Hi Manic! This list of yours are very interesting and also mysterious… I have checked all the brands that I did not hear of before and also the “generic” ones. I have searched this forum for the brands and came up with some threads.
Generally, I think that regarding the “anonymous” or “small” brands, they where not made by local dealers or workshop who share the same name, because if they did, they would not be anonymous. The small shops often stated the makers name and village/town.
Many name like Scout, Ideal, Snabb etc were brand used by different makers and shops all over the country with no connection to each other. They just took a name that sounded positive, meaning thing like “fast” “record” or “safe”. Often there were geographic, mythologic or astronomic names.
The large factorys often had brands named similar to the small ones, most certainly unintended, but with no record of the maker. The reason could be many, like if they made a low-priced bike with lower quality, you did not want to soil the factory or the other brand names down. Another reason would be that dealers often where authorized and the only in a small town or village that could sell that particular brand. In order to deliver to other retailers in the same village, they just named the bike something else.
Ver often, this anonymous brands had no ornaments, simpler pinstriping, standard chainwheel, no-name chainguard and so on.
All the big makers like Husqvarna, Nymans, Monark, Rex etc had anonymous brand without stating the maker, or in some cases as seen with the “scout” brand they actually stated the maker, or sometimes “svenskt fabrikat”, “svensk tillverkning” meaning swedish brand and “made in Sweden”
The brand “skandia” is interesting since it says “Made in Sweden” This means that it was intended for export from the beginning, or in would certainly said “svenskt fabrikat”, “svensk tillverkning” in Swedish, not English.
The shape and design of the brands nameplate Skandia, Scout and Wiking is typical of a lowpriced bike, this plates were probably made by a factory making nameplates, pins, medallions etc called Sporrong. They still exist, they there founded in 1666!
Sometimes this name plates where bought in Germany, or by other makers.
Based on the name plates similar design, the look of the lampholder and chainwheel, i say that all of these 3 brands where probably made by Monark in Varberg.
Here´s comments about the brands that you listed, this is only from my knowledge and findings, i will check with name plate collectors that i know if they have any clue who made them.
APOLLO: advertised in 1937-1939. Apollo was a well known brand, not so very old though, were founded 1934, the made bicycles, moped and motorcycles. Where bought by Nymans in 1956.
ATLANTIC (?): 1939. Never heard of, there is one brand named atlantic made by Velociped- & Mek. Verkstaden Hansa. Stockholm, but I doubt that this is the same.
CAMPING (?): 1937-1938. I have seen one long time ago, and also a a broschure, not stating the maker, sadly..
CRESCENT: 1926, 1938-1939
HERMES: 1928-1933, 1938-1940.
HUSQVARNA: 1922-1940
MONARK (incl. Monark, Monark-Cyklon, Monark-Scout & Scout, Monark-Sport): 1938-1939
NORDSTJERNAN: 1931, 1937-1939
All of the above is well-known, old factorys of bikes. Monark was the youngest of them, the name Monark was first used in about 1917.
PILEN-GÖTEBORG (?): 1937. Can not find anything about Pilen, Göteborg, pilen means ”arrow” and were commonly used as a brand name among both small loclal makers and larger ones.
POLSTJERNAN: 1931. Another brand from Wiklunds, the maker of Nordstjernan. Meaning North star and Pole star.
SKANDIA: 1930, 1938-1939. Se earlier comment about this brand.
SVECIA: 1939. No clear indication who made this, there were several small and large Svecia.
ZENITH: 1939. No record found of this brand other than local makers, who probably didn´t make this one.
VEGA: 1938-1940: Well known maker from Linköping
VESTA: 1931. Another brand from Wiklunds, the maker of Nordstjernan. This brandname were only used on ladies bikes.
WIKING: 1938-1939. Se earlier comment about this brand.
WIKLUNDS: 1932-1938. Not a brand, but a factory.
The Drott and the Idrott brands ar not the same, the Drott was a well established originally low priced bike by Lindblads. Drott is an older word meaning "king". Idrott means "sports" or "gymnastics"
