# All wood rim makers marks



## filmonger (Apr 14, 2014)

I thought it might be a good idea for everyone here to post a picture of some of the different wood rim makers marks that exist out there to help people ID them in the future ( rather then having to google randomly ). Also profile & color charts might also assist.

This is the only Marietta Oh made lobdell picture that I have - there are tons of the Alma Mich.






This is a 20's lobdell





Just an Ad from 1918





1898 Lobdell - again Marietta Oh made





Steel lined & wood.... Produced in Alma from 1926 onward



 



Onaway Mich label ( 1901-1926 )

In 1901, Edward J. Lobdell, who had operated various manufacturing enterprises in Massachusetts and Ohio, relocated his business to Onaway in order to be closer to the lumber upon which his American Wood Rim Co. relied. ( In reality - like modern business - the City had offered great incentive financially for him to locate there....who wouldn't - so Marietta OH lost out - though he kept a small operation there ) AWR was a leading producer of wooden bicycle rims and the business was expanded to include steering wheels for the fledgling automotive industry. They were so successful, that at one point, it was estimated that over 60% of the world’s steering wheels were made in Onaway, and the town’s slogan was “Onaway Steers the World.” That all came to an abrupt end when significant portions of the plant were destroyed by fire on January 14, 1926. Within a week, Onaway’s population plummeted from nearly 3,000 inhabitants to less than 2,000. The only remaining building from that operation, the old main office, can be seen today on State Street, adjacent to the Onaway Outlook building. It is now home to the Onaway Masonic Lodge.






Lobdell Painted rims


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## dfa242 (Apr 14, 2014)

Here are a couple - I'll take some more when I dig 'em out.


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## filmonger (Apr 16, 2014)

Plymouth Wood rim ad 1897 





Plymouth wood rim Makers Mark







The Indiana Novelty Manufacturing Company was organized in 1891 by several leading Plymouth businessmen. Among them were H. G. Thayer (owner of the Thayer mansion), James Gilmore, George Marble, and C. L. Morris (who owned the Morris house kitty-corner from the factory). The company manufactured wooden novelties and was particularly known for wooden bicycle rims and mud and chain guards for bicycles. The company was also the first to invent and market "the famous one-piece interlocking joint, which is excelled by none and which has made the Plymouth rim famous throughout the world." In 1898 the plant was the largest of its kind in the world and at full capacity was producing 10,000 rims PER DAY (in the 1890s!).

Link to more info on the company

http://hoosierhappenings.blogspot.ie/2012/03/indiana-novelty-manufacturing-company.html

Patent

http://www.google.com/patents/US547732

Plymouth - Paris





Fairbanks Boston - french rim 1933





Fairbanks


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## filmonger (Apr 16, 2014)

Securit m.D. Belgium - 1930's or 40's





Seiber Milano





Clement 1950's





D.A.M. D'Alessandro - Italian








Laroche Pouchois - French


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## filmonger (Apr 18, 2014)

Kuntz - Paris













Constrictor 1938





Boa


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## filmonger (Apr 18, 2014)

Ambra Superga - London





Steyr Waffenrad 1930





Pyrenees


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## filmonger (Apr 18, 2014)

Scheeren record - Holtzfega





Scheeren





Luxi


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## filmonger (Apr 18, 2014)

American Wood Rim Color Chart for Canada - Also Chart for Wood Rim Striping Specification for certain makes of bicycles 1912-1918


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## filmonger (Apr 18, 2014)

Hans Muth - Berlin





Bastide





Tank





The Master Comfort


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## dfa242 (Apr 18, 2014)

These are really cool - thanks for sharing them.


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## Handyman (Apr 18, 2014)

*Lobdell*

This set of Lobdell wood wheels has a raised "V" shape, but not as defined as other Lobdell "V" shaped wheels I've seen on other racing/track bikes.


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## filmonger (Apr 18, 2014)

These are from Fratelli Viazone in Torino .... They also made late 30- 40's wooden bicycles









1954 Fratelli Viazone





Their 1945 Wooden bicycle


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## filmonger (Apr 23, 2014)

Gormully & Jeffery Manufacturing Co. ( G & J )... In theory Thomas Jeffery is credited with inventing the clincher tire in 1882









Clincher rim Patent 1882


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## filmonger (Apr 23, 2014)

Colnago Mexico - 1976


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## filmonger (Apr 24, 2014)

Louis Rastetter & Sons - Ft Wayne Ind.

Mainly known for their Folding Chars.....They also made wood parts for Spalding












Louis Rastetter & Sons (Folding Chairs and Tables) Also made Bicycle rims
Many area families are fortunate to own a set of matching card table and chairs manufactured by the Fort Wayne firm of Louis Rastetter and Sons. The furniture was made of fine hardwood in a variety of styles. All could be folded, and it was so well made that even 70 and 80 years later, many pieces are still in fine condition and in regular use. Indeed, a Rastetter set remains a highly collectable local antique and can still be found at many local garage and estate sales.

