I recently acquired a very early Hetchins that is atleast one of the three earliest surviving and possibly the oldest, but this is only speculation as the serial number is the lowest known to date . Prior to this, the earliest known Hetchins had a serial number # 336, which was sold in April of 1935. I had been contacted a number of weeks ago by a seller in the U.K. that he had a very early Hetchins, and he wanted to know my interest, so I asked for jpgs and a serial number. Once I reviewed the pictures, I called and wrote both Len Ingram and Flash about H297 (model is unknown). We went around in circles trying to figure out what H297 was. My immediate thought was that it was the oldest surviving, but serial numbers prior to August 1935 are not decipherable, as explained by both Len Ingram and Flash.
(For brief explanation, Len Ingram is the current Veteran Cycling Club member in the U.K. responsible for Hetchins, and Flash is the Webmaster of http://www.hetchins.org. Len currently is the keeper of hetchins sales records ans a register or log of surviving Hetchins)
In August of 1935 Hetchins went to a clearly understandable four digit numbering system which gives year, month and number within that month of production. Prior to that Hetchins used the three digit system which was not thought to be sequential, and we're not sure how to read the numbers system. In 1935 Hetchins only produced a bit over one hundred frames. Understanding that H297 had a clear three digit serial number on both the steering tube and right rear dropout, I concluded that she was made prior to August 35, a period of which there are only two other surviving Hetchins.
Both Len and Flash had thoughts on the frame as it had a few oddities: a. The frames fork had much less fork rake than prior forks from Hetchins seen in catalogues and on what we see on early survivors from this era. b. The frame was refinished at some point hiding original details. c. The rear dropouts seemed odd. d. The serial number had a typical "H" in front of the three digit serial number, but the other two pre-August 35 Hetchins did not.
Both Flash, Len and I went around in circles over all these points for a number of days, but even with all this I was hooked and purchased the frame. Just the mystery of what this frame might be was enough !! Initially both Flash and Len were suspect of the frame, but in my usual stubborness, I vehemently disagreed and admittedly was incorrect on a few points, mainly my understanding of the three digit serial number. Subsequent to all this with the help of the seller who suggested the fork was manufactured by Russ, common in this period, and help from Ray Etherton as well, and with new pictures sent to both Len and Flash by the seller, they are now in agreement that the frame is authentic from prior to August of 35.
In reviewing the new pictures, and now knowing the fork might be a Russ, and also understanding that little is known of early Hetchins with only two other early survivors prior to August 1935, the fork now seems correct, just odd for early Hetchins. Since so few survive, it's possible that other early Hetchins might have used this fork in custom builds. Since initial discussions, Flash has found a number of Hetchins jpgs from this era of frames with similar rear dropouts. The frame number with the "H" is odd, but with only two others to go by, prior precdent is limited.
The refinish is the most intrigueing part for me. My 1939 Hetchins Trio has a number of transfers that have never been seen before on other Hetchins until recently, and a few that were thought to exist, but had not been verified with actual evidence on a frame. Most of these transfer also appear on H297 in its present state. Len and I are now in agreement that H297 was refinished, as the transfers on both frames were not seen in catalogue or on frames until 1938. An early postcard from a show in 1936 at the Horticultural Hall, London clearly shows about a dozen Hetchins, and none have the transfers (decals) that appear on both the 39 Trio and H297. So H297 was clearly refinished, most likely in the late 30s to early 40s. Of course this is speculation on my part as to date or period of refinish.
Early Hetchins have a transfer with a sort of block letter look for the name Hetchins for the seat tube and downtube "Hetchins name" transfer as shown on the postcard and very early 1935 scources. It was only a few years ago an original version of this transfer finally surfaced on a frame, which can be seen on http://www.Hetchins.org . The verticle seat tube transfer is the one as seen on the 36 Postcard.
As for plans for H297, I'd thought of keeping it original, but condition unfortunately warrents a total refinish, and period correct, or as close as possible to what is seen on the 1936 postcard. No copies of the down tube transfers exist, so based on the transfer on the Hetchins website from the 1936 frame, a down tube transfer will be produced. The head tube transfer from this period does currently exist in repro form. I'm planning on a full rechrome, and to enamel the main triangle and bottom bracket, but leaving all else in chrome including the head tube. As for luglining, early Hetchins are not known to have been lined, and the postcard of the Horticultural Show shows no boxlining in evidence either, so none is planned. Plans are to bring H297 and the Trio to Cirque in June if the restoration of H297 is complete.
Jpgs of H297 that were sent to me by the seller can be seen at my Wool Jersey Gallery courtesy of Morgan Fletcher. Morgan, again thank you for hosting the photos for me. Below is the URL to the jpgs:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
Peter Naiman
Glendale, WI