# 1890's TOC cabinet card bicycle identification help needed



## corbettclassics (Sep 16, 2014)

Can't believe I don't recognize the head badge on these bikes that these racers are on.
They appear to be a team and on the same bikes.  I can't for the life of me figure out the badges.

Anybody got any ideas????

I do know the racers names …..( printed on back )

Thanks for all your help guys >


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## bike (Sep 16, 2014)

*almost looks like a man looking to his left*

wait til Pat gets it -racers names could quickly end the search if they were fairly successful


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## corbettclassics (Sep 16, 2014)

bike said:


> wait til Pat gets it -racers names could quickly end the search if they were fairly successful
> 
> View attachment 169289


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## hoofhearted (Sep 17, 2014)

*i dunno ........*

*spacer bar*















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## fordsnake (Sep 20, 2014)

*Best of luck...*

Early teen bikes were similar in style, nothing proprietary about them. Trying to discern a manufacturer from a photo is almost an impossible task? Not that it can’t be done…it’s just that before the 1900’s there were hundreds of bicycle “factories” sprinkled across the country. Several ran out of a shack and closed within a year of opening. Many were converted sewing machine works expanding their potential. While others merely procured parts from multiple suppliers and badged the bike as their owned. 

Here is a table that illustrates the many companies that were manufacturing bicycles in just the Chicago area at the turn of the century.

A. Featherstone & Company
Adams & Westlake
America Cycle Company
American Bicycle Company
American Cycle Company
Ames & Frost Company
Amos Manufacturing Company
Apollo Cycle Company
Arnold, Schwinn & Company
Arrow Cycle Manufacturing Company
Ashland Cycle Company
Auburn Cycle Company
Bailey Manufacturing Company
Becker & Becker
Becker Brothers
Beckley-Ralston Company
Bell Cycle Manufacturing Company
Bostedo Company
Burlington Cycle Company
C. P. Warner and Brothers
Calumet Cycle Company
Carlisle Manufacturing Company
Century Cycle Company
Century Cycle Manufacturing Co.
Charles Blankenheim
Charles E. Graham
Charles F. Stokes & Sons
Charles L. Legg
Chicago Wheel Company
Chicago Wheel Works
Climax Cycle Manufacturing Co. 
D. Bradley Company
E. P. Wolf
El Dorado Cycle Company
F. S. Waters Company
Famous Manufacturing Company
Garden City Cycle Works
Gladiator Cycle Works
Gleason & Schaff
Gormully & Jeffery
Great Western Manufacturing Co
H. Channon Company
Harry R. Moore
Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co
Hill Cycle Company
Horn Cycle Company
Hughes & Browne
International Manufacturing Co
J. Lonn & Sons
J. T. Walck
James Cycle Company
Julius F. Witt
Kastler Cycle Company
Lyman H. Arms
March-Davis Cycle Manufacturing Co
Mead Cycle Company
Myron C, Baker Company
Oxford Merchandise Company
Pope Manufacturing Co.
Spooner-Peterson Company
Springfield Bicycle Co.
St. Nicholas Manufacturing Co
Thorson & Cassady Company
W. A. Campbell & Co
W. S. Demorest Company
Warwick Cycle Co.
Western News Company
Western News Company
Western Wheel Works
Whipple & Becker
Whipple & Becker
Winnie Machine Works

I suggest you investigate the legacy and profile of the riders...hopefully that will shed some light on an affiliation with a manufacturer?


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## olderthandirt (Sep 20, 2014)

*copy of old photo*

would you reproduce some copts of this old photo for sale to some of us toc guys to have in our man caves?


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## corbettclassics (Sep 24, 2014)

*badge ID*

I thought it might have been an early "Peerless" badge.

Any other thoughts???

As for blowing it up for your man cave ……..…….. hmmmm 
I have lots of early cabinet racer cards that would look incredible blown up.


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## corbettclassics (Sep 24, 2014)

*SOLVED THE MYSTERY badge*

OK ……. I solved the mystery head badge.

I used my magnifying glass the size of a blowing ball and used a light.

They are 100% "NATIONAL" bikes.

Here is a badge from a National > With a magnifying glass you can clearly see the head badges are "National".





Also here is a National bike that a member bought off eBay several months ago.  
Notice too that the chain rings are the same!


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## corbettclassics (Sep 24, 2014)

*writing on his jersey*

Ok …. here's something else I just noticed.

I looked through the magnifying glass and the rider on the right ( looking at the pic )
the riders jersey has the letters "T I O N A" and the rest is wrinkled up in the sleeve area.

WOW!!!!!!!!  Wish I had a super macro lens to show this stuff …. This is exciting!!!


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## fordsnake (Sep 24, 2014)

Great discovery on the badge...just realize the eBay chainring is a clover design–4 loops. Your photo chainrings have 5 loops.


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