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Here is yet more evidence that Packard-branded bicycles were not given away at Packard dealers to "sweeten deals."

This newspaper advertisement is from 1937. You can see that the biycle is clearly being sold by a retailer and no mention of Packard automobiles or PMCC dealerships. And no mention of being given away.

Who made this one? Colson Corporation of Elyria, Ohio.

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Hi Leeedy,
That's an expensive bike for the time!! I remember buying my first bike some 30 years after that, a top-of-the-line CCM single speed and it was $24.99.
I'd take one of those AGFA Box Cameras down in the corner for a buck/nineteen though. Remember those? They took 120 film that came on a wooden spool, with a great big negative that you could just contact-print... the good old days! Chris.

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Well. All I can say is that I have almost all CCM catalogues, dealerbooks and price lists from the early 1900s through the 1960s. $24.99 for top-of-the-line in the late 1960s is wow if you could get it.

As for the Colson-built Packard bicycle in the newspaper ad, it is cheap-even for the depression era. As a comparison, my own 1936 CCM Flyte (which was THE top of the line with the exception of the special CCM Racer that year) was $47.50. Remember this was 1936. The 1937 model was slightly more.

The Colson-built Packard bicycle in the ad was very cheap at $25.97... and the model in the ad was not even the top of the line that year! By the way, the price of the top-of-line Racer version CCM for 1936 was a whopping $80.00! Presuming you got your bicycle in 1967, $24.99 was still very, very cheap compared to the factory price lists. I only have the CCM dealer's accessories books for 1967 and 1968 but they do have much higher prices indicated for the bicycles. So you got a fantastic deal!

Here is a page from the original CCM dealerbook for 1936 showing my streamlined Flyte model. Yes, I still have it-still rideable, but the special Troxel "Toolbox" saddle needs a re-do (the seat had a built-in streamlined tool compartment).

For those who don't know, CCM stood for "Canada Cycle & Motor Company. In more recent years they also made sports equipment. Oh... and yes, CCM did indeed make SOME Packard-branded bicycles! Yes, I have one of these too. Who else tells you this stuff and can actually back it up?

Oh.. and yes have my original camera somewhere along with a Kodak box camera (round circles were either wind knobs or little red plastic windows where you could see which film frame number you were on).

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Interesting stuff, Leeedy. I know it's a bit off 'Packard-topic' but this thread IS about 'Packard' bikes, and they're not REALLY 'Packard'-related, so hope it's okay if I get a little bit further 'off-topic'. Just as a tidbit sidebar, I mentioned that my bike was a single-speed as opposed to a 3-speed, which was what was available at the time, before the 5/10/18 speed gear-cluster versions that hit the market shortly after. Most CCM 3-speeds had a Sturmey Archer gear-changer, that we all remember as having that little chain coming out of the centre of the hub and being activated by a thumb lever on the handle bars. They were considerably more expensive than CCM's single speed and clearly out of my price bracket in the early 60's. When I say my bike was a 'top-of-the-line' CCM, I should probably rephrase that as saying it was the most expensive single speed on the floor at my home-town hardware store. There were several and I remember riding away on MY new 'steed' thinking I had the world on a string. It came with a very cool motorcycle like kickstand and a spring-loaded air pump that engaged in a couple of point brackets under the main cross bar. And the reason I mention the 3-speed hub is because there was an old English fellow who lived in town named Archer McCrumb. He said his Mom's maiden name was 'Archer' and was the related (I forget just how) to James Archer of Sturmey-Archer. I recall him talking about the company having some pre-war motorcycle pedigree, but said his relative James, was in on the design and development of the famous 3-speed bicycle hub. Knowing you lived in Canada at some point, thought that might be of some interest. I have no 'proof' of the claim, other than his story, but no real reason to doubt it either. You seem to be pretty up on your bicycle history; know anything about it?? I know it was quite common back in the day to 'preserve' a woman's maiden name in the naming of the children of a marriage. Cool bit of trivia, eh? (as we Canadians so love to say! LOL) Chris.

