1896 Fowler Truss Frame

1896 Fowler Truss Frame

‘Truss Seat Tube’ Bicycle with Wooden Handlebars & Bowden Cable/Spoon Brake

Manufactured by Hill Cycle Co for

Fowler Cycle Mfg Co

(and also International Mfg Co, Chicago, which subsequently became America Cycle Mfg Co)

A bicycle with a Truss Bridge frame design – such as that pioneered by Iver Johnson – always stands out from a crowd. It was a very popular style of the day. Being so distinctive, it remains so today.

The Truss Seat Tube design, on the other hand, is not well-known. It was expensive to make and only a few manufacturers produced bicycles in this style. Hill Mfg Co had the American patent. Today, only a few survive. The unique styling of this bicycle is even more distinctive than a Truss Bridge Frame. I have never seen another.

The bicycle was previously owned by a friend of mine, who used it for many club rides. It is well set up and ready to use.

The Fowler Truss Tube frame first appeared in 1893; you can see its first appearance in the Hill Mfg Co catalogue below. The company name changed several times. A youthful Ignaz Schwinn was employed by Hill and Fowler prior to striking out on his own to found Arnold Schwinn & Co.

FOWLER CYCLE MFG Co

Fowler Cycle Works,

50-54 State St, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Chicago became a magnet for many smaller makers in the trade as well – including Featherstone, Spalding, Hill and Moffat – along with countless suppliers and retailers. Many of these concerns quickly assembled in and around Chicago’s central business district, the Loop, and particularly on a stretch of Wabash Avenue that became known as Bicycle Row. This was one of Schwinn’s first stops when he got off the train in Chicago. His first opportunity came a few blocks away from Bicycle Row with the Hill Cycle Manufacturing Co, which hired him. …Schwinn could run a factory, and he soon rose to superintendent of the Hill plant, maker of the well-respected Fowler line. Hill was an ambitious firm at this time and already successful in the then uncommon marketing approach of building stock bicycles in several different sizes. For two years at Hill, Schwinn applied his mechanical and metallurgical knowledge in quest of the industry’s holy grail of the 1890s: lighter and faster machines.

– Schwinn Bicycles by Jay Pridmore, Jim Hurd

Hill Cycle Mfg Co were established by 1893: my research shows an entry for this company in This Sporting Life magazine at an exhibition in 1893.* They shared a stand with the Bearings Publishing Co. At the exhibition, Colonel McClure gave a talk on road improvement; McClure was backed by Pope to campaign for this issue which, of course, paved the way for increased bicycle sales …and, in due course, helped automobile sales when they came onto the scene ten years later.

Hill Cycle Mfg Co built Fowler bicycles. It’s likely that the Fowler Cycle Mfg Co was established as a separate concern as a result. There was also a connection with International Mfg Co which made similar bicycles, and was set up by Ignaz Schwinn who ran the Fowler factory. It was common practice at this time for local companies to work together when marketing their products nationally. But bicycle manufacturers also often set up separate companies for their different model names. I think it’s more likely in this instance that the Fowler and International Mfg companies were both offshoots of Hill Cycle Mfg Co. Maybe with the ‘international’ company name and model name ‘America’ International Mfg Co was established with export in mind? The 1898 advert below, for example, is from New Zealand.

The 1893 picture below is from racer A. Kennedy, thanking Ignaz Schwinn for building him that bicycle. It looks very similar to the bicycle featured on this page. I assume that running the Hill factory (making the Fowler) and also setting up the factory for International Mfg Co gave Schwinn the experience he needed for his subsequent venture, setting up his own company in partnership with investor Adolph Arnold.

The extract below, from the 1893 Fowler catalogue, states ‘patent applied for’ next to the Truss Frame title, so that would appear to confirm when the model started.

Here’s the catalogue’s title page…

THE 1897 FOWLER CATALOGUE IS REPRODUCED ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE

Fowler Cycle Mfg Co grew into one of Chicago’s largest bicycle businesses but, as the bicycle industry expanded, every manufacturer of expensive machines faced increased competition from cheap bicycles. This 1897 article from The Chicago Daily Times sums it up:

Chicago, October 22nd: An assignment was made today by the Fowler Cycle Co, one of the largest bicycle concerns in the West. The company has not been doing a flourishing business for some time and has keenly felt the competition of cheap wheels.

