Can you date this?

[morton]

I wanted to submit this cabinet photo for publication in a local newspaper column that specializes in local history.

My guess is that it dates from about 1910.

Would be a bonus if someone could identify make/model of these bikes.

Note that they are well dressed for the ride complete with neckties. I think it's a great photo from an era long passed.

Thanks for any info.

View attachment 756428

 

[bike]

two hard tires and a pneumatic make this 1891-2 or probably a bit later.
On looking again the bike on the right could be 93-94 ish
The earliest pnumatics looked like /were modified hard tire safetys- maybe someone else will pipe in

2c

 

[morton]

Didn't realize it was that old. I noticed the chains look different from "modern" ones.

 

[gkeep]

Bike on the left looks like it has one of the clear celluloid chain guards, when did those come out?

 

[hoofhearted]

 

[morton]

Here is a scan from the back. Hopefully if published someone will be able to shed light on the men in the photo and/or the location of the barn.

Many old barns sill standing in this area so not impossible that it still exists. In the 1970's I worked on the grounds crew at school district out of a barn built in 1812 that had a Revolutionary War soldier buried on the property. Sadly it was torn down and replaced by a "modern" building.

And I wouldn't be surprised if ancestors of the bikers are also still in the area. I'm going to try to submit it next week and hopefully will be published.

If any of the ancestors are still around, I would be thrilled to give them the photo.

 

[Brian R.]

I agree it's definitely early '90s. Could the one on the right be a Crescent? The way the top of the fork blades are raised a bit over the fork crown looks like late '90s Crescent style, but did they make them like that (or at all) in the early '90s?