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History of Mesinger Manufacturing Company?

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John D. Williams

Finally riding a big boys bike
I have a saddle from a 1968 Schwinn that says Mesinger Bethel CT on the metal frame. I was quite surprised because I go to Bethel a lot. There is no trace of the factory of course. It seems no-one on CABE knows about this, nor is there much info on the web. Anyone have knowledge or links to the history of this important bicycle company?

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Mesinger Manufacturing, Inc. was on Durant Avenue in Bethel. I believe the exact address was 11 Durant Ave. Durant was a relatively short street that had close access to the railroad tracks. They built an updated (for the time) warehouse and industrial facility there in the early 1950s. The property went through a forced judicial sale about 20 years ago. After the sale, it was renovated. It is currently owned by a holding company out of Brooklyn, NY. At one time, Mesinger claimed to be, "the largest manufacturer of bicycle seats in the United States," producing 30,000 bicycle seats a day during the mid-1970s bike boom. Eventually cheaper imports forced an end to seat production there.
 
I have a saddle from a 1968 Schwinn that says Mesinger Bethel CT on the metal frame. I was quite surprised because I go to Bethel a lot. There is no trace of the factory of course. It seems no-one on CABE knows about this, nor is there much info on the web. Anyone have knowledge or links to the history of this important bicycle company?

View attachment 2176312
Hello,

Mesinger as a bicycle seat manufacturer was very, very well known. Famous. Of course, National Bicycle History Archive of America has many, many original Mesinger catalogues and more. At one time, we also had the largest supply of NOS original parts for prewar and early postwar.

Mesinger and Arnold, Schwinn & Co.had a very strong business relationship as of the late 1930s. From that point into the 1970s, Mesinger was Schwinn's main supplier of saddles. So it would neither be a surprise nor mystery that a Mesinger saddle would be found on a late 1960s Schwinn. Very typical and expected.

Mesinger sent us catalogues for every year until they went out of production. We still have business cards from their factory because we talked with their people yearly at trade shows.

Here is our 1941 Schwinn Packard Autocycle DeLuxe with a Mesinger "B" genuine leather saddle as factory original. Hope this helps.

Leon Dixon
National Bicycle History Archive of America
(NBHAA.com)

PackardMesingerSad.JPG
 
Hello,

Mesinger as a bicycle seat manufacturer was very, very well known. Famous. Of course, National Bicycle History Archive of America has many, many original Mesinger catalogues and more. At one time, we also had the largest supply of NOS original parts for prewar and early postwar.

Mesinger and Arnold, Schwinn & Co.had a very strong business relationship as of the late 1930s. From that point into the 1970s, Mesinger was Schwinn's main supplier of saddles. So it would neither be a surprise nor mystery that a Mesinger saddle would be found on a late 1960s Schwinn. Very typical and expected.

Mesinger sent us catalogues for every year until they went out of production. We still have business cards from their factory because we talked with their people yearly at trade shows.

Here is our 1941 Schwinn Packard Autocycle DeLuxe with a Mesinger "B" genuine leather saddle as factory original. Hope this helps.

Leon Dixon
National Bicycle History Archive of America
(NBHAA.com)

View attachment 2176343
Thank you Leon!
 
Mesinger Manufacturing, Inc. was on Durant Avenue in Bethel. I believe the exact address was 11 Durant Ave. Durant was a relatively short street that had close access to the railroad tracks. They built an updated (for the time) warehouse and industrial facility there in the early 1950s. The property went through a forced judicial sale about 20 years ago. After the sale, it was renovated. It is currently owned by a holding company out of Brooklyn, NY. At one time, Mesinger claimed to be, "the largest manufacturer of bicycle seats in the United States," producing 30,000 bicycle seats a day during the mid-1970s bike boom. Eventually cheaper imports forced an end to seat production there.
Thanks Sir Mike again. Next time I'm in Bethel I'm going to Town Hall to look in their records, to see what they have. Might even poke around in the woods a bit, in back of 11 Durant near the tracks!
 
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