Foreign Literature

[Author nameAuthor names are only available to PAS members.]

Over the years, I’ve acquired quite a few pieces of original factory literature relating to my cars. Some of the pieces I find most interesting are the ones that are printed in languages other than English. I’ve come across several magazine ads from France and South America and also a couple of sales catalogs in French. I’ve seen similar items in other member’s collections.

The two items that I haven’t seen elsewhere are owner’s manuals in languages other than English. Several years ago I came across a 48-B-5 owner’s manual in French and a couple of months later bought a Spanish version of the Series 32 manual from a “junk” dealer in Mexico City. Since then, I’ve been keeping my eye open for owner’s manuals in foreign languages, but haven’t seen any.

Both the French 48-B-5 manual and the Spanish Series 32 manual are similar to their English counterparts except the printed type has been changed to a different language. The photographic plates are the same – any words on the plate are still in English. The list of dealers found in the English version of the Series 5 manual is omitted from the French version as are the telegraph codes for ordering parts.

Does anybody else have foreign language owner’s manuals? How about some of our overseas members?

[Author nameAuthor names are only available to PAS members.]

This page from the Spanish Series 32 manual is notably different from the English version by having a translation table between the English words on the plate and their Spanish equivalent. This is the only place in the manual that they provided the translation.

This manual also has a loose flyer (in Spanish) describing the adjustment of the carburetor. Again, the main text is in Spanish, but the words on the illustrations of the carburetor and the reed adjustment are in English.

[Author]

Posts