The press reports below shed further light on the company failure. The article about the winding-up of the Fowler Cycle Mfg Co is from the New York Times of 23rd October, 1897.

The following report is dated 30th December 1897. The ex-president of Fowler Cycle Co, Frank T. Fowler, bought the inventory of the company, valued at $73,000, for $25,000.

This Sporting Life magazine in 1897 reported (below) that F.C. Ferrin, previously the manager of Fowler Cycle Manufacturing Co, at their New England depot at 7 Park Square, Boston, purchased this branch of the business. This new company was called F.C. Ferrin & Co.

In 1902 the charters of the Fowler Cycle Works were purchased by William R. Manierre. Here is his history: **

William Reid Manierre was a Republican city alderman of the old 18th ward from 1883 to 1889. (This was during the mayoral administrations of Carter Henry Harrison, Sr., mayor from 1879-1887, a Democrat; and John A. Roche, mayor from 1887-1889, a Republican.)

The Haymarket Riot, May 4, 1886, occurred in Chicago during this period. It is also known as the Haymarket affair or Haymarket massacre, and began as a rally in support of workers who were striking for an eight-hour working day. An unknown person threw a bomb at police as they dispersed the public meeting. The bomb blast and ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of seven police officers and an unknown number of civilians. In the internationally publicized legal proceedings that followed, eight anarchists were tried for murder. Four were put to death, and one committed suicide in prison. The trial has been characterized as one of the most serious miscarriages of justice in United States history. Most working people believed Pinkerton agents had provoked the incident. In 1893, Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld pardoned the three living defendants, after having concluded all eight defendants were innocent. The governor said the real reason for the bombing was the city of Chicago’s failure to hold Pinkerton guards responsible for shooting workers. The police commander who ordered the dispersal was later convicted of corruption. The bomb thrower was never identified.

The Haymarket affair is generally considered to have been an important influence on the origin of international May Day observances for workers. In popular literature, this event inspired the stereotype of “a bomb-throwing anarchist.” The causes of the incident are still controversial.

From 1890 to 1902 William Reid Manierre was county commissioner and chairman of the committee on judiciary of the city of Chicago. (This was during the mayoral administrations of DeWitt Clinton Cregier, 1889-1891, a Republican; Hempstead Washburne, 1891-1893, a Republican; and Carter Henry Harrison, Sr., 1893, a Democrat, assassinated in office; George Bell Swift, 1893, a Republican, and Mayor Pro Tem; John Patrick Hopkins, 1893-1895, a Democratic; George Bell Swift, 1895-1897, a Republican; Carter Henry Harrison, Jr., 1897-1905, a Democratic.)

The World’s Columbian Exposition (also called The Chicago World’s Fair) was held in 1893. Carter Henry Harrison, Sr’s career and assassination are closely connected with the World’s Columbian Exposition, and are discussed at some length as a subplot to the two main stories (about the fair and serial killer H. H. Holmes) in The Devil in the White City, a 2003 non-fiction book by Erik Larson presented in a novelistic style. Carter Henry Harrison, Sr’s death came October 28, 1893, two days before the scheduled close of the fair, the celebration of which was cancelled in lieu of a large public memorial service for Harrison. WRM is likely to have attended this.
The World’s Columbian Exposition celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World. The fair had a profound effect on architecture, the arts, Chicago’s self-image, and American industrial optimism. The Chicago Columbian Exposition was, in large part, designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted. It was the prototype of what Burnham and his colleagues thought a city should be. It was designed to follow Beaux Arts principles of design, namely, European Classical Architecture principles based on symmetry and balance.

The Exposition covered more than 600 acres, and featured nearly 200 new buildings of classical architecture, canals and lagoons, and people and cultures from around the world. Over 27 million people (equivalent to about half the U.S. population) attended the Exposition during its six-month run. Its scale and grandeur far exceeded previous world fairs, and it became a symbol of American nationalism.

In addition to recognizing the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World, the fair also served to show the world that Chicago had risen from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire, which had destroyed much of the city in 1871, including the home where William Reid Manierre’s mother lived, and where he had grown up.

During Chicago’s World’s Columbian Fair, William Reid Manierre was a member of the fair’s auxiliary committee on labor.