The firm began in 1882 in a small machine shop at the corner to Jefferson and Calhoun streets. Its founder, Louis C. Rastetter, a native of Baden, Germany, had arrived in New York in 1854, and after several years in that state, finally reached Fort Wayne and found work in the Wabash Railroad Shops. He manufactured clocks, including one for the 1860 courthouse, and by 1882 began developing a line of bent wood bows of various sizes for use as the framework for buggy tops.

The firm continued to grow. In 1887, Rastetter moved his business to Broadway, near the junction of the Pennsylvania Railroad, where he began making fuse and connection boxes for the Jenney Electric Light Company, the forerunner of General Electric. In 1890, he won a contract with the A. G. Spalding Company for making bent wood frames for tennis rackets. Spalding was so impressed that it bought all of Rastetter's tennis racket equipment and moved it to its own plant in Massachusetts.

The Rastetter Company remained innovative. It continued to make buggy tops but added to it the manufacture of bicycle rims to keep up with the new craze in cycling in the 1890s. The factory moved again in 1895 to Wall Street at the corner of Nelson, one block west of Garden Street. When Louis Rastetter died in 1898, he was succeeded by his son, William, who shifted the business focus from bicycle rims to wooden steering wheel rims for newly-manufactured automobiles. As these began to evolve away from horseless carriages with buggy tops to more substantial, closed-body vehicles, the company's business declined, and William began to look for something else for his company to manufacture. He then arrived at the decision that would transform the firm and make it well-known across America: the manufacture of folding furniture.

Folding furniture was a natural fit for a company with a long experience in making foldable buggy tops. The chairs were strong, durable, and were soon designed to accompany matching folding tables. By the 1930s, the company made the largest assortment of such card tables and chairs of any in the United States. A radio script on the history of local businesses from WGL in 1937 praised Rastetter's work and the diversity of its craftsmanship. "Such beautiful period types as Duncan Phyfe, Chippendale, New Classic, Sheraton, and Moderne are now included as standard in their line. Their folding tables have been immensely improved - tables without braces showing on the legs - that are far more rigid than the old type." Rastetter also won large contracts with cruise ship companies and manufactured folding chairs for ocean liners. Churches, businesses, and clubs all over the country also purchased many of the chairs. The standard label read the "Solid Kumfort Folding Chair." The company remained in business until the early 1960s.

By looking at the original label on a Rastetter chair or table, it is possible to tell the date of its manufacture. The company offered many different styles, coverings, and varnishes over its long history. Because the furniture was so widely distributed and associated with quality, each piece served as a kind of ambassador for Fort Wayne and the people who made it. Or as the radio script from 1937 stated, "Naturally, this reflects in no small way the increasing evidence of Fort Wayne as a diversified manufacturing center."

So if you have a Rastetter table and chair set, especially in pristine original condition, treasure it. Such sets are highly sought after by collectors. The several sets my wife and I own are still in regular use on gaming nights with our children or when we have extra company at our dining table. How do you use yours?

http://historycenterfw.blogspot.ie/2012/02/louis-rastetter-sons-folding-chairs-and.html


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## bricycle (Apr 24, 2014)

Thanks for sharing!!!


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## bikiba (Apr 24, 2014)

this is a very informative thread. Thanks!


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## Ranger Dan (Apr 24, 2014)

Wow ... what a beautiful collection of images.

Here's my single contribution from a contemporary maker:


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## filmonger (Aug 6, 2014)

*K & C wood rims*

This is a picture of an Ad for K & C Manufacturing co. Henniker N.H. ...... Note the joint construction!


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## filmonger (Dec 1, 2015)

GES-Bend ........Thought I would add this. Not a lot of info on this one - came off a Bauer German cycle


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## cadillacbike (Dec 1, 2015)

This thread is really cool. Didn't realize it was so many different makers


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## Goldenindian (Dec 2, 2015)

*American wood rim company*

Saw i had this, simliar but a little different


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## Goldenindian (Dec 2, 2015)

the above AD came from a 1917 catalog, enjoy


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## filmonger (Jan 5, 2016)

More Color Charts ... French version of American rims ( Note the Granby makers mark )

















Options in 1917


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## bikewhorder (Jun 4, 2016)

Wow I never saw this thread before! Here's my small contribution...


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## dnc1 (Oct 29, 2016)

French, Laroche I think, difficult to make out


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## dnc1 (Oct 29, 2016)

Sadly, not much left of these two, both French, 700c.


