Friday, October 14, 2016

FLASH! "The Motorcycle Magazine" Digitized

Premier June, 1903 edition
The George A. Wyman Memorial Project is pleased to announce the successful digitization of the of The Motorcycle Magazine collection held by the Yale University Library Archive.  This collection is the only known copies of The Motorcycle Magazine and represents a vital link to the Wyman legacy.

At the left is the premier June, 1903 edition cover, not seen publicly in over 113 years!  This successful digitization task represents a major milestone in the Project's efforts at, "Linking the Past to the Present to Enrich the Future."

The entire collection of Volumes 1&2, some 48 individual monthly editions, of The Motorcycle Magazine will soon be to be released by Yale to the HathiTrust Digital Library.  Free public access to the digitized collection is expected to be the end of October or early November, 2016.  The Project will post links, as appropriate, for ease of access.

Wyman's articles appear in the June, July, August, September and October, 1903 editions.  Several other articles about Wyman historic journey appeared in the November and subsequent editions.  The Wyman Project requested that Yale digitize the entire collection of Volume 1,1903-1904 and Volume2, 1905-1906.  We felt it important to the legacy of Wyman's historic saga to be seen in the full context of motorcycling of the period.

We need your help!  The Wyman Project is on the hook for the cost of the digitization.  We do not yet know the final amount but expect it to be a few thousand dollars.  The Yale University Library partnered with Google to do the actual digitization of each page or each edition of entire collection of The Motorcycle Magazine.  Please, make a tax deductible contribution to support the Project's Research efforts.  Become a Research Sponsor for $50 or more.  Any amount will help!

A Team Effort - The digitization effort has been in the works since the Wyman Project contacted Yale almost 18 months ago.  Marti Wyman Schein, Project Director of Research, led the coordination with the Yale University Library archivist to get the job done.  Marti reached out to Deborah Hunt at San Francisco's Mechanics Institute Library, who had contacts at the Yale University.  Deborah Hunt worked with Andy Shimp of Yale's Librarian for Engineering & Applied Science, Chemistry and Mathematics, who coordinated the digitization process for Yale. We have these professionals to thank for successfully bringing the historic Wyman saga, as first published, to the digital world.   Well done, Team!