Vinny O'Hare

Just before the holiday season Cadillac will be releasing some pretty cool books. I am looking forward to getting my hands on one.

DETROIT – Cadillac, which celebrates its 110^th birthday this month, will be the subject of a new limited edition Assouline luxury book. When it debuts later this fall, Cadillac will be the renowned publisher’s first project dedicated to a single automotive brand.

Cadillac tells the history of America’s first luxury auto maker with 150 pages of images depicting the brand’s many landmark cars and the people who drove them, making Cadillac among the world’s most-revered luxury brands.

“Cadillac is indelibly woven into culture, in America and around the world,” said Don Butler, Cadillac vice president of marketing. “Today, with Cadillac once again moving forward as a design and technology leader, we’re proud that our brand has inspired the artists at Assouline.”

Only 500 hand-numbered Cadillac luxury books will be produced, each housed in a black slipcase with metallic Cadillac plaque and retailing for $395. A more conventional hardcover version with dust jacket will also be available and retail for $75. The book will be released in time for the holiday shopping season.

Known for their editions on architecture, fashion, design and travel, Assouline has published more than 1,000 luxury books since its founding in 1994. They have branded boutiques around the world including Paris, New York, Las Vegas, Seoul, and Lima.

Cadillac’s history dates to 1902, when it was founded by engineer and entrepreneur Henry Leland. As Henry Ford’s first attempt to establish an automobile company faltered, Ford’s investors asked for Leland’s appraisal of the assets of the failed Henry Ford Company. Leland instead convinced the investors to let him make a new company with cars powered by the single-cylinder engine he invented.

Historians debate the actual “birthdate” of Cadillac. Leland’s original meeting with the Henry Ford Company’s investors occurred on Aug. 22, 1902, often cited as the “start” of Cadillac. The actual date of the founding of the Cadillac Automobile Company, in records filed in Detroit, is August 27, exactly 110 years ago today.

Using tools and equipment from his other firm, Leland and Faulconer, Leland’s first Cadillac was built on Oct. 22, 1902. The new company began production and sales in earnest in March of 1903.