Life in the fast lane can look pretty good. From images of genteel ladies riding in "horseless carriages" to celebrities racing Porsche sports cars, the new book "Car Posters" (Antique Collectors' Club, $49.50) uses advertising to trace the history of the automobile from the late 1800s to the early 1970s. Vintage poster collector Emmanuel Lopez chose the 203 images for their aesthetic qualities and for the innovations they capture, such as horns and windshields. The style of the work—including pieces by famed artists such as Leonetto Cappiello and Georges Rochegrosse—changes as dramatically over the decades as the cars themselves.

—Alexandra Wolfe