Once upon a time, a truck served a strictly utilitarian purpose, representing brawn not beauty—or perhaps, as we now believe, its brawn was its beauty. For those who wanted both, over time the station wagon became an attractive choice. Author Robert Headrick Jr. quotes Ron Kowalke who defines a station wagon as “a passenger-carrying vehicle that also converts to a cargo carrier.” Headrick also notes that author Byron Olsen sees the station wagon as evolving from a “utilitarian truck-like vehicle, to a car-based vehicle, to a style statement, and finally to a universal family vehicle.” Adhering to the format established for the popular Iconografix Photo Archive series, Headrick offers 148 black-and-white images that include publicity photographs, advertisements, and sales literature illustrations that provide a comprehensive survey of the various Chevrolet station wagon models—even the Corvair Greenbrier Sports Wagon—offered over the years. Headrick does include more detailed captions than many Photo Archive editions in his effort to tell a larger story. As he explains, he wants readers to consider the “backgrounds, the setting, the people, and the actions of the people” shown in the photographs and how these changed over time.

Book Review by Robert Gabrick