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Who made "Black Beauty" badged bikes??? and Mont. Wards "De Luxe"

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chitown

Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Who made "Black Beauty" badged bikes?

I was also wondering about Montgomery Ward "De Luxe" badged?

Could they be the same maker?

Chris
 
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Don't know much about the M/W Deluxe, but the Black Beauty bikes were made by Haverford Cycle Co. in Phladelphia.
Funny timing for your question - I just bought this catalog the other day.

Black Beauty.jpg


Black Beauty.jpg
 
Labor Unions VS Corporate Greed... some things never change eh?

What about Shapleigh Hardware Co St Louis Plate "Speedy" and "Ruby"
or Geo. Worthington, Cleveland O name-plate "Harvard" & "Erie"
or Butler Bros, 375 Broadway, New York City NY
or Wm Frankfort Hardware Co, Milwaukee Wis
or A. Baldwin Co New Orleans
or Hibbard-Spencer-Bartlett Co Chicago Ill
or... there's more but one thing I know is they all were built by the Arnold Schwinn Bicycle Company. At least in 1920 they were.

booksidQdooAAAAYAAJpgRA1PA24img1zoom3hle-1.jpg

booksidQdooAAAAYAAJpgRA1PA24img1zoom3hle-2.jpg

booksidQdooAAAAYAAJpgRA1PA25img1zoom3hle-1.jpg
 
Interesting that they were demanding a 44 hour work week at .85 per hour.

And in the same issue (Metal Polishers Union) it shows how the Union just secured an increase to $1.00 per hour and a 44 hour work week with Mead Cycle Co.

booksidQdooAAAAYAAJpgRA2PA21img1zoom3hle-1.jpg
 
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I think this is an important document for a couple reasons.

1. It shows all many of the badged bikes Schwinn was producing at the time. Sort of a mini Rosetta Stone for teens and twenties bikes. I was unaware they had such big accounts as the Montgomery Wards and the others mentioned.

2. Brings up the possibility that some of these bikes were made by scabs and ex-con's.

3. Mead Cycle Co was making their own frames as of 1920. There doesn't seem to be much info out there on when they started to outsource frames to other manufacturers but a key time might be when George Lewis left sometime after 1924-5 and teamed up with Huffman to build wheels. This is when Dayton Rolled Metal and others probably bought much of Meads manufacturing equipment. It was mentioned that Shelby bought much of this equipment also.


If Schwinn was making all these bikes for other badges/jobbers, it makes me wonder what accounts Mead had during the teens and early twenties.
 
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