Notable firsts at the fair:

* Cracker Jack
* Elongated coins
* Ferris wheel — 264 feet high, with 36 cars, each of which could accommodate 60 people
* Juicy Fruit gum
* Quaker Oats
* Cream of Wheat
* Shredded Wheat
* Aunt Jemima pancake mix
* The hamburger was introduced to the United States
* Milton Hershey bought a European exhibitor’s chocolate manufacturing equipment and added chocolate products to his caramel manufacturing business.
* The United States Post Office Department produced its first: Picture postcards and Commemorative stamp set.
* United States Mint offered its first commemorative coins: a quarter and half dollar.
* The term “midway” came into common use to define an area where park rides, entertainment and fast food booths are concentrated at parks and fairs, after the area of that type located on Chicago’s Midway Plaisance at the World Columbian Exposition.
* Contribution to Chicago’s nickname, the “Windy City.” Some argue that Charles Anderson Dana of the New York Sun coined the term related to the hype of the city’s promoters. Other evidence, however, suggests the term was used as early as 1881 in relation to either Chicago’s “windbag” politicians or to its weather.
* Scott Joplin’s performance at the Exposition introduces ragtime to new audiences. The Exposition attracted attention to the Chicago ragtime scene, led by patriarch Plunk Henry and exemplified in performance at the Exposition by Johnny Seymour.
* Violinist Joseph Douglass achieved wide recognition after his performance there, and became the first African-American violinist to conduct a transcontinental tour, and the first to tour as a concert violinist.
* The ensemble of musicians with a dancer known as Little Egypt was the first exposure to Middle Eastern culture for many Americans.
* A group of hula dancers led to increased awareness of Hawaiian music among Americans.
From 1895 to 1897 William Reid Manierre was alderman of the old 24th ward. (This was during the mayoral administrations of George Bell Swift, 1895-1897, a Republican. Although there would be two later Republican mayors, there have been none since Big Bill Thompson, who was mayor for twelve years during Prohibition. In 1927, Al Capone’s support allowed Thompson re-election. Pledging to clean up Chicago and remove the crooks, Thompson instead turned his attention to the reformers, whom he considered the real criminals.)

The Municipal Herald of Chicago, “containing a [record] of the city of Chicago, consisting of portraits of the mayor, city treasurer, city attorney, city clerk, members of the city council, and the leading officials of the George B. Swift administration of 1895-96 and all desirable information regarding same,” was published by John C. Sterchie, and contains a brief article about William R. Manierre:

“WILLIAM R. MANIERRE, Republican Alderman of the 24th ward, is one of the leading businessmen of the North Side, conducting an immense establishment at the corner of Rush and North Water streets. He was elected to the City Council on April 2, 1895, as an Independent Republican, and winning perhaps the most memorable political battle in the history of that ward, defeating not only the Regular Republican and Democratic candidates, but also three others, receiving 2,126 votes, and defeating the highest of his five opponents by a plurality of 453. He is regarded as one of the people’s best representatives in the Council, and is a member of the Judiciary and other important committees.”

Cycling in the early 1880s was dominated by an unstable model called the “high-wheeler,” also known as an “Ordinary.” This design positioned a large wheel in front and a smaller one in back. Its high seat and forward center of gravity presented notorious safety problems. The second half of the decade saw the development of a number of design improvements. These included the diamond-shaped frame, equally sized wheels, pneumatic tubes and chain drives, all of which were common in the century that followed. “Safety” bicycles with these features were not just safer, they were markedly faster and more comfortable. Their huge popularity in the 1890s resulted in a great boom in the manufacturing of bicycles. Although cycling had previously been a sport of the wealthy, mass-produced models made it possible for many people with more modest means to purchase them. It appeared that demand for bicycles would increase tremendously because they could be so useful to commuters, postal workers, policemen, and soldiers, while they encouraged exercise and tranquil mobility, and reduced the noise, stench, and filth produced by horses.

In 1902 William R. Manierre purchased the charters of the Fowler Cycle Works (Fowler Cycle Manufacturing Company, Chicago IL, 1896-1898, Fowler Cycle Works, Chicago IL, 1899-1900), the Manson Cycle Company (1895-1900), and the Sherman Cycle Company (1896-1900), and consolidated all three as the Fowler-Manson-Sherman Manufacturing Company, 241 South Jefferson Street (later at 45-47 Fulton Street), Chicago, with himself as the proprietor. Making this purchase and consolidation possible may have been the end of the great boom in bicycle sales that came at the close of the nineteenth century. This company occupied William R. Manierre’s attention until his death.