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## filmonger (Oct 30, 2016)




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## filmonger (Oct 30, 2016)




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## filmonger (Oct 30, 2016)




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## dnc1 (Nov 1, 2016)

filmonger said:


> View attachment 376836
> View attachment 376837 View attachment 376838



Thanks @filmonger
I think the edge of this transfer matches the "championnat du monde" one you posted above. It's similar in profile and the colour is definitely "brune".
Any idea on the date of the advert?
Thanks.


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## filmonger (Nov 3, 2017)

G & J Plymouth wood rim makers marker.....


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## filmonger (Nov 26, 2017)

French Fairbanks - Boston Rim ...makers mark





French Ad - promoting the French Fairbanks - Boston Rim





View attachment 714729


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## filmonger (Nov 26, 2017)

French Super Record..... Super Champion - Sprint Rim...       Model 50 on the list below.


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## filmonger (Nov 26, 2017)

French Kundtz - Wood rim makers mark...





French Instruction Brochure - wood rims and makers


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## filmonger (Nov 26, 2017)

French....Tour Du Monde - Wood sprint rim makers mark...


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## filmonger (Nov 26, 2017)

Fairbanks Boston - French wood rim makers mark....


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## filmonger (Nov 26, 2017)

French - Centaure .... Wood rim makers mark... and Perfecta - Wood rim makers mark. Along with the American imports.


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## dnc1 (Nov 26, 2017)

As posted elsewhere.
My recent acquisition. A variation in colour of the Laroche Pouchois mark.....

 
Will clean up and revarnish and retain logo hopefully.


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## filmonger (Nov 26, 2017)

French - Wolber





History
A first factory opened in 1898 in Levallois-Perret on a site of 1 110 m2, occupying 80 people.

A second factory opened in 1904 in Vailly-sur-Aisne. In 1910, it occupied 10 hectares and employed 400 workers. It was specialized in the manufacture of bicycle tires, its manufacture then reached 500,000 bandages per year.

Finally, a third factory opened in Soissons.

The house A. Wolber was awarded at the International Exhibition of Industries and Labor in Turin in 1911 with a gold medal for his tires.

During the First World War, the factories of Vailly-sur-Aisne and Soissons were largely destroyed.

In 1972, Wolber was bought by Michelin. The activity continued another 27 years, before the final closure of the Soissons site in 1999


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## dnc1 (Nov 26, 2017)

filmonger said:


> French - Wolber
> 
> View attachment 714877
> 
> ...



They made some interesting saddles too, often using a rubberized canvas instead of leather tops.


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## filmonger (Nov 26, 2017)

A few more images for Constrictor wood rims..... Note the Sole Agency UK stamp and the made in France Fairbanks label. Obviously Constrictor - only added their label as part of a contractual agency agreement.


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## dnc1 (Mar 19, 2018)

Currently on French eBay, yours for only €220 (euros) plus postage.
Unfortunately they're in very poor condition,  with several splits.....


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## dnc1 (Apr 2, 2021)

Thought it would be good to bump Will's thread back up. 

Some other examples that have recently come to light.

From "C.O.T.",  Italy......




From "Sieber",  Switzerland.....


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## Wim hermans (Nov 2, 2021)

Hello i am new here. Very interesting stuff. I have a question. Does anyone recognise this logo. Tnx from the netherlands


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## dnc1 (Nov 4, 2021)

Wim hermans said:


> Hello i am new here. Very interesting stuff. I have a question. Does anyone recognise this logo. Tnx from the netherlands
> 
> View attachment 1506249



I can't help personally,  but hopefully someone may recognise it.
Welcome to the Cabe Wim.
Here's another example I spotted recently from 
D'Alessandro, Milan, or D.A.M..
I think Will already posted them on page 1 of this thread, but the colours of the decal are better on these ones.....


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## cyclingday (Nov 4, 2021)

Thanks, Darren!
I sure miss Will, aka Filmonger, and his contributions to the Cabe.
If we had a research librarians hall of fame, he would be right at the very top of the list.


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## dnc1 (Nov 4, 2021)

cyclingday said:


> Thanks, Darren!
> I sure miss Will, aka Filmonger, and his contributions to the Cabe.
> If we had a research librarians hall of fame, he would be right at the very top of the list.



You are not wrong!


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## New Mexico Brant (Feb 23, 2022)

Coolest rim mark I have seen in ages.  These are a laminated rim similar to the American Kundtz rims.  Found on an 1896 Pierce.  “Lic. Fairbainks Wood Rim Co”.  “Pat. May 93, Nov. 95”


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## Two Tired (Mar 16, 2022)

Here are a couple that I have.

The Fairbanks rim is laced up with ball end spokes to a Columbia hub.  I don't know if this was the original rim with that hub or not.  

The Boston Laminated rim is on the back of my 1895 Sterling Tandem.


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## The Spokemaster (Mar 17, 2022)

*IMPRESSIVE PIECE OF WORK !*

thanx


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