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264

Harley-Davidson: William Harley

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
Harley-Davidson: William Harley

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Auction Date:2012 Apr 18 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
In-depth collection of 13 signed letters from William S. Harley, chief-engineer and co-founder of Harley-Davidson, and his sister, Katherine H. Daily, and various individuals involved with the case, all concerning the honorable discharge and welfare of their brother, Joseph W. Harley, from the U. S. Coast Artillery Coast, dated from January of 1933 through November of 1935. Featuring two TLSs signed by Daily, the first, dated January 8, 1933, containing the most detailed account of the Harley’s plea for an honorable discharge, in part: “Application is hereby made for the correction of records and for an honorable discharge of my brother Joseph W. Harley, of 69th Co. U. S. Coast Artillery Corps. He enlisted in said organization June 5, 1902 and left the service November 10, 1903…During this service he was stationed at the Philippine Islands, Negros Island, for a period of about two years and six months, during this period he was with an engineering detachment and they were lost for about ten months. The hardships endured during this period made him a nervous wreck. He seffered [sic] with mountain fever and amoebic dysentery. He was also wounded in the right leg and was hospitalized at Escalante P. I.” The letter goes on to describe his honorable discharge, only to return “a nervous wreck,” talking “continually about his experience in the Islands.” Joseph disappeared shortly after, reenlisting in the military. His condition worsened, leading him to desert the U. S. Coast Artillery. The Harley siblings would receive a letter from their brother, who was being treated at a hospital in Virginia for typhoid fever, asking for money to come home. Under the attention of various doctors, it was concluded that “his breakdown was caused by the strain and hardships endured while he served in the Philippine Islands.” Daily concludes the letter by requesting the honorable discharge, citing that Joseph “was not the type of man that would voluntarily desert from any contract or service, if his mental condition had not been impaired.”

This comprehensive collection contains seven TLSs from Harley himself, each signed in his varying signature, addressed to varying parties involved with his brother’s case, and the crown jewel of the collection, a bold ALS signed, “Bill Harley,” one page, 7.25 x 10.5, dated Milwaukee, 11/35. Harley writes to Miss N. Newkirk (Nellie) of Washington D. C., whom had informed him of Bill HR-1119 had passed through the House of Representatives and was on its way for approval in the Senate of Military Affairs Committee in February of 1935, in full: “I presume that the Bill I am interested in will follow some established routine and will reach its destination in due course of time. If however it needs a push to get it through remember, I am depending on you. I expect you will be able to show Crystal all the things to do and the places to go. Remember, she really is a country girl now, and Washington—well its a big city.”

The ongoing case involved many individuals and several pieces of correspondence, including one TLS from the Honorable Thomas J. O’Malley, House of Representatives, from whom the Harley’s looked to for help in passing Bill HR-1119 for Joseph’s relief; one TLS from the Honorable Chester Thompson to O’Malley; one TLS from George Brown, Director of the Veteran’s Claim Service; one TLS from Morris Sheppard, Chairman of the Senate of Military Affairs Committee; and various carbon copies of letters pertaining to the case. The expected lightly intersecting folds, toning, and creasing, otherwise overall fine condition.

In addition to rare Harley autographed letters on his letterhead, this collection includes signatures from lawmakers who aided the Harley family in the case, including John Morris Sheppard, the Democratic senator from Texas who authored the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) and Thomas O’Malley, a Democratic congressman from Wisconsin. HR-1119 “For the Relief of Joseph W. Harley” won congressional approval, but FDR vetoed it in July 1935. At the time of these letters, William S. Harley was the chief engineer in the engineering department of Harley-Davidson, the motorcycle company he founded with Arthur Davidson in 1903. In late 1935, Harley unveiled arguably the finest achievement of his career, the 1936 Model EL or 61 OHV, more commonly known today as the “Knucklehead.” A fantastic interrelated collection of Harley personal letters with seldom-seen autographs from the motorcycle legend.
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