1890 Tandem Remington Bicycle
edited by David Barth, 6 June 2011.
Courtesy The Forney Museum of Transportation at 4303 Brighton Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80216. Photos were taken in June 2011.
Also, thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This is a tandem bicycle in which the woman sits at the front seat and the male sits at the back. It was manufactured by Remington Arms Company around 1890.
The handle bars are coupled together so either the front or rear rider can steer. The bicycle has racing pedals, cork grips, adjustable
leather seats, and a Morrow coaster brake.
The last patent number noted on the bicycle is dated November 6, 1894. Due to reduced sales of bicycles at the turn of the Twentieth Century, in 1903
Reminton Arms discontinued producing them. At the turn of the twentieth century, bicycles were called "wheels."
The development of chain-drive technology and its application to adult tricycles and bicycles like the Kangaroo led manufacturers to reposition the chain and gearing to the rear wheel.
Columbia, America’s first major bicycle manufacturer, began making high-wheel bicycles in 1877. In 1888 they introduced the Veloce, which featured a chain-driven rear wheel geared to 52
inches and an innovative cross-frame design, combining the speed of a 52-inch-diameter wheel with greatly improved safety. The new frame design was called, appropriately enough, the
'Safety'.
By 1890 bicycles were safer, faster, and easier to ride. Pneumatic tires and wheels of equal diameter made it far easier to master the new Safeties than earlier models. Cycling was accessible
to the timid, the aged, and, most notably, to women. A few audacious women of the late Victorian Era were willing to mount an Ordinary, but most respectfully declined out of modesty and the
elaborate, awkward dress of the period. Riding became one of life’s pleasures.
"The Gay 90s" saw literally millions 'take to the wheel'. Cities and most bigger towns boasted at least one cycling club. The membership rolls of the League of American Wheelmen (now the
League of American Cyclists) swelled. By 1896 there were over 3000 bicycle manufacturers in the United States alone. By the turn of the twentieth century there were an astounding ten
million bicycles for the sixteen million American households of the day!
The following copyrighted article is from The New York Times dated 31 January 1903:
"Passing of the bicycle. Remington Arms Company Discontinues the Manufacture of Wheels.
Special to The New York times.
UTICA, N.Y., Jan. 30 - So great has been the decline in the sale of bicycles that the Remington Arms Company if Ilion, one of the largest manufacturers in the State, has decided to discontinue
the manufacture of wheels.
There has been a large decrease in orders in the past two years, and hereafter the company will devote its attention to the manufacture of firearms and typewriters.
It has sold its bicycle business to William Wooster & Co. of New York. Large quantities of delicate machinery made especially for the bicycle industry is bein consigned to the scrap
heap."
Remington Arms Company, Inc. was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion Gorge, New York, as E. Remington and Sons. It is the oldest company in the United States which still makes its
original product, and is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in North America. It is the only US company which produces both firearms and ammunition domestically, and is the
largest US producer of shotguns and rifles. After a 12 year absence in the handgun market Remington announced April, 2010 the Model 1911 R1, slated to be available through select independent
dealers beginning June, 2010. The last handgun produced by Remington Arms, the Model XP-100R, ceased production in 1998. Its products are distributed in over 60 foreign countries,
making its base wider than those of its competitors. Remington has also developed or adopted more cartridges than any other gun maker or ammunition manufacturer in the world.
Remington is part of the Freedom Group, owned by Cerberus Capital Management.
Eliphalet and Elizabeth Remington's second child was a son, Eliphalet II, named for his father. As the couple's only son of their four children who survived childhood, Eliphalet II
followed in his father's footsteps and entered the blacksmith trade at the family's rural forge in Herkimer County, New York. The original family home at Kinne Corners, New York, built
about 1810 and known as Remington House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Remington II believed he could build a better gun than he could buy. Farming communities in the region were famous for their diverse skills and self-sufficiency, and the winter seasons were
used for crafts that provided goods for self-use and also for sale. Eliphalet's father was a blacksmith, and wanted to expand his business into rifle barrel production. Local residents often
built their own rifles to save on costs, but purchased the barrel. He was born in 1793 in the town of Suffield, Connecticut, to parents whose origins lay in Yorkshire, England. He was a
blacksmith, and at 23, he hand-made a revolutionary sporting rifle using a firing mechanism bought from a dealer, producing the barrel himself. Eliphalet's father sent him to a well-known
barrel maker in a major city to purchase a barrel, with the mission of observing the barrel-making technique. At the time, the method was to heat and wrap long flat bars of iron around a metal
rod of the caliber desired. By heating and hammering the coiled bars around the central rod, the barrel metal became fused into a solid cylinder, at which point the rod was pressed out. After
the young man returned home, his family added a successful barrel making operation to his father's forge.
