The Springfield Wheelmen's Gazette, Vol 2, No 11
Articles in this issue
- Editorial note celebrating this issue as the largest cycling paper ever published in the United States, mailed to nearly 17,000 wheelmen; credits a record single advertisement from Stoddard, Lovering & Co. (17 pages) as making it possible.
- Technical article prompted by the spread of stopwatch times recorded when John S. Prince rode his famous 2.39 mile at Springfield in fall 1884; explains the 18,000-vibration-per-hour mechanism and sources of variation between judges' watches.
- Editorial on the long-running League of American Wheelmen debate over whether its official organ should be a weekly newspaper or a monthly, arguing the Gazette is better off independent and pointing to the present bumper issue as a model for what a monthly organ can achieve.
- London correspondent "Waverley" reports on the Stanley Bicycle Club show (Thames Embankment marquee) and the Speedwell Club exhibition at Bingley Hall, Birmingham; covers new safety bicycles (Rudge, Rover, Devon, Sterling), new tricycle designs, the Rucker convertible tandem, Crypto Dynamic gear, and L. A. W.–NCU politics.
- Full biographical sketch of champion professional bicyclist John Shillington Prince by correspondent "Spokes"; born at Langley Green, Birmingham, in 1858, covers his cricket years, bicycle racing from 1878, victories over Keen, Cooper, Rollinson, and the Harrison brothers, his training of George M. Hendee and Asa Dolph, and his record 2.39 mile at Springfield.
- Narrative by "B. I. Cycle" of the Macon Bicycle Club's attempted ride to Fort Valley, Georgia; six riders (Horton, Polhill, Flynn, Guernsey, Gamble, Winberg) battle deep sand roads, railroad ties, Sunday store closures, and an eventful chicken dinner before giving up at Byron — 17 miles in 5 hours.
- Reprinted from the Sun and Banner, this report describes Septimus W. Jones of Williamsport, Pa., whose lever-propelled buggy weighing 200 lb runs at 6–7 mph with little effort and which he claims will replace both horses and bicycles on the road.
- Editorial reprinted from the Fort Wayne World attacking three absurd Indiana Legislature bills including one to ban bicycles from public highways; argues Supreme Court precedent on road rights and the expected veto by Governor Gray would defeat it.
- Comprehensive multi-page table of amateur and professional bicycle and tricycle records — American, English, Canadian, and Australian — for distances from quarter-mile to 100 miles, with road and 24-hour records, bicycle-versus-horse comparisons, and miscellaneous speed data.
- Essay by Emily Smith (reprinted from Cycling Times) advocating women's tricycling, recounting English ladies' club runs and defending the activity against social censure; followed by a short piece from Outing on wheeling as an incentive to nature study, and a note about Belva Lockwood's tricycle being removed from the White House lawn.
- Karl Kron (University Building, New York) lists all 584 towns worldwide — from Maine to New Zealand — that have subscribed to his road-book "Ten Thousand Miles on a Bicycle," totaling 2,384 subscriptions as of January 31, 1885.
- Lengthy first-person account signed "C." by an American agent for Stoddard, Lovering & Co. (Rudge importers) who visited England in October 1884; tours Rudge & Co.'s 700-man Coventry works, meets Walter Phillips and George Woodcock, visits Humber in Nottingham, rides to Ripley with John Keen, and meets leading figures including Howell, Wood, Hillier, and Gaskell.
- Reader letters: F. W. Gibson clarifying his San Francisco club affiliation; a Henderson, Ky., booster; H. D. Brown of Weedsport Bicycle Club expelling former secretary Charles Townsend; "Bay City" describing a run from San Francisco to San Jose; "Machine" from Winnipeg reporting a 300-mile Manitoba tour and club elections; an Ex-Englishman advising how to run successful bicycle sports meetings.
- Letter from Thomas Stevens explaining why his bicycle circumnavigation stalled (a New York backer reneged after he crossed the continent), describing his planned route through Persia and Central Asia, and inviting financial backing to resume; notes his cross-continent narrative will begin in Outing starting April.
- Correspondent "Spokes" reports on the professional cyclists' tour from New Orleans to Galveston, San Antonio, and Austin; covers races at the San Antonio driving park (Mlle. Armaindo and W. J. Morgan vs. horses), an encounter with a Scottish ex-captain turned cowboy named Galbraith, and a cowboy who beat John S. Prince in a $5 bicycle-riding bet.
