David Gray's pictures of the week 24-9-2007

DAVID GRAY photography
	S C O O T E R D E C O R A T I O N
	P I C T U R E S O F T H E W E E K 2 4 - 9 - 2 0 0 7

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This week's pictures are about scooter decoration. The first scooters were produced over a century ago by the French and called "Auto Fauteuils" ("Motor Armchairs"). It was an appropriate name - scooters are for easy travel around busy towns, not speed on the open road. Easy Rider on scooters would have been ridiculous. Enthusiasts of both scooters and motorbikes love to decorate them, but the styles are very different. Major themes of motorcycle decoration are speed and death, often with a grim humour. The riders of Vespas, Lambrettas and Piaggios, on the other hand, go for a cheekier, more playful style. They also love mirrors and lights, reflecting the fashion-consciousness of the Mod era. Most of the pictures in this set were taken in Brighton, which of course has a firm and continuing place in the tradition of British mods and their scooters. You might also like to see the earlier set on motorcycle art.

A Lambretta at the Ace Cafe rally in Brighton in September 2002 (image 2211-16)

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