Archive of 42 original vernacular photographs of the Camrod motorcycle shop, 1967

N.p. N.p., 1967. Archive consisting of 42 vintage vernacular photographs of the Camrod Corporation, a motorcycle and motor scooter dealer and repair shop in New York City. Included are 15 loose black-and-white photographs, 7 black-and-white photographs stapled to the inside of a manila folder with two business cards and a clipping of a contemporary newspaper ad, and 20 color photographs, 8 of which have manuscript annotations on the rectos or versos. Manila folder with manuscript ink annotations noting "Camrod Swap Shots" and "Dec. 1965," and business cards for Camrod and Outrider Accessories, also of New York. Several loose photographs with printed or manuscript dates of 1967.

Camrod's was a long-standing dealer located in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, originally opening in the mid-1960s at 604 W 52nd St, and later moving to two other locations before closing in 2010. The photographs in the archive are from the earliest years of the shop, when riding motorcycles was still an outlaw subculture. Included are images of Honda and Ducati bikes, as well as motor scooters, just then becoming widely popular in the Untied States with the introduction of the iconic Vespas and Lambrettas from Italy. Other photographs show customers, including members of an African American riding club, and shop workers, including a grease-covered mechanic identified on the verso as Wolfman.

Photographs mostly 5 x 3.5, with a few larger sizes, including one 8 x 10. Generally Very Good plus or better.

[Book #149413]