Published news of and advertisements for this company reveal that it was for some or all of its life a manufacturer of motorcycles, as well as or instead of bicycles. See, for instance, Automobile trade journal, Volume 10, 1906, pp. 556 and 600 [posted to Geni is a photo of the Fowler-Manson-Sherman Cycle Mfg. Co. advertisement on page 600]. A paragraph in the trade journal “The Motor Way,” Volume 12, 1905, page 418, published by L.L. Bligh, described a two-wheeled vehicle called the Manson: “Manson. Made by Fowler-Manson-Sherman Cycle Company, Chicago. Frame, 22 inches; G. & J. 2 inch tires; 46 inch wheel base; single cylinder, 2 19-32×3 inches; 1 3/4 horse power motor; chain driving with compensating and yielding sprocket; battery mileage, 1,500; fuel mileage, about 75; grip control; weight, 110 pounds; speed from 5 to 50 miles. Made with Thor parts.” The “Motorcycle Compendium” places the span of the manufacture of the Manson as “1905? – 1908?” (Downloaded 2010 from http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/compendium/M.htm )

LEONARD BABY BLISS

Each year in the 1890s saw bicycle designers strive to make lighter machines. In England, helical tubing was adopted, with layers of thin tube wrapped around two or three deep to strengthen the tube. Such were the advances made, that bicycles from 1886 were 12 times the weight of those from 1896.

Another method of frame-strengthening was to add a ‘truss.’ The America bicycle was advertised as being a lightweight bicycle with a strengthened frame, and the company contracted America’s heaviest man, Leonard ‘Baby’ Bliss, to ride its bicycles for publicity events to prove the strength of the truss seat tube design.

THE FOWLER SEXTET

There’s only one thing that can beat a Fowler Rider on a Fowler Bicycle and that is the famous Fowler Sextet

The Fowler Sextet was a novelty used in company advertising campaigns, and displayed at shows around the country. Bicycles such as this, as well as providing good advertising for manufacturers, were used as pacers in cycle racing. The top cycle racers could achieve higher speeds if they were able to ride in the slipstream of another vehicle; of course, if they were champions nobody could ride faster than them, so multi-tandems had to be used. Toward the end of the 189os the tandems were motorized.

Ray Miller, in An Encyclopaedia of Cycle Manufacturers ** reports that ‘in 1896 a race between a Fowler Sextet and a train was staged.’

Train-pacing was a dangerous stunt, but trains were the fastest vehicles in the 1890s and racers used their speeds as a benchmark. The most famous was ‘Mile-a-Minute’ Murphy who broke the world cycling record with a death-defying pace on 30th June, 1899, at 57.8 seconds (on a Tribune bicycle).

MILE-A-MINUTE MURPHY

Murphy told Sam Booth, driver of locomotive 39, to go as fast as he could and hold it, then put on what he called his ‘racing togs’ before climbing on to his 104-inch gear Tribune.

Fullerton had spread a two-mile carpet of boards between the rails from Babylon to Farmingdale and built 11-foot sidewings and a small roof to the platform on the last carriage.

The train moved away faster up the slight slope than Murphy expected but he stayed in the middle of the 10-inch planks and within two inches of the beam and crossbar that was his bumper on the platform of judges, toffs and timekeepers. He clocked 16.4 seconds for the first quarter-mile, 33.6 for the half, 49.2 for the three-quarters and the mile in 1:08. Murphy dropped back 200 feet into eddies that threw him about ‘as if I were a piece of paper.’ Fullerton was embarrassed to find his locomotive wasn’t up to the job. Six times it failed to get up to 60mph. He called for his heaviest and fastest but its weight made the wooden track sink and rise as it passed over the joints of the rails. Murphy was forced to ride a wave.

Murphy held the pacing compartment until he’d got his gear rolling. Fullerton asked if he was all right and told Booth to open the regulator. The mile-a-minute ride into history had started.

