Okay, I goofed!
A knowledgeable expert was kind enough to inform me OFFLIST so as to not publicly flog me, that indeed Charles Holland's bike is a Moorson, not a Brixton Paramount. I'm told that the wrap around tubes on the head lugs are typical of some---not all---Moorson models. And if you look closely at the handlebars, they are of the adjustable type as seen on Peter Brown's machine. And on closer examination the top tube splits earlier than I had thought. While Holland's machine does not appear to have the bottom bracket reinforcing strut, again, this feature did not appear on all Moorson iterations. And the head tube transfer on Holland's machine matches those on other Moorson machines.
So at least now Johnny has an answer, which I guess is what it's all about.
With egg on my face, the yoke's on me! :-)
Peter Jourdain
Whitewater, Wisconsin USA
http://www.bicyclingbackwards.com
"For here is entertainment in excelsis, the sight, the sound and the scent of things....Why cycling for joy is not the most popular passtime on earth is still a mystery to me." ---Frank J. Urry, "SALUTE TO CYCLING"
From: Peter Jourdain <pjourdain@yahoo.com> Subject: [CR] Twin tube frame --- Brixton Paramount? To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Cc: peterg.brown@ntlworld.com, crumpy6204@aol.com Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 5:58 PM
Greetings----
Johnny Crump kindly forwarded to me the image of the British racer Charles Holland and his twin-tube machine, and, based on the looks of it, it is most definitely NOT a Moorson. Without benefit of the Holland photo I thought Holland's frame might be a Moorson. But a Moorson has twin down and top tubes which run the entire length of the tubes, and Holland's frame most definitely does not, at least not to the extent of a Moorson.
The other possibility I had raised was a Brixton Paramount, also an innovative British frame with twin down tubes. And, after some digging, I was able to find the photos of the white Paramount to which I had earlier alluded. The images are from two separate ebay auctions for the same machine, both of which took place a few years ago.
http://s840.photobucket.com/
The Brixton Paramount is a much closer match to Charles Holland's machine than is the Moorson, but, for the following reasons, I still think we've not hit it:
1) The head tube transfer on Holland's machine seems different than that on the Brixton Paramount. It seems as if Holland's machine has a kind of Maltese or St. George's cross, or possibly a bird with wings extended----I just can't tell.
2) The top and down tubes of Holland's mount have very interesting wraps around the head tube, also not present on the Brixton Paramount.
3) While at a quick glance it seems as if Holland's top tube is one piece, if you follow it all the way to the seat cluster you will see that at the last possible point of intersection it splits into two tubes. This is not the case with the top tube on the Brixton Paramount---it stays as one unit throughout.
While it is possible that Holland's machine could be a Brixton Paramount, it would certainly have to be a different model or a variation of the model from another year.
Well, I'm all out of guesses on this one. Anyone else have any ideas?
By the way, Crumpy is modest about such things, but he got to ride with Charles Holland and his brothers back in the late '40s.
And here for further review is the Moorson which I had earlier pointed out:
http://www.theracingbicycle.com/
Cheerio,
Peter Jourdain Whitewater, Wisconsin USA
http://www.bicyclingbackwards.com
"For here is entertainment in excelsis, the sight, the sound and the scent of things....Why cycling for joy is not the most popular passtime on earth is still a mystery to me." ---Frank J. Urry, "SALUTE TO CYCLING"