Wednesday, August 6, 2008

"THE ROAD-HOLDER"...Norton's prewar catalogues

During the 1930s, Norton produced elaborate 35 page catalogues that featured their competition successes for the previous year, plus the latest in their motorcycle range with accessories.
They are super to have if you are a Norton buff...still great if you are a motorcycle literature collector.
I have copies of the 1934,1935,1936,1937,1938 and 1939 editions.I am unsure when they started the series, but feel they didn't continue them following WW2 from 1946 onwards.
These are from Allan Schafer in Grafton, NSW, Australia, whose literature I am custodian of.
The letter, illustrated is to Allan,from Norton Motors in 1936 offering him a free copy.
I've selected the 1936 catalogue to illustrate in this blog, giving you some idea of the content.Just how much would you pay for one...?




Good question, as they are seemingly quite rare.I deal in UK motorcycle book auctions and havent seen one for many years. Checking Ebay didn't bring any up for sale.I would say you'd have to pay greater than UK£50 a copy.

Left click on images to enlarge.
































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