In a message dated 11/19/00 10:57:36 PM Eastern Standard Time,
OROBOYZ@aol.com writes:
> That be a Hobbs of Barbican model......(Not French at all, but veddy veddy
> British!)
> http://www.cyclesdeoro.com/
> There was a pretty nice example, full chromed, for sale on Ebay a year
plus
> ago by a Mr. Scott, I believe, in the Midwest.. Do others recall that
> gentleman who occasionally has early stuff for sale?
>
> Also I think the name has a significance that I do not know. Can one of
our
> British members expound upon that for us?
This is a stretch, but my first thought upon hearing "Blue Riband" is the award that was given to ocean liners for fastest transatlantic crossing. Held by the Queen Mary until 1952 when the SS United States won the award. Ocean liner size and speed were a big deal in the era before jets stole the transatlantic crossing business. So..... If the bike is English, and possibly older than you think, maybe that was the tie-in. A Blue Riband bike would suggest a bike capable of carrying it's rider along in speed and comfort. Sounds plausible @ 5 in the morning. Anyway, didn't someone (Raleigh?) name a bike after a missile? Makes the ship tie in sound much more reasonable.
BTW: There is, of course a website (for those nautically inclined):
http://www.blueriband.com/
Pete Geurds (who lived 2 blocks from New York harbor when he was a wee lad) Douglassville, Pa