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Cut and Mat Books

The annual Cut and Mat Book was distributed to Harley-Davidson dealers so they could order cuts and mats to be used in advertising in newspapers, brochures, and other printed matter.

There were sections for each model, in various sizes. Depending on the year, these included Big Twin, Sportster, Hummer, Model 165, Servi-Car, Racers and Hillclimb.

Printing technology back then required physical items - you didn't send a JPEG file via the Internet. A “Cut” was a wood block with a brass engraving of an illustration - these were used on letter-presses. I believe the “Mats” and “Electros” were used for making plates for rotary presses used in newpapers, but more research is needed into this antique printing technology.

Cut and Mat Books are quite hard to find these days.