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Yessss, I am very, very familiar with Sturmey-Archer (S-A) multi-speed hubs. Have extensive original catalogues on S-A and I believe also a book on the development of same. But these were around long, long, long, long before today's people were conditioned to think in terms of "10-speed" and "1-speed" ... Sears (in Canada "Simpson-Sears" or just "Simpson's) sold bicycles with S-A hubs in the 1920s. People today just never knew this fact or have forgotten it. By the way... what people today refer to as a "1-speed" was once universally known simply as a "coaster brake" (which is what CCM termed it)

And (dare I mention it?) my CCM-made Packard bicycle is so equipped with S-A, Eh? And remember, Packard automobiles all began as a result of a dispute between J.W. Packard and bicycle maker (who was trying to branch into making cars), Alexander Winton... that took place at a bicycle plant!

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LOL... very cool. Properly maintained and adjusted, I always thought the Sturmey-Archer hub was a GREAT design. Chris.

Before Packards, I had an English Raleigh with an S-A hub. Quite a nice bicycle.

You bet, John - Raleigh made a very good bike. I got into racing bikes a bit, and I remember the Raleigh's were considered a bit heavy with a steel frame. I ended up on a French Gitane, which was aluminum and quite light, compared. Chris.

Here is yet another Packard brand bicycle... also from 1937. Another of many, many news clippings I saved. So again, this is not merely opinion. And just to show Packard brand bicycles were not all made by one company. Also to point out more internet myths, these bicycles were not all made by the companies people will tell you on DIY web sites online.

This Packard bicycle shown in this ad was made by the H.P.Snyder Company of Little Falls, New York. For those who don't know (and that's mostly everybody in and out of the bicycle world) Snyder was a huge company that made bicycles under several brands. They also had a factory in Michigan City, Indiana.

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Not a Packard bicycle, but Packard AND bicycle... and important history that also needs to be known... and needs to be corrected.

Earle C. Anthony was one of America's greatest innovators, but much of his history remains unknown to the general public and even to Packard fans. He was-among his many enterprises-a member of PMCC Board of Directors, west coast Packard Distributor, founder of KFI radio (which still exists today) along with other radio and television stations, erected the first commercially successful neon sign in America, was a major key in bringing the Brooklyn Dodger baseball team to Los Angeles, mapped many of the early roads in SoCal, Southern Nevada and Utah, and founded one of the predecessor companies to Greyhound Bus Lines. Most histories (including those presently on the internet and even the almighty Wikipedia) are wildly skewed and are often incorrect about ECA and his enterprises.

"E.C."(as he liked to be called) designed and built one of the first cars ever to roll the streets of Los Angeles when he was just a boy. Sadly the car was destroyed on a run down what was once known as Beaudry Hill in what is now Downtown Los Angeles. Mr. Anthony saved the parts and after many years eventually had them reassembled and put the car on display in his Hope Street Packard dealership (the same place where today's histories erroneously claim the first neon was erected).

Histories will tell you this car was built out of wheelchair parts, but it was actually built from buckboard parts, wheelchair parts and bicycle parts (especially the forks, steering mechanism, wheels and tires). Yes, bicycle parts.

Anyway, this photo shows E.C. admiring the reconstructed Anthony Runabout (as it was officially known). The lever in his hand was the original control for the electric motor that powered the car.

When I last saw it, this little car was on display with a very poorly worded description sign at the Petersen Automotive Museum in L.A. For some reason, someone apparently decided to stain the wood very dark in recent years. No idea where the car is today, but it is sadly under-appreciated and its history is little known.

This photo is from one of the largest Earle C. Anthony collections that exists. Perhaps the largest. I began collecting ECA items in the 1960s and got to know several key persons in Earle C. Anthony, Incorporated, including the last two surviving executives in the 1970s.

By the way, Mr. Anthony knew the owners of "Bean Son Company"... the Packard bicycle distributor out of San Francisco mentioned so prominently at the beginning of this thread. Bean Son Company supplied the wheels and tires for the Anthony Runabout car reconstruction. Ask me how I know...

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