Harley-Davidson Releases Short Film That Highlights The Value Of Company’s Film Archives

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Harley-Davidson recently posted a short film on the company’s website that features Bill Jackson, Harley-Davison Archives and Heritage Services manager, highlighting archive artifacts. The archives contain 1,700 individual pieces of film and video dating to 1916. (Photo courtesy of Harley-Davidson.)

Harley-Davidson recently posted a short film on its website to help people “enjoy and understand why Harley-Davidson is here after well over a century.” In the film, Harley’s Manager of Archives and Heritage Services Bill Jackson says the films and items in Harley’s Archives don’t just document a company’s history, they document the riders, clubs, rallies, races, and other elements of its past, as well.

Enter The Archives

Harley’s Archives feature 1,700-plus individual pieces of film and video footage that date from the pre-1920s to Harley’s 115th anniversary celebration held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2018. The Archives’ earliest footage, which Jackson says Harley bought on eBay several years ago for $250, dates to 1916 and features what is believed to be the oldest footage of Harley bikes in use. “I think film adds life to the history, and sometimes the footage tells us things we wouldn’t find from still photographs,” says Jackson.

Other items include footage of members of an early African American club called The Berkeley Tigers from Oakland, California, performing precision riding skills in what Jackson calls “a great moment in time for us.” Elsewhere, the Archives contain film shot in 1937 at the first Daytona 200, “one of the most legendary races in American history.” Jackson says when his company discovered the footage was “sitting right in our collection, it was like, ‘Hallelujah.’ It’s really a great record of what became one of the marquee motorcycle racing events in American history.”

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A short film that Harley-Davidson recently posted on its website highlights the company’s film archives. Archive items include footage shot at the 1937 Daytona 200, action of various Harley manufacturing processes, Harley’s recent 115th anniversary celebration, and much more. (Photo courtesy of Harley-Davidson.)

Visit The Museum

Harley’s Archives are available to tour at the Harley-Davidson Museum, a 20-acre campus in Milwaukee open 363 days a year that features 450-plus motorcycles and artifacts, including Serial Number One, the oldest-known Harley-Davidson motorcycle. But film conveys emotion like no other medium can. Whether it’s dealers, riders, customers, or museum visitors, Jackson says when they view archived Harley film, “they see how much fun people were having back in those days. Those are the things you really can’t get from a still photograph.”

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Source: Harley-Davidson