Indian Scout, 1928

I used an image of a 1928 Indian Scout from a full page ad for the Indian Motocycle Company in Springfield, Massachusetts, as a model for this piece of billhead. It is the third piece that I have done on paper from Curnow the Indian, In Butte, Montana. 

Michael Curnow opened a bicycle shop in Butte, Montana, at 205 South Montana Street in late 1908. I know that because the 1908 Polk's City Directory for Butte has no listing for him, whereas the 1909 directory does have a single line listing for him. In 1911 he became the Indian Motocycle dealer, and by 1913 he must have had a fairly decent business because he purchased a quarter page advertisement in the directory. I would dearly love to find a photograph of him, but so far I've come up empty.

This piece was done as a commission, so it is headed for its new home as soon as that can be arranged. If you look at the labels on the right side of my home page for Old Paper Art, you will see a label for Indian. There are now ten Indian Motocycle related posts.

UPDATE: Marianne Dow just posted a PHOTOGRAPH of Curnow which she found in Motorcycle Illustrated Magazine, so I'm posting the link to the photograph right here. 

Indian Motocycle Logo #3

 

I'm calling this one the Glass Indian. Having worked twice before on these weekly bulletins from the Indian factory in Springfield, Massachusetts, I'm not any more thrilled with the paper this time around than I was the first time. It chips easily, and it really is poor paper. BUT. I use what I can get when I can get it.

This is also another piece of paper that was gifted to me by my brother-in-law, Tom Benson. I think about his fabulous Indian Museum - in his Great Room - every time I work on something like this.