- 1890's dual-chambered whistle Bicycle High Wheeler Road Clearer Overman Pennyfarthng this one is dated 1885
- dual-chambered whistle was designed to produce two distinct tones simultaneously, creating a loud "siren" effect to warn pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages.
- History: In the late 19th century, bicycles (particularly "High Wheelers") were nearly silent due to new inflatable rubber tires. This made them dangerous to pedestrians, leading manufacturers to produce loud "Road-Clearers" like this one.
- Patent Information: The markings visible on your item ("PAT'D SEPT 22 1885") refer to an 1885 patent for whistle improvements, often associated with inventors like A.L. Fischer and assigned to companies like the Overman Wheel Co..
- Materials: These were typically made of nickel-plated brass.
- Attachment: The long chain and hook were used to attach the whistle to a cyclist's jacket lapel or uniform for hands-free or quick-access use. f
These whistles were highly popular during the "Golden Age of Cycling" (1870–1910) and are now sought-after collectibles for vintage bicycle enthusiasts
found this article about whistles online
WHISTORY –Cycling whistles have long deserved a comprehensive article. Indeed, there are spotty bits of information scattered on the internet if one searches with diligence. There is even less in literature. Especially weak is documentation. Whistles posted without documentation merely point to the one who posts them. Our efforts are to highlight the whistles only and to do research that provides a sound basis to build on.
We find cycling whistles are what has been referred to by some as a ‘crossover’ collectable; consequently they are able to demand some very high prices, as bicycle collectors tend to spend more money than the average whistle collector. Not always the case, but it is not unusual for an 1885 – 1895 UK or USA cycling escargot to reach around 500 dollars and beyond, they come up rarely. Others such as manufactured by La manufacture Francaise d’armes et cycles that are not so well known can be reached for far less cost, at least for the present. Perhaps due to scarcity and being somewhat vague as to what constitutes a ‘cycling’ whistle so little is found.
This being the case, since information has been obscure or at least not collated, here is we will classify and record specifically metal cycling whistles ( and sirens ) along with a coordinated timeline of cycling itself to parallel up to. It is good to keep in mind that with whistles such as police, military, fire brigades and the like, any whistle cycling or not, can be used by a ‘cyclist’ and then called a ‘cycling’ whistle by that person. Here we will make every effort to restrict our studies of cycling whistles to a specifically marketed group — by using manufacturing companies, advertising, known stamps, as well as catalog listings. Sometimes the lines were blurred with the aggressive sales efforts in the past by ‘remarketing’ what was a different category whistle, to try to pick up sales from another market, in this case cycling.
One example for instance, is the BGI model 601 bullet whistle, initially for the hunting market and then ‘remarketed’ much later for cycling in an advertisement. It did not in any way fit the profile of a cycling whistle. We will try to stay with the original purposes of each whistle and siren. The first thing to establish is a ‘golden age’ of cycling to work within. Hopefully we can then parallel up whistle manufacturing into this time period, aimed at the cycling period.
This has been a huge undertaking and consumed years to gather. Please feel free to write us and include anything we may have missed and we will edit accordingly. Pictures are especially welcomed. We have included a few pictures without credit as they were captured from the internet years ago. Please contact us for permission and credit as we highly respect copyrights and will not claim that right of the original owner of these pictures. The descriptions and classifications were important enough to see the need to make this effort.
The most common countries of earliest bicycle history we found were Germany, Scotland, France, UK and the USA. Asian records are not available for inclusion, but we hope one day they will be.
WHISTLE ARCHEOLOGY:
important milestones…
1534 earliest design — Leonardo Da Vinci’s time period
1818 Dandy horse, Karl Von Drais ( no pedals) — Laufsmachine (velocipede – lit. running machine )
1860s The term bicycle coined in France
1863 rotary cranks
1868 Invention ‘spoked wheels’ and the high wheel design by Eugene Meyer ( France )
1871 James Starley UK – father of British cycling industry and Safety bike
Names:
Bone shakers
Ordinary
High wheeler
Penny farthing — front wheel the penny, rear wheel the farthing ( smaller )
High wheel bicycle
Velocipede
more than welcome to pick up at shop in butler pa & save shipping.
051526