By 1912 Triumph motorcycles had been in production for 10 years. Little did they realise that they would be around for a lot longer. For 105 years old this catalogue is in exceptionally good condition and as the cover says, Adams Ltd of 32 High Street, Christchurch were the sole agents for New Zealand. But evidently not, as we all know.
They were also advertising offices at Wellington, Wanganui, Palmerston North and Timaru.
For 1912 there were 4 models, the Triumph Roadster, the Free Engine Model, the Tourist Trophy Roadster and the Tourist Trophy Racer. There are excellent descriptions and high quality photographs of the patented Triumph forks and carburettor, with inclusion of items like the silencer cutout and variable speed pulley.
Even if you don’t own a 1912 Triumph have a look at the catalogue, you will be impressed with the quality of the publication and Triumphs dedication to improving their product. And as with a lot of early company advertising there are the testimonials which make for good reading including one from a Christchurch rider dated 1910.
My favourite would be the 3 ½ hp Tourist Trophy Racer.
A grand photograph of Triumph owners from Johannesburg. Not a bad effort for 1911.
A nice line up of successful Triumph competitors from Australia.
Click on the front cover below to see the complete manual.
It is a 13.7M PDF so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.
In acknowledging Triumphs 50 years of production the February 14th edition of Motorcycling magazine produced this full page montage of humourous pencil drawings complete with a well thought out verse. Clearly the message was that everything was “spiffy old chap” and definitely a good advertising ploy for continuing the success of Triumph. I have a quiet chuckle every time I read it. I hope you do too.
