Rare Davis built bicycle

[lmw626]

Thanks for the reply and info! Do you happen to know how to date this Manton and Smith? Is there something about it that tells you it's and M&S? I'm just curious for future reference if I come across one of these again.

 

[RMS37]

The built in headlock (on the drive side) is a dead giveaway that the bike was made by Manton and Smith. The other thing that sets Manton and Smith bikes apart is the hand welded un-polished joints. I’m sure the serial number would date the bike but I don’t think any information on decoding their serial numbers is in the public domain. M&S was a small company and used a lot of parts from other suppliers sometimes these help date a bike. The fender braces with the integral drop stand brackets were typically used in the early to mid thirties so I would think your bike is likely to be a prewar bike, on the other hand I have generally seen that badge on postwar bikes.

 

[lmw626]

Thank you, I appreciate all the information!! Actually, I just picked this bike up yesterday from a guy on Craigslist. He had no info except he thought it was a catalog/mail order type of bike and thought it was built on a Schwinn frame. All I had to start with was the name on the head badge and I'm new to working with and researching vintage bicycles. And now... I wonder what it's value might be...