He began designing and building a flintlock rifle for himself. In the fall of that year, he entered a shooting match. Though he only finished second, his well-made gun impressed other
shooters. Before Eliphalet left the field that day, he had received so many orders from other competitors that he was now officially in the gunsmithing business. By 1828, the operation
moved to nearby Ilion, New York, at the same site which is used by the modern Remington firearms plant.
In 1865, Remington incorporated into a stock company, and in 1873 began a new venture, producing Remington brand typewriters. Remington sold the typewriter business in 1886. The typewriter
company eventually became Remington Rand, and the firearms business became Remington Arms Company. In 1888, Remington was purchased by Marcus Hartley and Partners, a major sporting goods
chain who also owned the Union Metallic Cartridge Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Bridgeport site became the home of Remington's ammunition plant. The company continued to grow and
to develop its product and gradually began the manufacture of other sporting goods, such as bicycles. At the present time, the company is known as the Remington Arms Co., Inc.
In 1912, Remington and Union Metallic Cartridge were combined into a single entity, called Remington UMC. Even today, Remington produces U.M.C. brand ammunition. In 1915, the plant at Ilion
was expanded, and with this expansion became basically the same plant as today.
During World War I, Remington produced arms under contract for several Allied powers. Remington produced M1907-15 Berthier rifles for France, Pattern 1914 Enfield rifles for Britain, and
Model 1891 Mosin-Nagant rifles for Imperial Russia.
When the U.S. entered the war, Remington became deeply involved in the war effort. Notable contributions by Remington included development and production of the U.S. M1917 Enfield rifle,
a simplified version of the British Pattern 1914, and development of the Pedersen device.
Late in the war, the collapse of the Imperial Russian government had a severe impact on Remington finances. Russia had ordered enormous quantities of arms and ammunition, but ran short of
money to pay for the orders. They delayed payment, pointing to alleged defects in Remington products. When the Bolsheviks took power in the Russian Revolution, they repudiated the contract
entirely. Remington was left with huge stocks of guns and ammunition, and no prospects for payment. U.S. government intervention was required to save the company from bankruptcy. Noting
the explosive growth of business at the beginning of the war, and the precipitous decline at the end of the war, Remington made the conscious decision to promote and emphasize their line of
sporting products. They viewed hunting products as a more stable business which might help them to survive future ups and downs.
During the Great Depression, Remington was purchased by the DuPont Corporation, which had made its fortune with improvements to gunpowder. A year later, Remington purchased the Peters
Cartridge Company. Today, many of the Remington headstamps still have R-P on them for Remington-Peters.
In 1940, the U.S. Army became worried about its ammunition capacity, and asked Remington to collaborate in a plan for national expansion. With the aid of DuPont, Remington built the Lake
City Arsenal and Denver Ordnance ammunition plants, and three more plants, later on. Though the plants belonged to the U.S. government, Remington was asked to oversee their operation. Among
the weapons Remington manufactured for the government during World War II was the famous M1903A3 Springfield bolt-action rifle.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Remington branched out into other products besides guns, with the purchase of Mall Tool Company in 1956. One of the products was chain saws.
In 1962 Remington introduced the Model 700 bolt-action sniper rifle. The rifle became one of Remington's most successful firearms, and quickly lent itself to developments of many
sub-variants, including the Remington 700 BDL, Remington 700PSS for police and law enforcement agencies (the rifle, later renamed 700P, is very popular among law enforcement agencies)
and the military M24 SWS which was the USA Army standard sniper rifle between 1988–2010 and still serves among other armed forces around the world. Other firearms
companies designed and manufactured sniper rifles based on the reliable and accurate Remington Model 700 action.
In 1986, Remington closed its ammunition plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, creating a brand-new facility in Lonoke, Arkansas. This site was chosen as the geographic center of the
sporting ammunition market. A year later, Remington built a new clay targets plant in Athens, Georgia.
In 1993, Remington was sold by DuPont to the investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).
In June 2007, a private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, acquired Remington Arms for $370 million, including $252 million in assumed debt. This happened because Remington was
millions of dollars in debt and did not report a profit during the years 2003-2005.
In December 2007, Remington Arms acquired rifle-maker Marlin Firearms.
As of 2009, ammunition sales continued to remain high during the ongoing United States Ammunition Shortage. Chief Executive Officer Ted Torbeck was quoted in the Chambersburg Public
Opinion newspaper on 2009-11-30 from Remington's most recent quarterly earnings conference call as saying "Since the U.S. presidential election, demand for (ammunition) has risen amidst
concerns that the new administration will further restrict the use or purchase of firearms and ammunition and levy additional taxes on these products. Since that time we have responded by
ramping up production, providing for additional employee overtime, establishing additional production shifts, and expanding our supply chain, none of which has required significant
capital."
In October 2009, Remington Military products acquired suppressor manufacturer Advanced Armament Corporation.
The Exhibit number is 147.
