Draft:Paul d'Orléans

Paul d'Orléans (born 11 September 1962 in Stockton, California) is a writer, photographer, and publisher based in San Francisco, CA. He is best known as the publisher of The Vintagent (founded 2006), and is considered an expert on motorcycle history and subcultures. He is also known for his cultural commentary, his observations on the contemporary custom motorcycle scene, and the state of the global motorcycle industry. He curates museum exhibitions, produces films , judges concours d’elegance , and emcees public events such as the Quail Motorcycle Gathering. He is a television commentator for Motor Trend and NBCSN's coverage of the Mecum motorcycle auctions at Las Vegas every January, and has been frequently interviewed for documentary films , radio shows and podcasts for his research into motorcycle history and culture.

Books
Paul is the author, editor, co-editor, or featured writer in many books about motorcycling history and subcultures:
 * Ultimate Collector Motorcycles (2023), featured interview. Taschen, Cologne Germany. ISBN 978-3836-5954-38
 * 10 Wheels and Waves: Moto Surf Skate Culture (2022), co-author. Crowdbooks. ISBN 978-8-8856-0871-9
 * The Riders: Motorcycle Adventurers, Cruisers, Outlaws, and Racers the World Over (2021), co-author. Motorbooks, Beverly MA. ISBN 978-0-7603-6975-3
 * Ton Up! A Century of Café Racer Speed and Style (2020), author. Motorbooks, Beverly MA. International. ISBN 978-0-7603-6045-3
 * The Current: New Wheels for a Post-Petrol Age (2018), co-editor with Robert Klanten and Maximilan Funk. Gestalten, Berlin. ISBN 978-3899559569
 * Custom Revolution (2018), author. Exhibition catalog published by the Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles. ISBN 978-0-5785-0276-0
 * The Ride; 2nd Gear (2015), co-author. Gestalten, Berlin. ISBN 978-3899555899
 * The Chopper; the Real Story (2014), author. Gestalten, Berlin. ISBN 978-3899555240
 * The Ride (2014), co-author. Gestalten, Berlin. ISBN 978-3899554915
 * Cafe Racers; Speed, Style, and Ton-Up Culture (2014), author, with photographs by Michael Lichter. Motorbooks. ISBN 978-0760345825

Writing
Paul d'Orleans was the 'Custom & Style' editor for Cycle World magazine, a contributing editor for At Large magazine, and a columnist for Cycle World and Classic Bike Guide (UK) magazines. He has also published articles in Mecum Monthly (USA), The Automobile (UK), Café Racer (France), MCN (UK), 1903 (USA), Riders (Italy), Brrrm (Germany), Craftrad (Germany), Clutch (Japan), Men's File (UK), etc.

Website
His website TheVintagent.com was founded in October 2006 as one of the first vintage motorcycle blogs. In 2016 his website was revamped in a new format incorporating film as a regular feature, plus dozens of Contributors, including a variety of celebrities, artists, photographers, writers, custom builders, and manufacturers.

Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation
In 2016 Paul co-founded the non-profit (501c3) Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation (M.A.F.) to support the arts related to motorcycling (exhibits, films, books, etc). In 2022 the M.A.F. established a new mission to support underserved 'young geniuses' with educational assistance. Their first recipient was Samuel Aboagye, who at 17 built solar-powered electric scooters from discarded materials. Paul presented Samuel's vehicles at the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the M.A.F. sent two filmmakers to Accra Ghana to document Samuel's life. The film 'Electric Revolutionary - Samuel Aboagye' (2023, directed by Greg Hatton), was presented at a design conference in Marrakesh, and earned Samuel a scholarship at the Art Center College of Design

Curator
Paul has curated exhibits at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, the National Motorcycle Museum, and co-curated two ‘Motorcycles as Art’ exhibits at the Michael Lichter Gallery in Sturgis.

Partial Exhibit Listing
 * 2013: ‘Ton Up! Café Racer Speed Style and Culture (Sturgis)
 * 2014: ‘Built for Speed’ (Sturgis) )
 * 2015: ‘The Chopper Story’ (National Motorcycle Museum)
 * 2018: ‘Custom Revolution (Petersen Automotive Museum)
 * 2019: ‘Electric Revolution’ (Petersen Automotive Museum)
 * 2020: ‘Silver Shotgun’ (Petersen Automotive Museum)
 * 2021: ‘ADV:Overland’ (Petersen Automotive Museum)
 * 2022: ‘Electric Revolutionaries’ (Petersen Automotive Museum)

Photographer
He is a collodion/wet plate photographer, with his wife Susan McLaughlin, who is President of the Penumbra Foundation in New York City. Their subject matter includes the Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run, Land Speed Racers at the Bonneville Salt Flats, influencers at Inspiration LA, etc. The couple's photographs have been exhibited at the ‘Rockers and Rebels’ (2016, X Gallery, London), the Handbuilt Show in Austin Texas (2014/15/16), Wheels & Waves (2014) , Moto Beach Classic (2018), the Motorcycle Film Festival (2014). Their photographs have appeared in magazines such as Brrrrm (2018), Craftrad (2018), 1903 (2017), McCall (2016), and RSD (2018).

Film Producer
Paul has produced many short films since 2016:
 * Electric Revolutionary: Samuel Aboagye (2023. Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation, Greg Hatton director)
 * Vincent Black Lightning (2022. Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation. David A. Martinez director)
 * ADV:Overland Exhibit (2022. Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation. David A. Martinez, director)
 * Silver Shotgun (2021. Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation. David A. Martinez, director)
 * Baja Scrambler (2020. Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation. David A. Martinez, director)
 * Sugar and Spade Morocco (Dos Caminos Productions)
 * Montlhéry (2018. True Motion Pictures, VoeWorks director)
 * The Ended Summer (2017. Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation. David A. Martinez, director)
 * Model X (2017. Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation. David A. Martinez, director)
 * Black Falcon (2017. Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation. Travis Shinn, director)
 * Neander’ (2016. True Motion Pictures, VoeWorks director)

He has also appeared in many documentaries, including:


 * Oil in the Blood (2019)
 * 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball (2018)
 * The Chopper (2014)
 * Why We Ride (2013)

Judge
Paul has been a judge of major concours d'elegance since 2006, serving on the jury for the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este (since 2011). He has also served as judge for the Quail Motorcycle Gathering since 2010, and for the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours in 2006/7/8.

He also served as Chief Judge for the Motorcycle Film Festival from 2012-2015

Websites

 * | The Motorcycle Arts Foundation
 * | The Vintagent
 * | MotoTintype