Motorcycles in Murphy Library Exhibit

Posted 12:06 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024

Arthur E. Roth Photograph Collection Now on Display

The way I came across this collection was purely by accident. David Mindel, the Digital Collections Librarian, and I agreed to do an audit of the photographic materials in Murphy Library’s Special Collections to get a better grasp of what already exists in our own collection. We agreed the best place to start is with the most original material we have–glass plate negatives. Glass plate negatives were in use from 1880’s to the 1920’s. There are two types; wet and dry. Wet were made on site of where the photograph was taken, in a pop-up dark room; while dry were mass produced to be sold. I began by scanning one of many boxes filled with glass plate negatives and stumbled across envelopes labeled “Roth Collection.” I immediately became intrigued as it was a series of images with people on their early motorcycles. Curiosity got to me; I went over to Special Collections to see if I could find any other information about Roth. Not only did I find more information about the man, but I found more materials from his collection; prints, postcards, more negatives and newspaper articles.

Arthur “Art” Roth was born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 1886, and resided there until his death in 1968. Roth delivered packages for the American Railway Express Agency as well as for the US Post Office, often using a motorcycle as his preferred method of transportation. In addition to being an early motorcycling enthusiast in the early 1900s, he was also an accomplished motorcycle mechanic. This photograph collection is unique as it captures Roth’s life as a mail carrier, a motorcycle racer and recreationist, and a cross-country traveler. Some of the images contained within follow Roth’s journey from Wisconsin to Niagara Falls in 1912, with stops in Chicago, Cleveland, Toronto, and Buffalo. This collection is comprised of original acetate negatives, glass plate negatives, photographic prints, and real photo postcards.

Motorcycle Trip to Buffalo, NY—Unknown Lake, c. 1912

Recently, I reached out to both Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycles companies to inform them of our discovery. Bill Jackson, the Manager of Archives and Heritage Services at Harley-Davidson, did respond to our message and even provided more information about one of the images in the collection. He informed us that the image titled “Motorcycles by a Lake” had two Harley’s–one from 1907 and the other from 1909. He stated that during that time, there were about 60 Harley’s built, which confirms in my mind how unique this collection truly is.