Welcome to the 356 Literature Zentrale

Literature Zentrale, or Literature Central, is the 356 Registry archive of digitized original period documents related to the 356, and products and services during the 356 era. The documents are organized in 4 categories, shown below. Each active link allows members to launch a page full of descriptions and PDF links to view and download scanned material. 

These printed documents are 60-75 years old, and some are very rare. In their day, the colors were a printed approximation of the real colors using the technology of the era. Because they were generally intended for use within a year, there was no thought of using acid free paper or potential aging effects. The cameras or scanners used have a certain level of color accuracy, which is also influenced by light.

Most documents and photos have had light editing done and you are viewing on your screen, which has its own issues. In summary, the colors are going to display far from accurate, but we felt it important to present them without significant revision, as a historical artifact.

The original photos and documents for this area of the website generally were scanned on flatbed scanners at reasonably high (to very high) resolution. A few of the printed documents may have been scanned from photos of original documents. Also, some of the original Porsche documents contained not only printed images but also contained actual photos. The showroom versions of exterior and interior color selection books also had actual paint chips and upholstery materials.

If you choose to download documents with images, please be aware that an image printed in a document is what is referred to as a halftone and is comprised of a collection of dots of various shades of gray (or color) which the human eye interprets as the actual image. This is the much different than photos. In a halftone the amount of detail is always limited to the number of dots per inch and at some point of enlargement your eye will eventually see just dots.

In photos on the other hand the ability to enlarge and see hidden details will be determined by the quality of the print, the quality of equipment used and skill of the photographer/developer. Keep in mind that all photos from this era were printed from film negatives (i.e.were not digital) and when possible, our digital scans were made from high resolution scans of negatives. Regrettably, most were made from scanning prints of varying quality.

If you have access to good quality scans or original documents, please take a look at our Literature wanted List and contact our Operations Director Lori at  lorischutz@porsche356registry.org . 

For those wishing to see period photos of new or nearly new 356 production cars or racing Porsches please check out these sections in the guest area of this website –Learn About Porsche 356