- Illustrated article reprinted from the New York Clipper about L. D. Copeland of Phoenix, Arizona, whose 18-lb steam engine attachment converts a Star bicycle into a steam-powered vehicle averaging 5 minutes per mile, running on benzine at 90 lbs steam pressure; demonstrated at Mechanics' Pavilion, San Francisco.
- First comprehensive directory of bicycle clubs in the United States, arranged chronologically from the Boston Bicycle Club (founded February 11, 1878) through early 1885, listing city, state, founding date, membership count, and secretary name for approximately 130 clubs.
- Club social news: Boston Bicycle Club's 8th anniversary dinner at Parker's with 125 members; Baltimore Cycle Club house-warming with orchestra; New York Bicycle Club annual meeting; Newton Bicycle Club third annual entertainment at Eliot Hall; Cambridge Bicycle Club minstrel entertainment netting $300; Massachusetts Club approaching 300 members; Northampton Club first annual ball.
- Officer election results for Albany, Buckeye (Columbus), Cohoes, Coldwater (Mich.), Greenfield, Long Island Wheelmen (Brooklyn), Lowell, Massachusetts Bicycle Club (Boston), Maverick Wheel Club (East Boston), New York Bicycle Club, Ramblers (Buffalo), Rome (N.Y.), Salem (N.J.), Stamford (Ct.), Toronto, and Westfield bicycle clubs.
- Miscellaneous short items: Crescent Bicycle Club dissolved; one-legged rider in Salem, Oregon; Memphis ladies tricycling; Karl Kron on President Cleveland; H. W. Gaskell coming to Boston; racing board selects Springfield for the 10-mile championship; Pope Mfg. opens Chicago branch; death of Chittenden Rogers in a Binghamton polo accident; cycling in Russia.
- Ohio cycling notes from correspondent "Willhelm": Cleveland winter social gatherings; encouraging dealer prospects for the spring trade; agitation for a Cincinnati track; H. W. Longley's winter night rides; and a call for Cincinnati-area wheelmen to form a local association including Covington.
- Stamford Wheel Club news: Captain Hurlbutt's fancy riding at the rink; Lieutenant C. W. Hendrie's marriage to Miss Lucy Clement Dean; the Solitary Club's winter riding record; J. B. Hendrie's road improvements near Sound Beach.
- Bay City Wheelmen news: F. R. Cook orders a Rudge Roadster; five Rudge orders placed by the club; a bicycle hop; Wilmott fancy-rider exhibitions at the rink; the park commissioner's bicycle ban reversed; annual club election results.
- Chicago cycling notes from correspondent "Sixty": the Hammil–Van Sicklen race still undecided; Canary–Livesy–Gilmore professional exhibition; Spalding bicycle enthusiasm; Le Grand Rink carnival; the seven-lap track destroyed for the Opera Festival; plans for a new four-lap clay track; amateurism controversy over roller polo.
- Hartford correspondent urges L. A. W. members to prepare carefully for the July annual meeting and warns against apathy; argues the League needs a weekly newspaper as its official organ and calls for reform of the amateur definition; also announces plans for a second Hartford tournament in September.
- List of patents granted for wheelman-related devices from January 6 to February 17, 1885, compiled from U.S. Patent Office records by patent attorney Shipley Brashears of Washington, D.C.; covers velocipedes, tricycles, tires, bearings, bells, saddles, and related mechanical devices.
- Trade reviews of the season's new bicycle and tricycle models: the Spalding Light Roadster with its novel direct-tangent spoke design; the new Columbia machines from Pope Manufacturing; the Stoddard Lovering & Co. Rudge light double-driving tricycle; Wright & Ditson's expanded uniform department; and Gormully & Jeffery's American Challenge and American Safety bicycles.
- Humorous press digest reprinting brief items from cycling papers: a jab at Wheeling magazine's scissors editor; Karl Kron's hen-egg joke about orders for "Ten Thousand Miles on a Bicycle"; praise for the Gazette from Wheel Life; notice of Springfield Bicycle Club's three-day September tournament; and a cautionary anecdote about a depot employee who borrowed a wheelman's bicycle and damaged it.