Fred,
That was my impression (based on what Grant Handley told me long ago, so no real source), but I believe Chuck Schmidt has some documents showing FB definitely being Italian...
A lot of possibilities... They might have been of Italian origin, but lived in France, until the war, then moved back to Italy. In France, the name seems to be inferred to mean "Frères Brivio," in Italy "Fratelli Brivio."
However, in an ad a couple of months later which I found after my first post, F.B. didn't mention the "French manufacture" any longer, so maybe that was more a publicity stunt than the truth?
Certainly many in France speak very highly of the hubs, so they must have been popular.
Jan Heine, Seattle
> > I am not saying that FB was a French company, but that
> > at least they tried to create that impression. It is
> > noteworthy that the ad only refers to F.B., never
> > to "Fratelli Brivio."
>Jan,
> This is wild conjecture but is it possible that the Brivio
>brothers were from an Italian family that immigrated to France?
> It might also explain why they went to such lengths to prove
>their "Frenchness". Such was the case with the famous
>automobile manufacturer, Ettore Bugatti, for example.
> Best regards,
> Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia
>
>
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