to spend a little time with Sir Jackie to discuss the new book. Over a glass of Scottish mineral water at the Caledonian Club in London, he told us a bit more about an extraordinary life of achievement. Full story to follow next week...

Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Genesis Publications - Strictly Copyright


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