From the Evening Record – April, 1893:
An interesting old ad for bicycles…
Only $165.00 with new Dunlop Pneumatic tires!
The 1924 City Directory lists Bowlby & Gluns, Ltd. A.D. Bowlby, pres. as selling “Bicycles, sewing machines, phonographs, electric washing machines and vacuum cleaners” at 53 Pitt St. West.
The Bowlby house still stands at the corner of Elliott & Victoria. The house was built in 1896, and purchased by Andrew D. Bowlby in 1912. It remained in the Bowlby family until the last of Andrew’s daughters passed away in 1988.
I have always loved that house. Seems like th only one with that kind of architecture too….but i might be wrong.
Thaks for the info Andrew. $175 seems a little steep for 1893! What’s that, like a year salary??
Only 35lbs! I like the look of those old bikes. I wonder if they were a fixed gear cycle?
The Bowlby house from what I understand has had structural issues in the past. I am not sure if they have been fixed or not. But it is a nice house.
I love this house and have always wondered about its history. It is kept very nice and tidy by the current owners. Wonderful that it was kept in one family for so long.
The statsCAN infaltion calculator which only goes back as far as 1914 stare $165.00 in 1914 was equivalent to 3195.50 in 2010 Dollars.
Who knew? As a commuter and recreational cyclist in Windsor I find this 100% fascinating!
Sign me up for the “King of Scorchers”!
I too would like a “scorching” fast velocipede