Flash has asked That I pass along this bit of an interim report with "teaser" at the end. Looks like some interesting reading by weekend's end.
This and the Velo Rendezvous! My cup runneth over.......
See below.
Tom Rawson
Oakland, CA
>
>" The web page at
>
> http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/
>
> has occasioned an enquiry into the historical relations between
these
> two cycle frame manufacturers and the claim by Bob Jackson
Cycles (BJC)
> to have been the "exclusive" manufacturer of Hetchins frames in
the
> period from 1977 to 1992. My initial response to this claim was
to
> assume that "exclusive" is to be understood in the sense that,
in so far
> as Alf Hetchin subcontracted frame building (for example, to
relieve
> Jack Denny of large numbers of orders), BJC was the only firm
to have
> received such orders. However, after numerous emails between
myself and
> several sources in the UK, I have come to the conclusion that
this is
> not the correct interpretation of BJC's claim.
>
> There are several issues to be addressed. These include the
following
> (others may arise in the course of the continuing enquiry):
>
> 1) Whether Jack Denny made all Hetchins frames. This can be
definitively
> denied, without regard to any claims made by BJC.
> 2) Whether, as BJC claim, Hetchins frames were made by BJC as
early as
> 1977--that is, before Alf sold the firm and it was de facto
consolidated
> with BJC--, and, if so, how many and whether they can be
identified as
> such (e.g., by frame numbers).
> 3) If claim 2 is verified, namely that BJC did in fact make
some
> Hetchins frames while the companies were under separate
ownership,
> whether any general degradation in quality has been noted. If
not,
> whether BJC-made (or allegedly-so-made) frames have unjustly
suffered a
> diminution in reputation in comparison with frames made by Jack
Denny or
> any of the other frame builders employed by Hetchin (Harry or
Alf).
> 4) The legal status of 'proprietary' lugs, curly stays, logos,
the
> Hetchins name, etc.
>
> I have received over a dozen emails in the last few days from
my sources
> in the UK. They make disjointed reading at present, so I will
be
> presenting them in an edited and compiled form. Some of the
information
> has been given me in confidence, and so an unabridged version
of the
> correspondence in this matter is not forthcoming. I will also
present
> what facts I have been able to establish so far, along with
some
> considered opinions on this matter, very soon (I hope in time
for the
> weekend, 5 Oct). There are some surprises in store. Once the
puzzle
> pieces are on the table, I would welcome comments from Hetchins
> enthusiasts and collectors, as well as from collectors of
vintage cycles
> of all marques; we can then try to fit the pieces together and
see what
> it all means.
>
> end of file"