Ballooner59
On Training Wheels
Hello CABE members,
I’m a newbie to the group and still determining what is legit and what were changed on this Hawthorne I recently bought for my wife. The serial is H44799 so possibly CWC 1940-41? Looking at your bike I think the differences are relatively few. The paint was “upgraded” , the bell was added, horn button and assembly are missing, grips are incorrect, and I’m missing the rear fender reflector. Possibly the bars are later. Other than that it looks original. Story is this bike was restored for a lady who unfortunately then fell off it on her first ride. The bike then sat in storage for 20+ years and the owner listed it on Craigslist. I restore 70s Schwinn road bikes but this is my first old iron. This is a tremendous forum and source of good information. Thanks all!
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There are some control freaks on this site that might frown upon placing a new inquiry post on an older existing thread; but we let little things like that slide for new members.
The 2nd bike looks like a Snyder built MW Hawthorne girls model and is another good example of the differences between those manufacturers.
The serial sequence number is the five digits; because they are on the bottom bracket, we understand that the bike is pre-war; (seat tube mast for post war). The other stamping is a date-place code; and looks like “04–EH” — the 04 is a reverse code for 1940. The letters reflect the Excelsior-Hawthorne factory in Michigan City Indiana (closer than the NY factory was to customer MW in Chicago).
I believe that the dash “—” in between the date and place codes may have been discontinued post war.
Stamping might read 14–EH or 24–EH(?).
Last edited: Yesterday at 11:34 PM
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[ATTACH=full]1334612[/ATTACH]
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I’m a newbie to the group and still determining what is legit and what were changed on this Hawthorne I recently bought for my wife. The serial is H44799 so possibly CWC 1940-41? Looking at your bike I think the differences are relatively few. The paint was “upgraded” , the bell was added, horn button and assembly are missing, grips are incorrect, and I’m missing the rear fender reflector. Possibly the bars are later. Other than that it looks original. Story is this bike was restored for a lady who unfortunately then fell off it on her first ride. The bike then sat in storage for 20+ years and the owner listed it on Craigslist. I restore 70s Schwinn road bikes but this is my first old iron. This is a tremendous forum and source of good information. Thanks all!
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Archie Sturmer
I live for the CABE
Welcome to the CABE; and nice bike.There are some control freaks on this site that might frown upon placing a new inquiry post on an older existing thread; but we let little things like that slide for new members.
The 2nd bike looks like a Snyder built MW Hawthorne girls model and is another good example of the differences between those manufacturers.
The serial sequence number is the five digits; because they are on the bottom bracket, we understand that the bike is pre-war; (seat tube mast for post war). The other stamping is a date-place code; and looks like “04–EH” — the 04 is a reverse code for 1940. The letters reflect the Excelsior-Hawthorne factory in Michigan City Indiana (closer than the NY factory was to customer MW in Chicago).
I believe that the dash “—” in between the date and place codes may have been discontinued post war.
Stamping might read 14–EH or 24–EH(?).
Last edited: Yesterday at 11:34 PM
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Ballooner59
On Training Wheels
Copy that - thanks for your response.Quote Reply
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[ATTACH=full]1334612[/ATTACH]
HARPO
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Great Find!!!Like Quote Reply
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Ballooner59
On Training Wheels
Thank you sir for this additional information. I’ll start a new thread to avoid posting problems.Archie Sturmer said:
Welcome to the CABE; and nice bike.
There are some control freaks on this site that might frown upon placing a new inquiry post on an older existing thread; but we let little things like that slide for new members.
The 2nd bike looks like a Snyder built MW Hawthorne girls model and is another good example of the differences between those manufacturers.
The serial sequence number is the five digits; because they are on the bottom bracket, we understand that the bike is pre-war; (seat tube mast for post war). The other stamping is a date-place code; and looks like “04–EH” — the 04 is a reverse code for 1940. The letters reflect the Excelsior-Hawthorne factory in Michigan City Indiana (closer than the NY factory was to customer MW in Chicago).
I believe that the dash “—” in between the date and place codes may have been discontinued post war.
Stamping might read 14–EH or 24–EH(?).
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