Tom Simpson
You may recall the tragedy of the great Tom Simpson. His death was abrupt and ended what was a masterful career atop his bicycle. A remarkable collection of unseen photos of him have just recently come out and while I do my best to keep the content here as outdated and esoteric as possible, I feel like the sadness of his first entry could be brightened a bit by an update, despite the fact that it comes from an easily-accessible, nationally distributed, glossy magazine about bicycling that will soon be on newsstands. Of course, I owe thanks to my dear and bearded friend Kyle for pointing it out (more about Kyle can be found within the confines of this space here, and in his own words here.)
Here is Tom Simpson, alive and smiling at the Herne Hill velodrome.
Photo One
Photo Two
Photo Three
Photo Four.
Footnote to Nothing:
The above picture of Tom Simpson reminds me of another photo, and the two men could be brothers, if not identical twins. Even more confounding: while these photos of Tom have reappeared seemingly out of thin air, his double's photo was famous for vanishing! Yes, a striking symmetry worth noting, despite the fact that the cyclist and the author were and are worlds apart. Yes, that photo above does look a trifle like the portrait of the author on the backside of the dust jacket to his first edition of his first novel -- the same photo that he requested, vehemently, to have removed before the second edition could even be set up. Vanishing Salinger and Reappearing Simpson: photographic death and rebirth.
And, to further the digression, Salinger's own words about photos of authors: " In the first place, if I owned a magazine I would never publish a column full of contributors' biographical notes. I seldom care to know a writer's birthplace, his children's names, his working schedule, the date of his arrest for smuggling guns (the gallant rogue!) during the Irish Rebellion. The writer who tells you these things is also very likely to have his picture taken wearing an open-collared shirt-and he's sure to be looking three-quarter-profile and tragic. He can also be counted on to refer to his wife as a swell gal or a grand person. I've written biographical notes for a few magazines, and I doubt if I ever said anything honest in them. This time, though, I think I'm a little too far out of my Emily Brontë period to work myself into a Heathcliff. " (Harpers, Feb 1949)
Lastly, to connect author to cyclist: Those readers that are amply steeped in the Glass Family may recall a recollection by the almost eldest son regarding the old Vaudevillian days of his parents, and how he remembers taking a ride on Joe Jackson's famed silver plated bicycle. Tom Simpson, though 30-40 years after the days of Vaudeville, happens to be riding a highly polished steel bicycle that could be an exact double of the fictionalized one in these very photos.
