2007 POST SALE ARTICLE
On April 21st Mike and Seth Fallon of Copake Auction conducted their 16th Annual Antique Bicycle Auction and Swap Meet. The weather finally cooperated and clear skies and sun greeted bicycle enthusiasts from all over the world. The event starts at 6am on Friday with a swap meet in the sheep meadow behind the auction building. Seth Fallon mentioned the vendor attendance was down due to the threat of inclement weather but the action was great and many bicycles were spotted leaving the field. “Seems like light weights are hot at the swap meet, but good early items sell well also” observed Seth Fallon.
 The auction started promptly at 10am, the Fallons always begin by auctioning items donated by their customers to benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Top lot was a very rare and desirable collection of Ben Bowden archives, creator of the Bowden “Space Lander”. Anything connected with Mr. Bowden is highly sought after, the collection made $495 to a prominent Chicago collector.
Mike Fallon likes to start the sale strong with high value items, lot 4A a Gormully & Jeffrey adult “Two Track” tricycle found in a bicycle shop cellar in New Bedford Mass. brought $25,800 to a wheelman from Delaware against stiff competition from a Michigan collector. The next lot consigned from a mid west collection was a desirable 1884 “Star” safety highwheel made in Smithville New Jersey sold in as found condition for $3,850. The other “star” of the show, came from a young man from New Hampshire. He called Mike Fallon just weeks before the auction and described what sounded like a Carroll chainless and told Fallon it had descended in his family and had once belonged to “Diamond Jim” Brady. “I was really excited and did my best to get the bicycle, the owner had researched the machine for two years, for a now collector he knew a lot about his bicycle. I really didn’t pay much attention to the provenance, without proof provenance is just hear say, but when I saw the bicycle I thought it might just be true. The bicycle had really unusual features including mother of pearl handgrips, nickel plating and most unusual of all, some parts that I thought were bronze were actually gold plated, combine all those elements and add the most exotic sprung saddle I’ve ever seen and I concluded that the Brady provenance wasn’t so far fetched” commented Mike Fallon. The Carroll sold to a museum in Penna. on the phone against a representative in the audience for the Velo Museum in the Netherlands for $31,900. “I truly believe that auction is the best method for rare items like the Carroll bicycle. The owner was very apprehensive about “giving it away”, and I assured him that such a desirable bicycle would draw much interest, he was one happy young man after the sale, he’s getting married and I hope this helps him and his wife get started” Mike Fallon added.
 Highwheel bicycles do well at auction, especially ones which are complete and ready to ride. Prices include 1887 Columbia 56” expert $6,490, 1888 Victor 52” $6,050, Hillman Herbert & Cooper $8,525, 1890 Singer $4,400. Hard tire safeties are among the rarest of early bicycles having been made of in the short period between highwheels and the invention of the pneumatic tire, examples sold well including a 1891 “Common Sense” made in Philadelphia $4,510, a scarce junior size bicycle $2,900 and a 1889 woman’s Columbia model in wonderful original condition made $7,150 to a wheelman in Florida. Highlights of the “pneumatic safety” bicycles include a 1918 Indian (female) $600, 1900 Pierce $2,860, 1923 Mead Ranger $2,300. Prewar balloon bicycles have cooled down, but rare examples in original un-restored condition still draw attention, top balloon lot was an ultra rare Roadmaster Supreme boy’s bicycle manufactured by The Cleveland Welding Co. in Ohio, designed by Onnie Mankki a Finnish industrial designer, this model fits into the “Industrial Design as Art” category and made $14,300 to a collector in Chicago, other balloon bicycle prices include 1940 Dayton Twin Flex $2,475 to a California collector, 1934 Elgin Falcon $2,860, 1937 Colson Commander $2,300, a prewar Schwinn “Cycle Truck” made $1,870, a 1938 Mead Ranger badged auto cycle in original “barn fresh” condition retaining it’s very rare dash board speedometer made $3,520, a 1950 Schwinn Phantom brought $1,200.
Interesting collectibles include an 1890’s silver plate picture frame $660, a door knob with LAW logo $935, a very unusual box form electric bicycle lamp went to the Velo Museum in the Netherlands for $770, and 1890’s litho poster depicting the Crescent Factory $1,650 and a Wheelman’s buglet $635. “This sale is our favorite event of the year, it’s like a reunion, it’s gone on so long now that we have all watched each other’s children and ourselves grow older and many friendships are renewed each April. This year we had bidders from France, Germany, Netherlands, Great Britain, Canada, Italy and all over the US, I even got interviewed by an Italian journalist for a magazine which helps Italian students learn English through the use of print and a DVD. “Cycling” magazine is doing a spread on us in the July issue, this sale has grown to be more than just an auction, pretty cool!” observed auctioneer Mike Fallon.
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