Arnold, Schwinn & Company: The Beginning
I have found some vintage trade magazines that have news about Arnold, Schwinn & Co from 1895.
The USA bicycle manufacturing business in the 1890s was a crowded space. There were many manufacturing companies in Chicago.
Ignacz Schwinn worked for International Manufacturing Co. He meets Adolf Arnold and together they plan a bicycle manufacturing company.
Two trade magazines, The Wheel and The Referee, each report on the new Arnold Schwinn firm. First is the Referee article.
In the news story there is an image of the building on Peoria and Lake streets where Arnold Schwinn and Company first manufactured bicycles.
Notice that E.C. Bode is not in The Wheel article of October 18.
So these news stories are October 17 and 18, 1895 . The Commemorative Founding of Schwinn document shown in an earlier post gives the founding date as October 22, 1895.
Bicycle Promotion, Sales and Production
The company is formed but they have no marquee name for their product or what types of bicycles will be produced. E.C.Bode goes and sells bicycles anyway.
By the end of November 1895 a marquee name has been selected: The World. No story on who won the $100 in gold for the name.
An advertisement with The World marquee name. Note the bottom of the ad that there is a Pacific Coast Depot. E.C. Bode must have been doing something right.
Here are the announcements of the basic models of The World from Arnold, Schwinn & Co.
In approximately 5 months and some weeks the new company has manufactured 3,000 bicycles. It appears that Ignacz Schwinn was not fooling around, he was serious about manufacturing. And the promise of more bicycles to come in 1897.
Note at the bottom of the advertisement the increase in distribution. Also notice The World logo on the boarder of the ad. All this in less than nine months. I wonder if Arnold, Schwinn & Co. are going to be a success?
Arnold, Schwinn & Co. also hired racers and sponsored them in competitions. Setting speed records with your bicycle marquee was a big thing. The company also built a quint bicycle for team speed records.