An amazing coincidence, I saw the documentation of the 1916 Pierce, it's in a fragile state and is actually a Lease agreement to an Italian American with the Surname ending with an O, (Sicilian?) dated 1916, the serial number of the bike starts with 17. The original dealer was Homan & Co. Inc. of (get this) Fresno California! Since you know what a Pierce bicycle is, and live in Fresno, can you contact the local historical references and dig up anything on Homan & Co? We know they were selling and leasing Pierce bicycles in 1916 in your city.