Mar 24, 2022 - Sale 2598

Sale 2598 - Lot 374

Price Realized: $ 2,250
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900
(SPORTS--CYCLING.) Marshall W. Taylor. The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World: The Story of a Colored Boy's Indomitable Courage. Frontispiece portrait, numerous text illustrations. [12], 431 pages. 8vo, publisher's gilt cloth, spine quite faded, minor wear; inscribed on front free endpaper "Greetings to my friend Alvah S. Conant from yours truly, Major Taylor, Dec. 25th '28, Worcester, Mass." Worcester, MA, [1928]

Additional Details

First edition, inscribed by the author. Marshall W. "Major" Taylor (1878-1932) was a Black cyclist who set numerous world records and won the world one-mile cycling championship in 1899, despite constant discrimination. Taylor was only the second Black athlete to be recognized as the world champion in any sport (after boxing bantamweight George Dixon). He is a member of Cycling Hall of Fame, and is depicted in a large monument in front of the Worcester Public Library. Only one other inscribed copy has been traced at auction since 1993.