Description:

Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson 1950 Massachusetts Dealership Contract Signed by Co-Founder Arthur Davidson

 

2pp contract signed by Harley-Davidson co-founder Arthur Davidson (1881-1950) as "Arthur Davidson" near bottom of page two. Contract is dated October 17, 1950 and is also carbon copy signed by a Framingham, Massachusetts-based dealer named Leon J. Landry. Partly printed and partly typed on both sides of canary yellow paper measuring 8.5" x 14". A model and price index has been glued to the front page. Folded into brochure size with a docket panel. A few folds, wrinkles, and staple marks, else near fine.

 

The "Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Motorcycle, Sidecar, Servi-Car and Package Truck Sales Contract" authorized dealer Leon J. Landry to sell Harley-Davidson vehicles within an approximately 30-mile radius in eastern Massachusetts halfway between Boston and Worcester. The 22-clause contract outlined terms and conditions relating to selling reservations, sub-dealers, the use of imitation parts, and more.

 

"(1) Witnesseth: The Seller hereby grants to the Dealer, during the continuance of this agreement and subject to the terms, conditions and exceptions hereof, the right to purchase from it such Nineteen Hundred Fifty-One Model Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, Sidecars, Servi-cars, Package Trucks, and Chassis, as it may desire to sell for resale in the territory hereinafter designated at prices and on terms and conditions following…"

 

Buyers could purchase among 11 1951 models ranging in cost between $112.50 (the MC) and $750 (the GA) (for between $1,170 and $8,000 in 2018 money!) Landry targeted Harley-Davidson aficionados within a geographical zone encompassing "The townships of Sherborn, Holliston, Hopkinton, Ashland, Natick, Framingham, Wayland, Sudbury, Hudson, Stow, Boxborough, Acton, Concord, and Lincoln all in Middlesex County, State of Massachusetts."

 

Harley-Davidson was a motorcycle manufacturing company established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1903 by two childhood friends, William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson. The pair tinkered with motorcycle mechanics and chassis design to "Take the Work out of Bicycling." By 1920, Harley-Davidson was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world; it still operates today. Sadly, co-owner Arthur Davidson died in a December 1950 car accident that also killed his wife and 2 children just two months after signing this contract.

 

Leon Joseph Landry (1903-1987) was listed in a March 1956 issue of American Motorcyclist as the owner-manager of a Harley-Davidson dealership in Daytona Beach, Florida. According to the magazine, Landry had sold H-D vehicles since 1922.

 

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000