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Please help ID this circa 1899 bicycle

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not the correct Orient fork or chainring
bikes looks earlier than 1899, maybe closer to 1895 ..... could be wrong

about the "brake", cool idea, but friction braking directly on the chain like this would probably put so much tension on it that it would get ruined in a short time.

cool family history!

you are right, i had not noticed t

A very interesting post,especially because of the West Virginia connection.Considering the terrain and very rural nature of that part of the state it was a place with very little paved road and few bicycles.Walnut Grove is not far from my farm.Assuming it arrived in Walnut Grove by rail,that bicycle traveled through my farm to get there.
This is the Walnut Grove near Spencer in Roane County. It's pretty much a ghost town now. But the terrain is pretty hilly. They paved "out to the Glaze land" at some point but I can't remember the year.
 
Yes near Spencer,I’ve been there many times.It’s about 30 mi from me.

not the correct Orient fork or chainring
bikes looks earlier than 1899, maybe closer to 1895 ..... could be wrong
almost looks like an early 1895 Pierce model (fat fork crown, no lugs, similar chainring)

about the "brake", cool idea, but friction braking directly on the chain like this would probably put so much tension on it that it would get ruined in a short time.

cool family history!

View attachment 1775911
Maybe Pierce Special Model 44? I found a marketing image and flipped it and then placed them side by side. I can overlay them when I get home to my computer.

Screenshot_20230127-113956.png
 
Maybe Pierce Special Model 44? I found a marketing image and flipped it and then placed them side by side. I can overlay them when I get home to my computer.

View attachment 1776120
i don't think the bicycle in your family picture and the drawn bicycle on the patent are the same (completely different fork crown)
the bicycle in the drawing is lugged and the bike in the picture doen't seem to be lugged (hard to see 100%!!)
in the drawing the sprocket has 5 "spokes" and in the picture the sprocket has 6 "spokes"
 
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https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030256666&view=1up&seq=53
Capture d’écran (30).png


Capture d’écran (31).png



seems like you can buy the volume 89 of the Official Gazette online, there is probably a way to find it online for free!
 
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i don't think the bicycle in your family picture and the drawn bicycle on the patent are the same (completely different fork crown)
the bicycle in the drawing is lugged and the bike in the picture doen't seem to be lugged (hard to see 100%!!)
in the drawing the sprocket has 5 "spokes" and in the picture the sprocket has 6 "spokes"
I wonder if the 5-spoke sprocket which is visible on the left side is part of the brake. The chain sprocket would be on the right side and not visible.
 
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