The Enthusiast: A Magazine for Motorcyclists, Harley-Davidson Club Magazine, Five Issues from 1950

Harley Davidson Club Magazine

Periodical

The Enthusiast, a monthly publication produced by the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, chronicling American motorcycle culture at mid-century. Milwaukee, WI: Harley-Davidson Motor Co., February–November 1950. Archive of five issues, each 23 pages and measuring 9" x 6". Each issue covers racing, club news, technical updates, reader-submitted photographs, and interestingly, the emergence of women as motorcycle enthusiasts in an otherwise male dominated hobby. Includes February, April, May, October, and November 1950 issues. Printed by the George Banta Company.
Originally founded in 1916, The Enthusiast is widely regarded as the longest continuously published motorcycle magazine in the United States. As the official mouthpiece of Harley-Davidson, it functioned both as brand promotion and as a grassroots record of American motorcycling, with emphasis on club activity, national races, and the patriotic connotation of riding Harley-Davidson machines in postwar America. These 1950 issues capture the post-WWII resurgence of motorcycling as both a recreational and competitive pursuit, particularly among returning veterans and increasingly among women. Visually rich, the covers feature dramatic photographic scenes: the February 1950 issue shows a rider mid-wheelie over rocky terrain on a 1949 Harley-Davidson 125, captioned “Cross-country on a 1949 Harley-Davidson 125”; the April cover depicts the Wroten Family of motorcyclists lined up at “Rose Park,” titled “Hydra-Gliding with the Wroten Family.” In May, a parade of riders cruises down a tree-lined highway under the banner “Cruising Down the Highway.” The November issue highlights a rider fording a stream in full gear, the water splashing dramatically beneath his machine.

Coverage of female riders is notably present in this period. The April 1950 issue introduces the Motorettes Motorcycle Club of Chattanooga, Tennessee, whose members appear in matching uniforms of white shirts, dark skirts, and caps. The caption names each woman: “Lou Riggsby, Betty Hollingsworth, Mary Joe Pate, Fay Tate and Clara Voiles. Second row, from left: Clara Manasco, Mabel Huggins, Alice Hollingsworth, Shirley McPherson and Elizabeth Jones.” In the same issue, the “Fair Feminine Fans” column celebrates women riders like “Miss Virginia Lane of Florence, Alabama,” and “Miss Lorna Lamb of Chicago,” the latter pictured on a Harley-Davidson 45, “heading into the mountain trails to her favorite fishing streams.” One particularly revealing note appears in a section reporting on the Buccaneer Motorcycle Club’s “Reliability Run” in Corpus Christi, Texas. There, “a girls’ division” is highlighted: “Top honors went to Ollie Lee Houser… second, Olliene Earls, and Dolly Smothers, third.” A photograph shows the three women standing beside a flathead Harley-Davidson 45 with trophy in hand. The magazine’s inclusion of competitive female riders (“very attractive Motorettes”) underscores the growing visibility of women in the motorcycle world.

Also included is a full spread on the September 1950 Langhorne 100-mile National Speedway Championship, won by Billy Huber on a Harley-Davidson: “He finished in 69 minutes, 20.69 seconds, a scant 27.24 seconds slower than the record set by Jim Chann in 1949.” The spread includes detailed action shots and rider commentary, reflecting The Enthusiast’s deep engagement with the national racing circuit. Light wear to spines and corners, with minor handling marks and creases. Interior pages uniformly clean and supple. Very good condition overall. A vivid and culturally significant group of early postwar issues of The Enthusiast, reflecting the expanding role of women in motorcycling, the popularity of Harley-Davidson racing, and the brand’s deeply embedded identity in American civic life—captured in documentary photographs, riders’ testimonials, and grassroots club culture.

Item #21764

Price: $350.00