Mortons Books The Scrapbook Series III Norton Back Issue

Following on from the popular ‘scrapbooks’ on Triumph and BSA comes this tome, focused on one of the most iconic motorcycles of all time – Norton. Split into 10 chapters, the early ones chart the company’s rise, from modest beginnings to early success, driven by a visionary engineer and designer in James Lansdowne Norton, through early financial uncertainty, company restructure, landmark models and then, in the 1930s, huge racing success. Next, further chapters focus on Norton’s huge contribution (in terms of the company’s size) to the war effort, more halcyon days in 1950s sport, further iconic models (Dominator, Atlas, Commando) before charting the rotary years and then concluding with a look at the current rebirth.

This is all undertaken using pictures from the Mortons Media Group archive, the world’s largest and best photographic collection of motorcycle material, and that coincides with the period Norton was at its peak. Superb imagery throughout illustrates many of the famous models (the 16H, Big 4, ES2, International and F1 to name five of many more) plus many of the men who rode them (Woods, Guthrie, Simpson, Duke, Archer, Surtees, Hailwood, Williams, the list goes on…). Added to all that are an explanatory introduction to each section, picture captions, period roadtests, advertising material and sales literature, which come together to create a fascinating, evocative record of one of Britain’s most famous and successful motorcycle makers. Third in The Scrapbook Series.