Tag Archive | featured photo
July 16, 2018  

Lewis Reed Photo: Lady & Toddler on a 1913 Excelsior

mother and daughter on excelsior motorcycle

Unknown lady and toddler posing on an Excelsior motorcycle. Photo by Lewis Reed

Back in the early part of the last century when the motorcycle was still new and a novelty, it was often used for Kodak moments.

Lewis Reed has a number of photographs showing relatives and other unknown people on their motorcycles in the period of the early 1900s through the early 1920s. This photo taken by Lewis Reed is an unknown lady and a toddler (mother/daughter?) posing on an Excelsior motorcycle. The motorcycle was easy to identify because of the logo, but I could not pinpoint the exact year it was made. I tend to think it might be a circa 1913-1914 model Excelsior.

This is, without question, one of the best posed photos on a motorcycle that I have come across in my grandfather’s albums. The toddler’s sporty little cap and goggles make the image. Just imagine how excited she must have been to sit on that big machine.

The motorcycle seems to be well equipped with extras including: a headlamp, a handlebar-mounted Klaxon horn, and a well padded passenger seat on the back.

August 3, 2017  

Featured Photo: 1914 Indian Motorcycle With Sidecar

1914 Indian motorcycle with Sidecar

Photo by Lewis Reed

This is a photograph taken by Lewis Reed of an Indian motorcycle with his brother, Edgar, seated in the sidecar next to Uncle Bernie Hanshew. From what I’ve been able to research, I believe it’s a 1914 Indian. The handle bars on a 1913 had no cross bar, the 1914 model had a cross bar that can be seen on this one.  The tool box was mounted on the rear of the carrier in 1913 and moved to the top of the fuel tank in 1914. If anyone can help to date or confirm the identity of this machine please leave a comment.

In the early days, motorcycles were a staple of transportation, and both Lewis and Edgar Reed rode them.

Motorcyclists in the 1920s were more likely to wear a tie, goggles, and a sporty little cap than the leather of today.

1915 advertisement for the Indian Motocycle

A 1915 advertisement for the Indian Motocycle (spelling motocycle without the “r”)