2008 POST SALE ARTICLE

Every spring the small hamlet of Copake New York becomes a Mecca for bicycle enthusiasts and collectors from across the globe. This year the father and son team of Copake Auction presented their 17th annual bicycle sale and swap meet to 196 registered bidders coming from England, Australia, Canada, Greece, the  Netherlands, Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Israel and all over the US. Throughout the swap meet and preview notable museum owners such as David Metz (Metz Bicycle Museum, Freehold NJ), Carl Burgwardt (Pedaling History Bicycle Museum, Orchard Park, NY) and Gertjan Moed (Velorama, the Netherlands) shared stories and examined the many items on preview for the auction. The sheep field behind the auction house bustled with action as vendors and visitors bought and traded during the swap meet. In addition to the bicycles, accessories, collectibles and ephemera usually offered, this year featured a collection of 40 pedal cars from the J. R. Planck collection. “Mr. Planck was an avid well respected collector, everyone in the hobby remembers JR fondly, I can’t remember him ever missing one of our annual sales”, Mike Fallon commented.

This year’s sale covered cycling from the early to modern period. Several boneshaker bicycles were offered including a rare 19th c. adult boneshaker tricycle which brought $11,825 and a C. 1865 boneshaker called “Hanlon type” went to Italy for $4,125. Over 10 highwheels were offered, several highlights being a C. 1886 Victor 51” Roadster $9,900, 19th c. Gormully & Jeffery “American Champion 54” $4,400 and one of a kind 19th c. wooden 36” highwheel sold for a steal at $1,100. There was a wide selection of hard tire safety and early pneumatic bikes ranging in price offered for everyone from the new enthusiast to the serious collector. Most notable was a C. 1887 Victor Model C male hard tire safety manufactured by the Overman Wheel Co. Boston. “This machine was discovered shortly before the auction in a barn and saved from going to the dump, it’s a true survivor in untouched condition and very complete. This is just the type of find that our customers love, I estimated it at $3,000-4,000 and it brought double that ($9,350) to a collector who’s taking it back to England with him”, Mike added. Other hard tire safeties sold between $1,320 and $6,600. Other early bikes sold include a C. 1894 Victor “Flyer” $1,870, C. 1898 Coventry Machinist’s Co. adult tricycle $11,550, C. 1898 Victor tandem $1,210, C. 1890 exceptional tiller tricycle with spring suspension $330.

Early accessories included a historic presentation wheelmen’s bugle manufactured by the C. W. Hutchins Co., Springflied MA $4,400 and a very rare highwheel cyclometer by J. A. Lakin & Co. Westfield, MA $3,850. A scarce 1913 Russian cycling poster featuring a devil on a bicycle chasing a deer off of a sold for $825 and a C. 1890’ Buffalo Cycles poster made $1,210. Trophies, catalogs, prints, posters and photos of men in mustaches proudly on their highwheel bicycles all crossed the block throughout the 500 plus lot sale.

Pre and post war balloon bicycles were offered including a boys and girl’s 1938 Shelby “Air Flow” balloon bicycle from the height of “industrial design as art” which brought $1,760 and $660, a 1949 Shelby Donald Duck girl’s $600 and a 1938 Monark Silver King wingbar female bicycle $1,870. Some highlights from the J. R. Planck museum include a C. 1900 Hitchcock Mfg. Co. pedal car with wooden frame and wheels $3,300, a C. 1930’s Lincoln Zephyr Steelcraft Co. pedal car $935, a C. 1940’s ice cream cycle truck $1,430 and a C. 1928 “Spirit of America” pedal plane $1,650.

“We’ve already started taking in consignments for our 18th annual sale next year. We hope to continue this tradition for as long as the items are available, it’s a lot of work but just as much fun”, Seth Fallon commented.

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19th c. adult boneshaker tricycle having wooden spoked wheels and wrought iron frame. 26" front, 44 1/2" rear wheels. Early restoration.
Estimate: 3,000.00 - 5,000.00

Sold $11,825