‘With eyes glued upon the vertical strip of white on the back of the car I experienced an entirely different feeling compared with my previous ride,’ Murphy said. ‘The officials knew that there was something wrong, that I was labouring under great difficulties. I could not understand the violent vibration in the track, as though I was riding over an undulation instead of level track; feeling hot missiles striking my face and body. I learned afterwards it was burning rubber from under the car. Within five seconds the rate of speed was terrific; I was riding in a maelstrom of swirling dust, hot cinders, paper and other particles of matter. The whipsaw feeling through a veritable storm of fire became harder every second.’ Then he started losing ground. An official called Fred Burns shouted through a megaphone to ask what was wrong. Murphy looked up to answer and immediately fell back 50 feet. Now he was fighting to stay in touch.

‘I could feel myself getting weaker every second I saw ridicule, contempt, disgrace and a lifetime dream gone up in smoke. I saw the agonised faces, yelling, holding outstretched hands as if they would like to get hold of or assist me somehow.’ The half passed in 29.4 and the ride was rescued.

‘Wobbling to and fro, but still gaining, the dust, the odour of burning rubber…. The car was crowded with men who had been used to seeing any and all things that were dangerous, but the howling and screaming of sturdy officials and newspaper men from all over the United States that stood on the platform put all on edge. Suddenly, three-quarters was passed in 43 4/5 seconds.’ Murphy was still 15 feet back. ‘I expected to go off the track, travelling faster than the train, with the terrible storm of dust, pebbles, hot rubber and cinders. I looked up blankly. It was getting to a point where I could expect anything.’

And then, from the edge of his eye, a waving Stars and Stripes. The finish. But Murphy was riding faster than the train, still catching it. Up in the cab, Booth had also seen the flag and he shut off steam. Murphy crashed into the train. The bike tipped up and officials grabbed in desperation. Murphy let go of the bars and held an upright. Fullerton caught one arm and a man called Joseph H. Cummin the other and they pulled both bike and rider to the platform.

‘I lay motionless, face down, on the platform. I was all in. I was half-carried to a cot at the end of the car; the roar of the train was challenged by hysterical yells. Grown men hugged and kissed each-other. One man fainted and another went into hysterics, while I remained speechless on my back, ashen in colour and sore all over.’ Officials pulled off Murphy’s jersey for Dr McMunn Holly to examine him, not realising hot rubber and cinders had burnt through it and they were taking flesh with them.

But Booth, the driver, was worried. He’d seen Murphy drop back on the first ride and had looked for him to do the same on the second. Seconds after shutting off steam he had reached the end of the wooden track and feared Murphy had piled into unprotected sleepers between the rails and crashed. Seeing him on the cot, he thought he was dead.

Sullivan, the referee, said he would never again take part in an event of that kind, even if it made cycling famous for a century. ****

MILE-A-MINUTE MURPHY & TOM BUTLER ON HOME TRAINERS

As well as being an extremely rare bicycle with a unique frame design, this bicycle has two other features that are particularly attractive. The wooden handlebars were an upmarket accessory of the time; they look glorious on this bicycle. And the accessory Bowden cable front spoon brake is very interesting in its design, and always attracts the interest of fellow enthusiasts who see it. I’ve never seen another like it.

You can see details of both of these features further down the page.

Mr & Mrs H. Darwin McIlrath

who will tour the world as cycling correspondents for

THE INTER OCEAN, Chicago, Ill, USA

will ride THE FOWLER BICYCLE manufactured by The Hill Cycle Co, Chicago, Ill

THE ITINERARY: Leaving the Inter Ocean Building, Wednesday, April 10th 1895, at 12-oo high noon, Mr and Mrs McIlrath will visit the following cities, using the Bicycle alone as the mode of travel on land:

Chicago – San Francisco

Yokohama, Japan – Papenburg, Japan

Hongh Kong, China – Athens, Greece

Tarento, Italy – Gibralter

Tangiers, Africa – Cadiz, Africa

Gibralter – St Petersberg, Russia

Stockholm, Sweden – Christiana, Norway

Great Britain – Ireland

New York – Chicago

WOODEN HANDLEBARS

BOWDEN CABLE SPOON BRAKE

AMERICA CYCLE MFG CO

319 Michigan Ave. Chicago

International Mfg Co and Fowler hared the same parent company, Hill Mfg Co of Chicago.

Compare the chainwheel above, with the illustration below from G. Donald Adams’ book Collecting & Restoring Antique Bicycles.

