Dear List, I'm just getting a chance to forward this. Enjoy. Or just be jealous.
John T.Pergolizzi Omnipotent Despot BVVW San Diego, Ca.
Last Thursday, January 29,2009, the NYC chapter of the BVVW (Brooklyn Velodrome Vintage Wheelmen) was pleased to host a special guest at one of our meetings: Brett Horton, of world famous Horton Collection (www.thehortoncollection.com ). Brett was kind enough to join our motley crew for a healthy dose of pizza and beer at John's Pizzeria in Greenwich Village... We did our usual thing, catching up after a winter break over some of the finest slices NYC has to offer. In the absence of the bell-ringing Omnipotent Despot, we still managed to assemble a crew of TWENTY velo-holics! Unlike typical meetings, we had no theme, discussion topic, club news or announcements...Just hangin' and talkin' about all things bike with one of the world's most knowledgeable collectors of professional cycling ephemera.
And boy did he bring the BIG GUNS!
It aint too often that we even get to see stuff of this calibre in America...And to hold it yer hands was something else! A "show and tell" of epic proportions, boys and girls! Lemme tell ya! Guests at the meeting got their hands on:
- Hugo Koblet '51 Giro Maglia Rosa (race worn)
- A medal from the 1896 Paris-Roubaix
- Medal given to Seres at the coronation 6 day race in London in the 1930s
- Francesco Moser Italian Champion jersey (race worn)
- Sean Kelly TdF Green Jersey (race worn)
-[unknown rider]'s mid 70's Flandria jersey
-Eddy Merckx FAEMA Post-TdF jersey from '69 with world champ bands on neck and sleeves and no pockets; race worn in late-season crits, etc.
-"The Watch"!!! Original pocket watch used as the official time keeper of the first TdF. It is a Charles Abrams chronometer used as the single timepiece to record times for the TdF from 1903 through the first world war.
And Brett's new holy grail:
-"The Little White Album": a small photo album of original turn of the century road and track racing pics...Containing the ONLY known photo of the TdF's 1st (1903) winner with his trophy!
On hand were the following BVVW members:
Matthew Bowne Steve "Pops" Klein Harry Schwartzman Nathan Thomas Michael Haddad Jeremy Rauch Scott Gordon Stewart Ferrell Jamie Swan Nino Hellman Josh Berger Jane Kenyon Mordecai Silver Michael Allison Steve Kinne Taliah Lempert Allison Holden Dave Perry Vic Kaminsky Brett Horton
Thank youse one and all,
Matthew Bowne
L'Assistente al Despota Onnipotente