Discovering a 125-year-old ‘barn find’ bicycle in excellent preserved condition is something most vintage bicycle enthusiasts dream of. This week I found this wonderful Victorian example, complete with its original shop receipt from 25 March, 1899.
It was built by Charles Hayward of Ashford, Kent, whose shop advertised “Cycles of Every Description Made to Order” and is in very good original unrestored condition.
Cushion tyres were popular around 1893. They replaced solid tyres for a while until pneumatic tyres became the industry standard. Does that mean that the ‘Onward’ was a secondhand bicycle when it was sold in 1899 for £8 10/-?
It seems not. Its pedal cranks are a design that was popular in 1897/1898. Its certainly old-fashioned for the end of the 1890s, but using out-of-date components was common practice in the cycle trade to keep the price down, especially for cycle shops in provincial towns around the country.
Compare its sale price to those of various well-known manufacturers: a new Humber would have cost over £20, an Ariel around £18, while a Rudge-Whitworth or New Hudson was 10 guineas. Personally, I would have thought an extra £1 10/- spent on a new lightweight Rudge-Whitworth with freewheel and pneumatics would have been better value for money. However, £1 10/- in 1899 is the equivalent of around £240 in 2024, so no doubt it was a considerable saving, and I’m sure that £8 10/- was a bargain price for a quality-built machine such as the Onward, even with older components. And at least you won’t get punctures.
View in the Online Bicycle Museum
BICYCLE COLLECTORS CURATED ONLINE AUCTION, CHRISTMAS 2024 – JANUARY 2025
This Timed Auction is live from 20th of December 2024 to 26th of January, 2025. Highest bid wins.
NO BUYERS or SELLERS PREMIUM.
THE RESERVE IS THE START PRICE + BUY-IT-NOW OPTION.
INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY: NO PACKING FEES.
BIDDING INCREMENTS: Up to £1000 = £10. Over £1000 = £50. Over £2000 = £100
IT’S A CURATED AUCTION – Colin is the auctioneer and is available to chat to you personally during the auction (or before) by email, text message, phonecall, Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp.
