Sparks

These rare motorcycle booklets were used for marketing the MM motorcycle by Charles Metz, a genius inventor.  A museum is devoted to his various inventions.  It is http://www.walthammuseum.org/, and this collection of 10 booklets will be donated to the place where they belong.

Go to this history

From Wikimedia

When I first contacted the museum, they were unaware of the existence of these booklets.  I was given these booklets by the granddaughter of the editor/publisher of the booklets in 1973.  She worked at the local Taco Bell, where we often got our lunch.  At the time, I didn’t have a clue as to the rarity, but I knew that they had historical value.  I have guarded them all of these years and kept them out of the sunlight and oxygen.  They came bound in a leather protector.  The leather is all but ruined and turning to dust.

The booklets measure 4 3/8″ X 6″, or 11,3 cm X 15.2 cm.  They vary from 40 to 50 pages.  For the first 5 booklets, I did poor scanning in terms of the pages being square and correctly cropped.  It was a learning process, and the last 5 are greatly improved.  The booklets are very cheaply made and bound by two common staples.  The crimping of the staples varies from booklet to booklet.  They also vary from each other.  The printer scan program cropping function isn’t accurate either.  Due to these built-in errors and my own variations, the pages are best thought of as information, not perfect copies.

The program that I used for scanning isn’t user-friendly.   Thanks to Zak Vetter, Craig’s son, for helping me navigate the labyrinth.

Volume 1, number 1, July 1909

Volume 1, number 2, August 1909

Volume 1, number 3, October 1909

Volume 1, number 4, Nov 1909

Volume 1, number 5, December 1909

Volume 2, number 2, February 1910

Volume 2, number3, March, 1910

Volume 2, number 4, April 1910

Volume 2, number 5, May 1910

A Motorcycle Tour

Updated 30 March 2023