Oldest Schwinn Privately Owned

[Freqman1]

Interesting stuff, Shawn.
Now, all I need to do, is find a nice original 1898 Chicago model 31 to mate my badge to.

I know, good luck on that one.
Haha!

@cyclingday I was just discussing early Schwinn's with another collector and realized that the 1899 cat doesn't show the "Chicago" line of bikes. This means your badge has to be 1898 or earlier and I'm guessing the Chicago brand was only about a two year thing. If we can find cats from '95-7 it would answer the question. Undoubtedly your Chicago badge is THE grail Schwinn badge. V/r Shawn

 

[Tikibar]

Schwinn published these as being from 1895

Schwinn-Mens-1895

• Tikibar
• Jan 7, 2018

Reportedly from the book issued by Schwinn in 1945 to commemorate their 50th anniversary; "Fifty...

Schwinn_Assembly-Shop-1895

• Tikibar
• Jan 7, 2018

Reportedly from the book issued by Schwinn in 1945 to commemorate their 50th anniversary; "Fifty...

Schwinn_Factory-1895

• Tikibar
• Jan 7, 2018

Reportedly from the book issued by Schwinn in 1945 to commemorate their 50th anniversary; "Fifty...

 

[Freqman1]

Schwinn published these as being from 1895

Schwinn-Mens-1895

• Tikibar
• Jan 7, 2018

Reportedly from the book issued by Schwinn in 1945 to commemorate their 50th anniversary; "Fifty...

Schwinn_Assembly-Shop-1895

• Tikibar
• Jan 7, 2018

Reportedly from the book issued by Schwinn in 1945 to commemorate their 50th anniversary; "Fifty...

Schwinn_Factory-1895

• Tikibar
• Jan 7, 2018

Reportedly from the book issued by Schwinn in 1945 to commemorate their 50th anniversary; "Fifty...

Those images come from the "50 Years of Schwinn-Built Bicycles" book. I would love to see any cats or literature from 1895-97 that we haven't already seen. V/r Shawn

 

[Mark Mattei]

Hi Shawn, I don’t believe we have ever spoken and this may be a bit out there but I met an interesting man last weekend. He recently purchased and renovated an 1890’s Chicago factory building, it is located just west of the “Loop” (downtown) on the corner of Lake and Peoria Streets. A nice vintage 6 story that has escaped the wrecking ball. Having an interest in history (currently has a 4 cylinder Henderson being made roadworthy), after the purchase he discovered this was the first Schwinn factory! This was the home of Schwinn from 1895 till 1900 after which production was moved to a larger location. His architectural office is in the first floor and is keen to have an original 1890’s Schwinn to display. I am looking through my early Schwinn business document collection to see if I have anything to assist him with. If you have any interest in contacting him, call me and I will pass his information on. 773-608-9004 Thanks, Mark Mattei.

Ok the reason I started this thread is because I bought the 1898 Model 22 that was listed here on the CABE. I have scoured the interwebs, looked at all the online Copake catalogs as well as all print catalogs back to 1994, and posted here. Other than the two partial tandems and the Schwinn family tandem in the BMA I've not seen anything else pre 1900. This really surprises me since Schwinn was a fairly prolific company even in the early days. This bike is in exceptional condition for being 118 years old and has some interesting features such as the threaded handlebars and what look like oil/grease ports on top of the crank hanger. I'd be interested in seeing anything pre-1900 either privately owned or in a museum. Lastly while the cat shows the bars in the up position I prefer the "scorcher" look especially on this optional 22" frame bike. The standard size was 24" with an optional 26" frame as well. They only came in one color--"Brewster Green, ornamented" (at least for 1898). V/r Shawn

View attachment 352101View attachment 352102View attachment 352103View attachment 352104View attachment 352105View attachment 352106View attachment 352107View attachment 352108View attachment 352109View attachment 352110View attachment 352111View attachment 352112View attachment 352113
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Ok the reason I started this thread is because I bought the 1898 Model 22 that was listed here on the CABE. I have scoured the interwebs, looked at all the online Copake catalogs as well as all print catalogs back to 1994, and posted here. Other than the two partial tandems and the Schwinn family tandem in the BMA I've not seen anything else pre 1900. This really surprises me since Schwinn was a fairly prolific company even in the early days. This bike is in exceptional condition for being 118 years old and has some interesting features such as the threaded handlebars and what look like oil/grease ports on top of the crank hanger. I'd be interested in seeing anything pre-1900 either privately owned or in a museum. Lastly while the cat shows the bars in the up position I prefer the "scorcher" look especially on this optional 22" frame bike. The standard size was 24" with an optional 26" frame as well. They only came in one color--"Brewster Green, ornamented" (at least for 1898). V/r Shawn

View attachment 352101View attachment 352102View attachment 352103View attachment 352104View attachment 352105View attachment 352106View attachment 352107View attachment 352108View attachment 352109View attachment 352110View attachment 352111View attachment 352112View attachment 352113
View attachment 352114View attachment 352115View attachment 352116

 

[pedalpower17]

maybe get a set of Robert Dean white tire (which I would age appropriately). V/r Shawn

Hey, Shawn, can you share your method for aging white tires? Just leaving them exposed to the sun for a summer? I have a repo set of white walls for a 1940 Westfield that I would like to "age appropriately"? Hope to see you in AA...

 

[cyclingday]

Well, 5 years has passed, since the last post, with a global pandemic and two regional wars that could potentially trigger World War III, so I figured it would be good to refresh this thread.
Here is another look at the;
1898 Schwinn/World, model 22 Roadster.

Thank you, @stingrayjoe for pulling this bike out of a Pennsylvania chicken barn, and to Shawn aka @Freqman1 for allowing me to be its next caretaker.

Much appreciated!