A new photobook project celebrating the life of late Lambretta enthusiast and former Scootering contributor John Taylor is seeking support through Kickstarter.
Created by his daughter, photographer Louise Taylor, Archiving Dad brings together photographs and material from John’s life, including archive images of him and his scooters.
A life with Lambrettas
Louise contacted Scootering after launching the crowdfunding campaign, explaining that her dad was a keen Lambretta scooter fan who also contributed articles to Scootering and other small-wheels publications.
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John’s enthusiasm for scooters extended well beyond simply owning them. An online account of the 2012 Beamish Trophy Trial recalls him as a regular entrant on small-wheel machinery. In a message reproduced after that event, John joked that for years he had carried the label of “the eccentric that tries to compete in the Beamish on little wheels”.
It is exactly that side of John’s life — his interests, possessions, photographs and the things that helped tell his story — that Louise has been working to preserve.
Turning an archive into a book
Louise’s work on the project stretches back several years. In 2020, photography collective MAP6 described her Wombling: Archiving Dad project as an intensely personal undertaking following John’s death, with Louise documenting the collections he had left behind before items were sold, scrapped or discarded.
That long-running project has now developed into Archiving Dad, a hand-bound photobook dedicated to John Taylor, 1947–2013. The Kickstarter campaign is seeking £6,500 to bring the project to fruition and is scheduled to run until October 10, 2026.
For scooter enthusiasts, the attraction is particularly personal: Louise says the book includes archive photographs of her dad and his bikes, preserving another small piece of Lambretta and British scooter history in the process.
A familiar name to some Scootering readers
Long-standing readers may even recognise John’s name from articles he contributed to Scootering and other small-wheel titles.
Louise told us:
“My late dad John Taylor was a Lambretta Scooter fan. He wrote a few articles for Scootering and other small wheels publications. I have made a book that celebrates dad’s life and I’ve launched a Kickstarter to raise the funds to bring the books to life. The books include archive pics of dad and his bikes.”
The project therefore has a particularly strong connection with the scooter community John was part of — not just as an owner and rider, but as someone who shared his enthusiasm in print.
Supporting Archiving Dad
The Archiving Dad Kickstarter runs until October 10.
Anyone interested in John’s story, his Lambrettas and Louise’s photographic archive project can find out more and support the campaign through Kickstarter.
