09-03-2012, 13:32 PM
Kass, the frame no 1089xxx suggest a bike made in 1938 and/or as a 1938 model. Regarding the colour, the standard colour was black and due to tradition and the fact that the colours often faded and was hard to repair if damaged, made black the dominating colour throughout the 30´s. If you see 10 standard bikes from the 30´s, my gut feeling tells me that 7-8 of them are black. When it comes to racing bikes and training racers etc, they are NEVER black!
Crescent had their own colour for racing bikes, orange, and Hermes where red, but you could get them in other colours, but NOT black!
I have only seen one single blue Crescent, and that is the one I own myself, a 1938 model. Red are more common, and I have seen a couple of green ones.
Valdo, your green Hermes is stunning and very beautiful! There´s no record which year Hermes first offered metallic colours, but in the 1937 catalogue Crescent offered so called polychromatic colours, you could get them in blue and green. The blue colour are probably the same as my blue Crescent, although ages takes the edge of the metallic luster.
I strongly suspect that Hermes also came with polychromatic or metallic colours this year.
I heard once that the car maker Hudson where the first vehicle maker with metallic colours, they used fish scales to make the bright look!
One funny thing regarding your Hermes is that the pinstriping on the rims and mudguards don´t look like they normally do on a Hermes. The pinstriping on a Hermes consist of a gold line with a red line in the center, (on black bikes) one at each side of the rim or mudguard. Yours have a space between the black lines and the goldlines. On Crescent there would be only be gold lines, one thinner and one broader, one at each side. Interesting! But I do have seen this before, I don’t know why it´s not the same on all bikes.
I guess that the white field in the back mudguards been repainted, since the use to pinstripe over the white part at the factory.
When it comes tor rims, the type used on Swedish bicycles are known as Westwood rims. They where used already in turn-of the century bikes, i have a Husqvarna from 1902 with these rims. “Vulst” or beaded-edge tires where not popular or common. After the late 10´s or early 20´s I have never seen, nor heard of vulst tires on Swedish bikes, not even mentioned in catalogues.
Chrome plated mudguards never occurred on 30´s bikes in Sweden as far as I know. However, on some sporty types of bikes, sometimes chrome plated “flat” rims occurred, often with a broad pinstriping in the center of the rims in the same colour as the bike.
Stainless steel rims and mudguard appeared on later 30´s Hermes and on some special Crescent model, but I have never seen on in real life, only a picture of a 30´s Hermes in light green with a special frame and stainless rims.
Have anyone of you heard or seen a bicycle also made by Nymans, a brand belonging to the Lindblads company selling Crescent, it´s called Drott?
I have a 1938 ladies tourist racer, with a beutiful front mudguard mascot in the shape of a knight on a horse. Wondering if this bike where ever sold in Estonia?
Crescent had their own colour for racing bikes, orange, and Hermes where red, but you could get them in other colours, but NOT black!
I have only seen one single blue Crescent, and that is the one I own myself, a 1938 model. Red are more common, and I have seen a couple of green ones.
Valdo, your green Hermes is stunning and very beautiful! There´s no record which year Hermes first offered metallic colours, but in the 1937 catalogue Crescent offered so called polychromatic colours, you could get them in blue and green. The blue colour are probably the same as my blue Crescent, although ages takes the edge of the metallic luster.
I strongly suspect that Hermes also came with polychromatic or metallic colours this year.
I heard once that the car maker Hudson where the first vehicle maker with metallic colours, they used fish scales to make the bright look!
One funny thing regarding your Hermes is that the pinstriping on the rims and mudguards don´t look like they normally do on a Hermes. The pinstriping on a Hermes consist of a gold line with a red line in the center, (on black bikes) one at each side of the rim or mudguard. Yours have a space between the black lines and the goldlines. On Crescent there would be only be gold lines, one thinner and one broader, one at each side. Interesting! But I do have seen this before, I don’t know why it´s not the same on all bikes.
I guess that the white field in the back mudguards been repainted, since the use to pinstripe over the white part at the factory.
When it comes tor rims, the type used on Swedish bicycles are known as Westwood rims. They where used already in turn-of the century bikes, i have a Husqvarna from 1902 with these rims. “Vulst” or beaded-edge tires where not popular or common. After the late 10´s or early 20´s I have never seen, nor heard of vulst tires on Swedish bikes, not even mentioned in catalogues.
Chrome plated mudguards never occurred on 30´s bikes in Sweden as far as I know. However, on some sporty types of bikes, sometimes chrome plated “flat” rims occurred, often with a broad pinstriping in the center of the rims in the same colour as the bike.
Stainless steel rims and mudguard appeared on later 30´s Hermes and on some special Crescent model, but I have never seen on in real life, only a picture of a 30´s Hermes in light green with a special frame and stainless rims.
Have anyone of you heard or seen a bicycle also made by Nymans, a brand belonging to the Lindblads company selling Crescent, it´s called Drott?
I have a 1938 ladies tourist racer, with a beutiful front mudguard mascot in the shape of a knight on a horse. Wondering if this bike where ever sold in Estonia?