Raoul, #1) First of all I'd contact the Smithsonian before you start to mess with it. You might learn some neat tricks and save some possible to the bike. They have a pretty good collection of bikes.
#2) You can't write a description like that and then leave us hanging without pics. That's torture.
Craig in Tucson
> Message: 5
> From: "Raoul Delmare" <R.Delmare@Charter.net>
> To: <tgtav8tor@cs.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Subject: Re: [CR]Introduction
> Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2002 14:50:14 -0500
>
> Tom ,
>
> Good for you .
>
> Wish I had that kind of family connection with a fine old hand-crafted
> piece of History .
>
> I have a bicycle which I inherited from my grandfather .
>
> I remembered it from being in his "car barn" with his Model T's , and
> his Hupmobile .
>
> The family always said it was mine ( me being a bicycle nut ) . Took me
> forever to work out actually laying hands on it . Got it maybe three years
> ago .
>
> Disappointment number 1 , it's not from my grandfather's youth . Turns
> out it was just something he picked up on one of his searches for antiques .
> Probably bought it , or swapped for it , about 1950 or so , maybe
> pre-WWII , probably post-WWII .
>
> Disappointment number 2 , the wooden rims are cracked just past the point
> of any easy repair .
>
> Disappointment number 3 , the fairly unique , possibly totally unique ,
> rear hub axle nuts are missing . These will NOT be easy to replace .
>
> The good parts , the date has been confirmed , by more than just looking
> at the last patent date listed . This is an 1893 Sterling "Built Like A
> Watch" .
>
> Unique hub flanges ( I'll call them "wavy" ) mean that the spokes are
> "straight pull" , no bends at the heads .
>
> The spokes are also tied and soldered .
>
> The chain pre-dates inch-pitch roller chain . It's actually the original
> block chain .
>
> The lever-linkage-and-rod-actuated , "spoon" brake , for the front tire
> , is a marvel to see . And the way the nickel-plated lever mounts so
> elegantly onto the hand-steamed-and-bent , hickory-wood handlebar . . . !
>
> The saddle totally split its seams , many decades ago . The good news is
> that some kind person carefully sewed it back together . Crudely , very
> crudely . But , the original manufacturer's logos are still there , and
> can be duplicated easily .
>
>
> Here is where all of this applies to THIS forum .
>
>
> I just can't "restore" it .
>
> The original 1893 paint features the original 1893 hand pin-striping .
>
> The hand tying and soldering of the spokes is beautiful to admire , just
> exactly as it was in 1893 .
>
> The U.S. Royal "Chain Tread" , single-tube type tires , are in great
> condition . I'd bet money that they are not original . But , I'd also bet
> money that they are not newer than 1930 . My guess would be either 1915 or
> 1920 , just before or after the Great War .
>
> A thing is only original once .
>
> My dream of making this bicycle all pretty and shiny and new-looking , so
> that I can ride it around a little and play "show-off" . . .
>
> Has been replaced by a deep sense of responsibility for the lasting legacy
> of History which has been entrusted into my temporary care .
>
> Now , my plans have changed .
>
> I'll find some other old wood rimmed bicycle to ride . I'll find one that
> has already been modified , or assembled out of mismatched parts , or has
> already been "restored" .
>
> This very close to completely original , 1893 Sterling , will remain as
> close to original as it is today .
>
> A thing , any thing , is original , only but once .
>
> I want to clean it as carefully and gently as possible .
>
> I'd like to apply a preservative to the paint . But it would have to be
> done without any rubbing . Any polishing at all would instantly destroy the
> pin-striping and hand-lettering .
>
> The leather will get some oil , but I want to know what will be best for
> 109 year-old leather , which has dried to a crackly crunch . And , I want
> to know what will endure best , for the next 100 years or so . I could
> take the saddle off , and soak it in the best neat's foot oil . I could
> heat a couple of tins of Brooks Proofide , and pour the liquid over the
> leather . I could soak it in warm beeswax . The goal is preservation .
>
> I want to do something about the rear axle nuts .
>
> It has one original cork hand-grip , I want to find , or have made , a
> matching one . If I use a new one , I figure I can leave it out in the dir
> ect sunshine for a Summer , then let it soak up something oily , perhaps
> some "extra-virgin" olive oil would not be too bad . It should end up
> looking like a reasonable match .
>
> Did I mention that the border on the surviving original cork grip ,
> color-coordinates with the paint on the frame , and the paint on the wooden
> rims ?
>
> This was someone's true pride and joy , if not the craftsmen who
> constructed it , then certainly the original owner or two .
>
> That hand-laid , incredibly ornate , amazingly complex , pin-striping ?
> It's all done in silver . We all know that silver is the most delicate
> color . We've all seen what happens when silver paint dies . But , I
> don't mean that these pinstripes are each a thick but narrow line of paint .
> I mean this is like you might leave from the nib of a fountain pen filled
> with silver ink . You have to look closely to see it . When you do you
> spend more and more time following it around , as it travels the curves of
> the tubes , and the nickel plated front fork .
>
> It is astounding that such a thin coating of delicate silver pin-striping
> somehow survives after 109 years . And on the down tube , the name was
> lettered on by hand , using the same mysterious , almost ghostly ,
> coloring .
>
> Sterling , Built Like A Watch .
>
>
>
>
> Raoul (the-curator-of-his-own-mind) Delmare
> Marysville (where-birds-fly-over-the-rainbow) Kansas