This is Adams’ description: ‘A feature of the American bicycle, made by the International Mfg Co, Chicago, and the Fowler, made by the Fowler Cycle Co, also of Chicago, was a bifurcated seat tube (above) that was claimed to be as strong and as rigid as the usual tube while being lighter.’

It is not actually an AMERICAN but an AMERICA. The name is easily confused. The American Bicycle Co was a conglomerate of U.S manufacturers headed by, and later taken over by Col. Albert Pope. This one is the America Cycle Mfg Co.

The 1896 advert above shows International Mfg Co as the manufacturer. However, I found an advert in the May 1896 issue of Munsey’s magazine (below) which states that AMERICA CYCLE MFG CO is the successor of International Mfg Co and that they owned the patent. I assume that in the first four months of 1896 the company changed hands.

The advert below is from Popular Mechanics magazine in 1911; a neighbouring advert is for the American Motor Cycle Co of Chicago, another separate company with a similar name.

Fowler proclaimed the benefits of this style of frame: ‘When you see a high grade wheel with a Truss frame you know it is a Fowler.’

* Excerpt from THIS SPORTING LIFE: 1893 CYCLE SHOW

All Cycling Pays Homage to the Splendid Efforts of the Associated Cycle Clubs

Another turn of old Time’s wheel and once again all cycling talks ‘show.’ Twelve months, or nearly that, have vanished in the past since last wheelmen were assembled for their annual trade conference. The time which has elapsed since wheeling last was crowded and squeezed in the old Exhibition Hall, on Broad street, has not been wasted.

The trade has grown in the interim by leaps and bounds; it has widened, improved, and multiplied until even the vast building covering nearly a block in which the show is this year held crowds and compresses it almost as much as did the quarters occupied a year ago. Thrice over has space been multiplied and still the multiplication has not resulted in sufficiency.

Early on Sunday the advance guard of the cycling army which will besiege old William Penn for the next fortnight, began to pitch its tents in Philadelphia. On Monday and Tuesday the main body appeared upon the field, and by Wednesday the army had settled down for the battle which began on Wednesday evening amid the blare of bands, the hum of a multitude of eager sightseers, and the brilliant pyrotechnics of oratory.

The old guard grown gray in cycling had early pre-empted all the best there was in rooms, hotels and such like, and the raw recruit who lingered in his coming found when he arrived. The ‘old guard,’ who never die and never surrender, seemed but a handful when compared to the brigade of new recruits who were met upon every side, but true to their reputation the “old guard” kept in the lead by all the tactics long experience had made a second nature to them.

All during Monday and Tuesday, day and night, carpenters, electricians, exhibitors, decorators and painters worked, swore and sweated in their efforts to keep up with the demands of the anxious stand owners, and Wednesday found existing the usual half-prepared, unsatisfactory suite of affairs which always marks the initial stages of such exhibitions. Still it must be confessed that, all things considered, the Cycle Show of ’93 was a vast improvement over any of its predecessors on an opening day.

The opening ceremonies consisted of speeches by Mr. W. R. Tucker, president of the Associated Cycling Clubs and secretary of the Board of Trade; Mr. George A. Bartol, president of the Philadelphia Bourse, and Colonel A. K. McClure, editor of the Times, and a concert from 8 to 10.30 by the Germania Orchestra. Mr. Tucker devoted his remarks principally to the good results that are being accomplished by these annual shows, while Mr. Bartol eulogized the Associated Cycling Clubs, of which he was the originator. Col. McClure spoke of amateur sports in general and bicycling in particular. He was pleased to see so much interest being taken by the young folks m amateur sports of all sorts and slated that he had become an ardent advocate of physical culture.

The Colonel took an especial interest in bicycling, not only because it was a healthful sport and a delightful pastime, but because cyclers were the pioneers in advocating good roads, something in which all good citizens ought to be interested. Colonel McClure spoke for twenty minutes, and his remarks were well received by those present.

The following is the complete list of the exhibitors and the numbers of the stands they occupy in the Show (Fowler is at stand no. 84)

No. 1 Hanbert Bros. & Co.

No. 2 The Wheel and Cycle Trade Review.

No. 3, 4 Coventry Machinists’ Co., Limited.

No. 5 The Yost Manufacturing Co.

