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Fred Ludlow was a top board-track racer of the 1910s who made the transition to dirt-track racing with ease—the culmination of that coming September of 1921 when the Californian won five National Championships at the M&ATA finale on the dirt mile at Syracuse in New York. After his racing career, Ludlow became a motorcycle policeman in Pasadena, California.
Ludlow served in the Signal Corps during World War I, leaving for Europe in April 1918 and returning from the war in August 1919. Soon after his discharge, Ludlow was hired by Harley-Davidson’s competition manager Bill Ottoway to race for the Milwaukee-based team. Ludlow’s factory debut came in a November race that year at Ascot Park, but his bike broke a chain, and he was credited with fourth.
The team Harley assembled in 1920, later to be known as the “Wrecking Crew,” was chockful of talent. Ludlow joined Ralph Hepburn, Otto Walker, Red Parkhurst, and later, Jim Davis, Ray Weishaar, and Maldwyn Jones, in one of the most powerful factory squads ever put together.
Ludlow raced in most of the great races of the day, such as the Dodge City 300. He achieved his greatest success, however, on September 19, 1921, on the famous Syracuse Mile in New York. That day, Ludlow earned a clean sweep of all the national titles up for grabs. Ludlow took five wins in five races on his factory Harley- Davidson, besting most of the top stars of the day, including the likes of Jim Davis, Don Marks, and Ralph Hepburn. It was one of the most dominant performances in the history of the sport.
What is an Artist's Proof? According to the UK Fine Art Guild:
The initials ‘AP’ instead of a number at the bottom of an image means ‘artists’ proof’. With artists’ prints, these are a necessary part of the production process, where proofs are taken until the artist is happy with the print. In the case of reproductions, artists’ proofs are a marketing device produced to satisfy demand from buyers who collect this type of print. In fact, the first proofs are identical to the rest of a run of reproductions.
My AP Editions are numbered out of 5 for each size. Of those 5, I make 3 available for purchase. These are never offered again, and as such are the rarest and most valuable of prints.
Open vs. Limited Edition Prints
Prints are produced in series called editions. Every edition contains a number of prints made from a single plate in a single run. Unlike unlimited edition prints (also known as open editions), that can be reproduced an infinite number of times, limited editions are (as their name suggests) made in limited amounts. Limited editions can contain anywhere between 2 and several thousand prints, depending on the technique used and intent of the artist. Prints from small editions retain exclusivity and reach higher prices than large edition prints. The original article can be found here.