Raymond Le Van astride an early Harley-Davidson motorcycle anchors this real photo postcard, produced on standard divided-back stock and almost certainly dating to the early to mid-1910s based on the motorcycle's configuration and the postcard format. The Harley-Davidson tank badge is clearly legible at center frame, and the machine's open loop frame, large-diameter spoked wheels, and exposed single-cylinder engine are consistent with production models from roughly 1910 to 1915. No photographer's imprint appears on the reverse.

Le Van wears a flat wool cap and a loose-fitting work jacket, seated upright with both hands on the handlebars and facing the camera directly. A leather tool bag hangs from the front fork, and a square wooden carrier box is mounted on a post rising from the front of the machine, suggesting a utility or delivery configuration. A wood-frame clapboard house, mature shade trees, and a split-rail fence fill the background.

Ganesfield is a small community in Wayne County, Ohio, and the rural setting visible here is consistent with that location. The presence of an early Harley-Davidson in a small Ohio farming community at this date is a noteworthy detail for collectors of both motorcycle history and Midwestern Americana.

The recto is inscribed in ink: "Ganesfield Ohio Raymond Le Van XV." The reverse bears a pencil notation reading "Harley Davidson #177."

From the collection of James Lee Soffer