No. 6 Norman Wheel Co.

No. 7 Smith Wheel Manufacturing Co;

No. 8 J. B. Rich Cycle Co.

No. 9 Common Sense Bicycle Mfg Co.

No. 10 Howard A. Smith & Co.

No. 11, 12,13, 14 R. L. Colemau Co.

No. 15, 17 A. G. Spakling & Bro.

No. Hi, 18 Overman Wheel Co.

No. 19, 21 John T. Bailey & Co.

No. 20, 22 Raleigh Cycle Co.

No. 24 Bretz & Curtis Manufacturing Co.

No. 25 Stokes Manufacturing Co.

No. 26 Rochester Cycle Co.

No, 27 The Sfover Bicycle Mfg. Co.

No. 28 A. M. Scfaertey & Co.

No. 29, 30, 32 Rouse, Hazard & Co.

No. 31 The Columbus Bicycle Co.

No. 33 United States Cycle Mfg. Co.

No. 34 The March-Davis Cycle Co.

No. 35, Sti Remington Arms Co.

No. 37 Charles Scott & Co.

No. 38 The Crawford Manufacturing Co,

No. 39, 40 Schoverling, Daly & Gales.

No. 41 The Hart Cycle Co.

No. 42 Hartford Cycle Co.

No. 43, 44, 45, 46 Pope Manufacturing Co.

No. 47 John P. Lovell Arms Co.

No. 48 Eclipse Bicycle Works.

No. 49 The Eagle Bicycle Manufacturing Co.

No. 50 McKea & Harrington.

No. 51 William H. Hart, Jr.

No. 52 Buffalo Wheel Co.i

No. 53 The Monarch Cycle Co.

No. 54 Ames & Frost Co.

No. 55, 57, 59 Gormully & Jeffery Mfg. Co.

No. 56, 58 II. A. Lozier & Co.

No. 60 Royal Cycle Works.

No. 61 Buffalo Tricycle Co.

No. 62, 64 Union Cycle Manufacturing Co.

No. 63, 65 American Ormonde Cvcle Co.

No. 66. 68, 70 Wilson, Myers & Co.

No. 67 Gendron Iron Wheel Co.

No. 69, 71 Sercombe & Bolte Mfg. Co.

No. 72, W. H. Wilhelm & Co.

No. 73 Park-burst & Wilkinson.

No. 74, 75, 76, 77 George R.Bidwell Cycle Co.

No. 78 New York Cycle Co.

No. 79 Ariel Cycle Manufacturing Co.

No. 80 Foster, Brown & Co.

No. 81 Philadelphia Drop Forge Co.

No. 814 The Whitten-Godding Cycle Co.

No. 82 Premier Cycle Co.

No. 83 The American Dunlop Tire Co.

No. 84 Hill Cycle Manufacturing Co.; The Bearings Publishing Co.

No. 85 New York Belting and Packing Co.

No. 86 E. C. Stearns & Co.

No. 87 Anglo-American Iron and Metal Co.

No. 88-Wall & Boyer.

No. 89 The Simonds Rolling Machine Co.

No. 90 The Cycle Guide; Philadelphia Trade Journal; New York Recorder.

No. 90J Domestic Trade Department, Atlantic Refining Co.

No. 91 Metropolitan Cycle Co.

No. 92 Wheelman Co.; Bicycling World and

L. A. W. Bulletin; The Recording Instrument Co.

No. 93, 94, 95 Hickory Wheel Co.

No. 96 The Columbia Rubber Works Co.

No. 97 Wm. Read & Sons.

No. 98 J. A. Hunt & Co.

No. 99,100,101 The Mclntosh-Huntington Co

No. 102 Bovril, Limited.

No. 103 Office of the Committee of the National Cycle Show;

Office of the Agent of the Trunk Line Association for the countersigning of certificates for reduced railroad fares

***

Further information on Truss Tube bicycles can be found below

Museum for

IVER JOHNSON & Truss-Frame Bicycles

PLEASE CLICK HERE

http://www.oldbike.eu/iverjohnson

BRITISH TRUSS-TUBE FRAMES

The British photo above illustrates a tricycle with a very similar design of frame. The Moorgate Trussed Diamond Safety, manufactured by Cooper, Kitchen & Co in 1889 is also similar.