Cycling / Major Taylor - Lot 63

Cycling / Major Taylor HAMELLE (Paul), COQUELLE (Robert), Major Taylor: His Beginnings, His Career, His Life, His Adventures, with “Training Tips by Zimmerman,” from the “Les Rois du Cycle” series, 50 previously unpublished photographs and drawings, n.d. (circa 1908), 116 pages (creases, wear) Biography of the African American cycling champion MAJOR TAYLOR (1878–1932), with tables of his European tours in 1901, 1902, 1903, and 1907 compiled by Ernest Mousset. Legendary blue, white, and red cover with stars by O’GALOP. With advertisements (“Major Taylor Loyal to Labor”). By the leading journalists of the time, this book profiles one of the greatest champions of all time, the African American sprinter Major Taylor (1878–1932). Between Indianapolis and Chicago, the champion would dazzle audiences throughout his career.A victim of racism in the U.S., he emigrated to Europe (like his fellow boxers; see Claude Meunier: “Ring Noir”). This volume celebrates his coronation as world sprint champion in Montreal in 1899 and his status as a great Six-Day racer. His races against Jacquelin at the Parc des Princes have become legendary, as has O’Galop’s poignant cartoon in *La Vie au Grand Air*. This book was a bestseller.