Book Release Announcement: Portrait of An Automobile Dealer, Third Edition

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Feb. 16, 2017 - PRLog -- If you wanted to read the history of the American car industry, a great place to start would be the book "Portrait Of An Automobile Dealer". A family-owned business that endured two World Wars and the Great Depression, the book conveys an abundance of unique automotive related content as well as a family business history that parallels the evolution of the Dodge automobile.

In this book, readers will find an historic timeline that showcases their 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 decade of being in business. "This book is of interest not only to those of us who remember Reed Brothers Dodge, but to others who wish to get to know Rockville as it was before they arrived," said Jane C. Sween, former librarian at the Montgomery County Historical Society. The book has expanded to 224 pages and is enhanced by over 600 photographs, some of them more than 100 years old, taken by Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge.

The author puts the former Dodge dealership in perspective by demonstrating that the dealership's influence continues to this day on the site of its former location, which is 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."

Reed Brothers Dodge was one of the oldest Dodge dealerships under the same family ownership in Maryland, and one of the oldest in the entire nation. The first Dodge was offered to the public in 1914. Lewis Reed and Roy and Griffith Warfield opened their Dodge dealership and service facility less than one year after Dodge made its first automobile. They named it the Rockville Garage. In 1918, Lewis Reed bought out the Warfields. In 1919, his brother Edgar Reed joined the business and the name changed to Reed Brothers Dodge.

The book "Portrait Of An Automobile Dealer" is available through Blurb.com print-on-demand bookstore. If you'd like to check out the hard copy book or purchase a copy, please visit: http://www.blurb.com/b/7746815-portrait-of-an-automobile-dealer-third-edition.

A free complimentary eBook available for Amazon Kindle Fire, Apple iPad, Android devices, and Mac or PC computers is also available through Blurb: http://www.blurb.com/b/7746815-portrait-of-an-automobile-dealer-third-edition?ebook=614233.

About the Author

Book author Jeanne T. Gartner is a co-owner of Reed Brothers, Inc and granddaughter of Lewis Reed, the founder of Reed Brothers Dodge. She hosts the blog "Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012)" which can be found at http://reedbrothersdodgehistory.wordpress.com/. In 2016, she was recognized by Peerless Rockville with the Arthur M. Wagman Award for Historic Preservation Communication for her book documenting the history of Reed Brothers Dodge. This distinguished honor recognizes outstanding achievement by writers, educators, historians, visual and performing artists, and members of the press and broadcast media whose work has heightened public awareness of Rockville's architectural and cultural heritage, growth and development.