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Harley-Davidson Archives and Heritage Services
Bill Jackson, Archivist
Above: The H-D Archives motorcycle collection as it appeared about 1950. The founders of H-D began retaining one vehicle from each year about 1919.
As they had done in previous years, the founders of Harley-Davidson readied their annual exhibit for the 1919 Chicago Motorcycle Show.
But this year was different. Along with their expected complement of new motorcycles, the founders included a historical review of original H-D motorcycles going back to the earliest years of production. At the age of 16 years, Harley-Davidson was proud of its history. But just as important was the fact that they had started a collection of their key products. From 1903 to 1919, Harley-Davidson came from building three motorcycles in the Davidson family’s backyard to America’s largest motorcycle manufacturer. From 1919 to present day, Harley-Davidson has retained at least one new motorcycle for each year.
The landmarks of Harley-Davidson history are represented by “first year” bikes, including a 1936 model EL and a 1957 Sportster. They help comprise the largest collection of unrestored Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the world. Other vehicles include golf cars, bicycles and snowmobiles.
Archival records document topics ranging from product development to the unprecedented worldwide footprint of dealerships which grew to over 2,000 stores in 67 different countries as early as 1920. A rich collection of point-of-sale and other marketing pieces includes over 7,000 posters. As with so many other repositories worldwide, the H-D Archives collects and preserves present-day company and other records in born-digital formats.
Tens of thousands of photos and documents have been digitized, including OCR searchable text for internal users. To date, 180 hours of film and video are available digitally to approved stakeholders. These files aid in rapid research and fulfillment for worldwide employees and partners.
Above: The vehicle collection today is stored in a compacting, three-level storage system.
Today, H-D Archives and Heritage Services responds to over 1,200 requests per year. The Archives is located at the Harley-Davidson Museum in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Common company stakeholders of the Archives include the Legal, General Merchandise and Global Demand departments. For the general public, several key archives storage and work spaces are viewable to Museum visitors, and guests of the regularly scheduled behind the scenes tours can view them up close.
New employee orientation is held at the Museum quarterly, with interactive tours of the exhibits and archives as well as sessions integrating H-D heritage. Other groups of employees and suppliers receive in-depth tours alongside guests encountering Harley-Davidson for the first time.
The Archives provides extensive support to both internal and external heritage communications. Among the most unique projects was detailed research to support the accurate portrayal of a World War II motorcycle for the 2011 Marvel Studios film Captain America: The First Avenger. A notable recent acquisition is a 1901 engineering drawing for a “bicycle motor” drafted by William Harley.
When Arthur Davidson and William Harley sold their first motorcycle in 1903, they could not have imagined what their new company and motorcycling would become. Fortunately, the story they wrote would survive and thrive into the present as new stakeholders write the next chapter. Today, H-D Archives and Heritage Services responds to over 1,200 requests per year. The Archives is located at the Harley-Davidson Museum in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Common company stakeholders of the Archives include the Legal, General Merchandise and Global Demand departments. For the general public, several key archives storage and work spaces are viewable to Museum visitors, and guests of the regularly scheduled behind the scenes tours can view them up close.
New employee orientation is held at the Museum quarterly, with interactive tours of the exhibits and archives as well as sessions integrating H-D heritage. Other groups of employees and suppliers receive in-depth tours alongside guests encountering Harley-Davidson for the first time.
The Archives provides extensive support to both internal and external heritage communications. Among the most unique projects was detailed research to support the accurate portrayal of a World War II motorcycle for the 2011 Marvel Studios film Captain America: The First Avenger. A notable recent acquisition is a 1901 engineering drawing for a “bicycle motor” drafted by William Harley.
When Arthur Davidson and William Harley sold their first motorcycle in 1903, they could not have imagined what their new company and motorcycling would become. Fortunately, the story they wrote would survive and thrive into the present as new stakeholders write the next chapter.
Above: The only known photograph of one of the first three Harley-Davidson motorcycles ever sold. The bike has also been heavily modified, documenting early rider customization.
Note: Repository Profilies are provided by the organization. The Business Archives Section will update as notified by the organization. Accordingly, information may not be accurate. Individuals should contact the organization before using or citing information.
