OUR FAVORITE THINGS

Staff members at the Harley-Davidson Museum® tell us more about some of the amazing artefacts in the H-D Archives

VERSACE LEATHER JACKET

Ann Sinfield, Lead Curatorial and Exhibits

Buttery soft and sporting bold, eye-catching stud designs, this leather jacket was created by Italian designer Gianni Versace and introduced as part of his 1991 Women’s Ready-to-Wear Collection. With its supple leather and embellishments that catch and play with light, this piece might be more appropriate to wear during a pricy night out on the town than for a motorcycle ride. As a luxurious detour from its inspiration – the Cycle Champ and Cycle Queen jackets first introduced in the 1954 Harley-Davidson Accessories catalogue – this is a gorgeous testament to the continuing cultural impact of moto culture.

ARTHUR DAVIDSON’S PASSPORT

Bill Jackson, Manager of Archives and Heritage Services

Shortly after the museum opened in 2008, I received a phone call from Arthur H. Davidson, son of the co-founder. He was 94 years old at the time. He offered to donate some ‘old junk’ to the museum.

When I arrived at his house, he showed me the passports his parents used to travel around the world. This particular passport is dated 1915 for “remaining in England and Scotland” and states the “object of visit” as being “on motor-cycle business”. This was a time of rapid growth in Western Europe for the young Motor Company.

On a later tour of the museum, Arthur asked if we knew why his father was so fervent about recruiting new motorcycle dealers. It turned out that the elder Arthur and his wife, Clara, loved to travel. But in the course of seeing America and other countries, he recruited even more dealers and local sales managers to help him.

The dealer network that resulted from Arthur’s travel is one of the key reasons H-D is the oldest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. Those early dealers began the tradition of keeping motorcyclists riding as much as possible.

But the biggest buzz was hearing that story from Arthur. Having an historical gap filled in during a casual conversation was unexpected, and meeting Arthur was wonderful. His humour and knowledge are something I’ll always remember.

BOTTLE OPENER/ BAR SPINNER

Bill Rodencal, Former Lead Museum Collections

Motorcycling has always been a great source of socialisation and camaraderie. This unique little tchotchke really epitomises the heyday of club activities prior to World War II, doubling as both a dual bottle opener and bar spinner. In the centre of the piece is a dimpled pivot point that allowed it to be spun on top of the bar in a circle of riders. The front tyre acted as a pointer and whomever it ‘landed’ on was obligated to buy the next round of drinks for the group! The Archives also has other versions that were offered as dealer premium giveaways for marketing purposes just like matchbooks and pens of the day.

JOE RYAN’S SERVICE SCHOOL NOTEBOOKS

Chris Ripstein, Lead Museum Collections

Like it or not, any museum you visit will result in an educational experience. As a prior lead in Technical Training for Harley-Davidson, one of my favourite things is a pair of Service School notebooks that were handwritten by Joe Ryan. Joe was involved in the parts department, the factory racing team and most notably as the manager of the Service School for over four decades. Within the notebooks are drawings and lecture notes that Joe compiled over the years to be utilised in class when training dealership technicians. These early texts highlight the fundamental principles of motorcycle operations, most of which are still utilised in the development of current-day Harley-Davidson® motorcycles.

As Joe wrote in his notebook: We are not satisfied to have sold you a motorcycle. We want you to get full enjoyment, pleasure, and usefulness from your Harley-Davidson. That means to furnish parts, to make repairs, to give advice, and perform many other duties embodied and understood by the word “service.”

With Harley-Davidson Service School still in operation over 100 years later, it is humbling for any educator to see the intellect and passion scribed page after page from one of the pioneers that
it all. Having mentored thousands of dealership mechanics throughout his career, he left an enduring legacy that still resonates in the many service departments across the global Harley-Davidson dealer network.

1913 PHOTOGRAPH OF THE 1913 HARLEY-DAVIDSON DEALER

David Kreidler, Exhibits Curator

One of my favorite artefacts is this 1913 photo of bound copies of the 1913 editions of the Harley Davidson Dealer. Why? Because we still have both the original negative and bound editions in the Archives today.

You may have noticed several of the staff’s picks come from the early days of the Motor Company. Having so much material from over 120 years ago is truly incredible, particularly when you consider that there was no dedicated staff gathering this material.

It was kept safe for decades by everyday employees who understood its future value. They didn’t allow it to disappear. Wow!

LANTERN SLIDE

Kristina McGuirk, Archivist

This item represents an exciting time in both H-D history and broader culture. In the 1910s, Harley-Davidson – the factory and its ridership – was growing rapidly. To support the dealer network, the company had active advertising and publicity departments – and even invested in a photography studio at its headquarters. At the same time, going to the movie houses was becoming a popular American pastime. The result? Marketing that could be shown in theatres to entice anyone from business owners to potential new riders. One such example is the lantern slide. A precursor to more recent and familiar film slides, lantern slides basically featured an image between two pieces of glass that could project an image onto a screen.

H-D slides depicted new models, new features, and scenes of the areas and activities that were accessible with the help of a motorcycle. As early as 1912, dealers were encouraged to customise lantern slides with their shop name and location. The lantern slides were produced at the new photography studio in 1913, but they proved so effective and popular that creation soon had to be outsourced.

This lantern slide features a colourised version of a company publicity photo from 1916 showing a man, woman and child standing by a lake with a sidecar rig in the foreground. “You Can Go Anywhere With A Harley-Davidson” is printed at the top of the photo. There are almost 100 lantern slides in the Archives collection, but only one currently on display at the museum.

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