Vincent
and HRD Motorcycles
How They Were Promoted
and Sold by
David Wright
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- Limited
edition of 998 copies
- 320+
pages
- 550
illustrations
- Signed
by author
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INTRODUCTION
Howard Davies created ‘HRD
Motors Ltd' in the mid-1920s and Philip Vincent
followed him with ‘The Vincent HRD Co Ltd'
later in the decade, because both were convinced
that they could produce better motorcycles than
other manufacturers of the time. History shows
that neither man's confidence was misplaced, although
each discovered that whilst making motorcycles
was a demanding business, selling them was even
harder, as they joined the many other makers fighting
for a share of a depressed market in the late
1920s.
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Both HRD and Vincent were relatively
small concerns, but they engaged in extensive advertising
to sell their motorcycles to dealers and to prospective
purchasers in the motorcycling world at large. The advertisements
collected here provide a fascinating account of such
promotional activities, with the period artwork and
text giving a real feel for the eras in which the motorcycles
were produced and sold. They also show that in the pursuit
of sales, some of the advertised claims rather stretched
the truth!
No attempt has been made to detail the
technical history of the two companies motorcycles in
this book (plenty of specialised publications cover
that aspect), but sufficient text is provided to relate
the advertising and promotional material to the general
history of the marques. The result provides a good understanding
of the principal activities of HRD Motors Ltd and The
Vincent HRD Co Ltd during their combined 30 years of
production, whilst also offering an insight into many
of the little-known ‘sidelines' that the latter
engaged in to keep itself in business. Most of the advertisements
come from the world-wide motorcycle press, though some
of the images used are from original sales brochures,
whilst advertisements from component and product manufacturers
who considered it a plus-point to feature Vincent and
HRD motorcycles in their promotional material are also
included.
Almost one-third of Vincent motorcycles
produced between 1946 and 1955 went for export and although
the emphasis here is on advertising by the manufacturer,
regard is had to the importance of export markets by
including examples of the promotional activities of
overseas Distributors and principal selling Dealers.
These accounts of export promotions and sales are supported
by rarely seen photographs and by historic correspondence
between factory and distributors. The final chapter
looks at the manner in which the names Vincent and HRD
have been kept in the fore-front of ‘classic'
motorcycling in the half-century since production came
to an end at the Stevenage works.
The two companies produced more advertisements
than have been used in the book, but each one chosen
for these pages contributes something to the Vincent
and HRD story. Although the quality of reproduction
has suffered occasionally due to the ageing of source
material, the 550 illustrations used are all worthy
of scrutiny, for they provide information on Vincent
and HRD motorcycles in a manner not previously used
in the 80 years that have passed since Howard Davies
brought his ideal motorcycle to the market and provided
inspiration for Philip Vincent to do the same.
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£25.00 |
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