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VAN LIVING 1971 Designing a Life
5.5” x 8.5” Full-color
First Edition $ 24.95 FREE Domestic SHIPPING International shipping: $ 10.00
A travel diary, journey of discovery, and personal memoir, VAN LIVING 1971 is the story of two young designers beginning a life together. Only months after meeting, Gay and Jack Reineck decided to outfit a VW van in London and set out on the dream of adventure. Living in the van for the next 12 months, and 25,000 miles, the newlyweds drove through Europe—Turkey—Iran—Afghanistan—Pakistan—to India and back. Along the way they created an enduring love that would last for more than 50 years.
160 historic color photographs
Diary: entries from entire 12 month journey
3 Maps (Europe/Asia, Kabul, United States)
Sketches and drawings
Sidebars: (people, places, books)
Current information on some of the people we met
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Experience the ultimate 1970s road trip. Download a few sample pages of VAN LIVING 1971 to get a taste of Gay and Jack’s 12-month journey, featuring historic photographs, hand-drawn maps, and real diary entries.
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Long before “vanlife” was a hashtag, Gay and Jack Reineck – only months after meeting – bought a VW van in London and set out on a 12-month, 25,000-mile road trip through Europe, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, then back to London. Published in June 2021 on the 50th anniversary of the trip, Van Living 1971 is a full-color diary built from their original notebooks: historic color photographs (shot on an Olympus OM-1, 35mm film), diary entries from the full journey, three original maps (Europe/Asia, Kabul, and the U.S.), sketches, and sidebars on the people, places, and books that shaped the trip.
The book spends real time in Kabul, Afghanistan, before it changed with the Soviet invasion – walking its neighborhoods, visiting the zoo, watching Kochi nomads begin their spring migration, and once talking their way out of a traffic stop with the help of a hotel owner named Que Baluch. As Gay and Jack wrote at the time: “Each day here is fascinating. We do all sorts of odd things, exploring in and around Kabul, lots of talking, and sitting. We relax and slow down more each day, time means less and less.”
More than 50 years later, souvenirs from the trip are still in the family – an embroidered dress and an Afghan vest from 1971 have both been worn by their daughter Hannah, and handwoven baskets from a Kabul bazaar now sit three generations deep in a recent family photo.
“This is a journey of two young people; hopeful, committed to one another, whose journey, in a van, is a metaphor for their life’s journey, bursting with possibilities. I treasure this book.”
Michael Carabetta, Creative Director Emeritus, Chronicle Books.
“What a wonderful book! Intensely personal, yet somehow it feels universal. I felt like I was traveling with you, exploring new places… and at the same time learning how to live together as a couple.”
Joan Abrahamson, President, The Jefferson Institute
“…this is a kind of fly-on-the-wall experience reliving those carefree days. Part memoir, part social experiment, part adventure travel, Van Living 1971 has it all – including invaluable tips for folks wanting to set off on their own personal version of van living today.”
Susan Abbott, Cultural Consultant, President, Abbott & Company
About the authors:
Gay (Beste) Reineck, born in England, studied graphic design and graduated in 1966. In 1967 she was brought to the U.S. to work as a designer at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and later worked for Charles and Ray Eames and Saul Bass. Jack Reineck, born in Los Angeles, studied architecture and graduated in 1968, working as a designer at CalArts. The two met at the 1970 Aspen Design Conference – Jack proposed two days later. In 1971 they ordered a VW van in London, intending to live in it for a year – the journey this book tells. Back in the U.S. in 1972, they settled in San Francisco and started the design business that eventually became Rufus Guides.
Follow the journey and see more historic photos on Instagram @vanliving1971.
