Wolfgang Publications Information

Wolfgang Publications is the small company Mary and I formed in 1985 when I started to actually sell a few freelance articles. Named after our German shepherd (now deceased), the company has evolved from the sale of freelance articles to the sale of complete books. Those first years were pretty lean and without the additional income from Mary Lanz, (my lovely and talented wife), our little company never would have made it this far. My mechanical inclinations and experience mean that I can ask reasonably intelligent questions about whatever it is I'm photographing. Being a died-in-the wool motorhead means I'm never happier than when I'm in a shop. I don't claim to have all the answers, I only claim to know the people who do. My job is to be the go-between, the interpreter. Someone who takes the information from an expert like Arlen Ness, Dave Perewitz, Donnie Smith, Ron Covell or Jon Kosmoski, and makes it available to men and women with a hankerin' to learn more about building bikes, assembling engines or painting their hot rod. Eight or nine years ago we started publishing the books I write. Which means we do the layout, pay the printer, do all the marketing and hope at the end to make a profit. The early Ultimate V-Twin series, the Jon Kosmoski Advanced Custom Painting book, the new Cheap Chopper and Bagger books, these are all our own publications. Most of our books are distributed to the retail book stores by Motorbooks, though we do sell direct through the magazines and (obviously) through this web site. Recently we produced our first hardcover coffee-table book, Triumph Motorcycles. Based on ten years of photos taken for the annual Classic Triumph Calendar, the new book is available for $29.95 (plus S&H). In closing, I have to say it's been one hell of a ride. Someone asked me recently about my dreams in high school. Well, I didn't really have any. I never aspired to be the President, or a firefighter. I didn't plan to be a doctor or a lawyer. I did make a vow to myself to never live a boring adult life - like so many of the lives I saw around me. And so far I've kept my vow.