When James Lansdowne Norton founded the Norton Manufacturing Company in 1898, his focus was on making bicycle chains. But, by 1902, Norton had expanded into its own branded motorcycle with a French-built Clement single-cylinder engine.
By 1906, the Norton motorcycle line had seven models including one with a French-build Moto-Reve V-twin engine. In 1907, Norton had its own 475cc single and a V-twin, as well. In 1909, the first man in the U.K. to exceed 70 miles an hour on a motorcycle did it on a single-cylinder Norton.
From those early achievements, The Scrapbook Series III Norton tells the story of the “unapproachable Norton” in amazing graphic and narrative detail using the vast resources of the Mortons Media Group Archives.
As with the other bookazines in the series, The Scrapbook Series III Norton is a softcover, large-format publication on heavy stock glossy paper. It features 130 pages that are packed with antique photos, classic advertising, magazine articles and technical information.
The book recalls Norton’s history in many ways – through two world wars, the glory days of racing domination, the company’s financial collapse in 1978, the upstart rotary engine Nortons of the 1980s and early 1990s, and its rebirth with the 961 in 2009.
The full Scrapbook Series includes Series I Triumph, Series II BSA, and Series IV AJS Matchless (soon to be covered in Ultimate MotorCycling’s Rider’s Library). The Scrapbook Series III Norton is an indispensable addition to any British bike enthusiast’s library.
Book Data
- Title: The Scrapbook Series—Norton
- Author: Edited by James Robinson
- Published: 2010
- Publisher: Mortons Media Group, Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs, LN9 6JR
- ISBN: 978-1-906167-09-7
Note to readers: many of the books that we’ll feature in Rider’s Library may be out of print and some may be difficult to find. That could be half the fun. The Internet should make the search relatively easy but ironically, none of the books currently scheduled for eventual retro-review for the Rider’s Library section were found with the help of the Internet. They all were found at book stores, used book stores, antique shops, motorcycle shops, yard sales and so on.