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C.J. Smith and Milwaukee Bicycle Manufacturing

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ThomF

On Training Wheels
I could use some help in understanding early bicycle manufacturing.

By way of background, I am a historian based in Milwaukee and specialize on the local history of technology. I recently published a book entitled "The Magnificent Machines of Milwaukee," which discusses the significant innovations of about 70 area companies. The book has a section on Meiselbach, for example, and on C.J. Smith.

I'm attempting to drill down deeper into both companies, but have some particular questions about C.J. Smith. C.J. Smith eventually became today's A.O. Smith (Author O. was the son of Charles J.). The history of AO Smith reads (from Wikipedia as one example:( "The A.O. Smith Corporation was founded in 1874 by Charles Jeremiah Smith as C. J. Smith and Sons, a baby carriage and bicycle parts manufacturer. They began forming steel tubing from sheet metal to make bicycle frames. By 1895, the company was the largest bicycle parts manufacturer. In 1899, Arthur Oliver Smith, a son of the founder, developed the world’s first pressed steel vehicle frame and they later began making frames for the Peerless, Cadallac and Ford, etc."

The company's own website states in its historical timeline: "1895: C. J. Smith and Sons is the largest U.S. bicycle parts manufacturer, eventually becoming the largest in the world."

I frankly don't believe the statements. I have been able to locate very limited information about the company's bicycle business--just a few ads for tubular forks and wheel hubs (referring to the 'Smith Hub'). I believe they had about 800 people under employment from their bicycle and baby carriage days. While this seems to be a large parts manufacturer, it doesn't seem to rise to the level of world's largest.

I do know that C.J. Smith eventually merged its operations into the American Bicycle Company, a monopoly of bicycle manufacturers that I believe was headed up by the owner of Columbia. Milwaukee's Meiselbach Manufacturing also became part of that federation. American Bicycle Company was clearly the world's largest at the time (1899+). They assumed the operations of over 40 US manufacturing companies. I suspect that the claim that is attributed to C.J. Smith is a confusion of that history. The truth, I suspect, is that C.J. Smith became part of what was at one time the world's largest bicycle manufacturer, but was not the largest on its own rights.

Does this resonate with anyone? I'd like to pin this down and get the record straight.

I also have a question regarding bicycle manufacturing in that era (1895-1905 or so). There were obviously numerous bicycle manufacturers during that period. I'm guessing that most industrial cities had one or more. There must have been close to a hundred. It seems to me that there were a more limited number of companies that manufactured bicycle parts, and that these parts were then assembled into bicycles by these numerous bicycle manufacturing companies. I'm suspecting that they ordered steel tubing and the various fittings to make frames, and also ordered forks, wheels, saddles and the like and assembled it into completed bicycles. These 'assemblers' designed the overall style of the bicycles they manufactured, but used parts they acquired by the parts manufacturers, rather than producing the individual parts themselves.

Does this make sense? Can someone validate this practice, or set me straight if I've got this wrong?

I'm delighted to have found this site--hope to learn a lot from you folks!

Tom

Smith Taper Guage Forks.jpg
 
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