Document of the Month

April 2008

Raleigh product catalogue, 1975

Reference: DD/RN/4/15/1/64

The cycle manufacturer Raleigh has a special place in the history of Nottingham. The company not only brought international recognition for its innovatory designs and excellence in production, but also had a major impact on the local economy and community. From its humble beginnings on Raleigh Street to the creation of a global empire, Raleigh became a household name. The creation of the ‘All-Steel Bicycle’, the incorporation of Sturmey-Archer three-speed gear hubs, and the success of champion cyclists like Reg Harris all contributed to the company’s success.

The Raleigh archive contains a great deal of advertising material, including a long series of posters and product catalogues. This catalogue is very typical of its era, highlighting the dominance of science and technology at a time when the Apollo moon landings were taking place, Concorde was launched and man was pushing the boundaries of science. The catalogue is a celebration of British achievements, and compares these advances with various models within the Raleigh range. This page concentrates on the originality of the Chopper and the development of the Hovercraft, but others show more tenuous links; such as the tracking of American satellites by the Jodrell Bank telescope, and the fact that ‘Raleigh cycles are pretty good for tracking too!’

Items from the Raleigh archive will be on display at the Weston Gallery, D H Lawrence Pavilion, Lakeside Arts Centre as part of the exhibition Wheels of Fortune: The Story of Raleigh Cycles of Nottingham. This exhibition has been produced by Nottinghamshire Archives in association with the University of Nottingham Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections. For more information please visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/mss/about/news/exhibitions.phtml.

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