» 1950s Gamages Gents Bicycle with Watsonian Sidecar Bicycle Sidecars

1950s Gamages Gents Bicycle with Watsonian Sidecar

1950s Gamages Gents Bicycle with Watsonian Sidecar

THESE PHOTOS ARE HIGH RESOLUTION. DEPENDING ON YOUR BROADBAND SPEED, THEY MAY TAKE A WHILE TO LOAD.

This bicycle, sold by the famous London Department store Gamages, is very rare. It’s only the second one I’ve seen.

The Gamages transfer can be seen on the headstock (and also on the rear mudguard).

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LIGHTWEIGHT WOODEN TRAVELLING TRUNK

This outfit is fitted with a lightweight wooden travelling trunk.

If required, the box can be bolted to the sidecar chassis as a permanent sidecar box.

But I’ve used belts to secure it to the chassis – that way, it’s easier to remove the box and store the bicycle with the sidecar chassis folded up.

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A.W. GAMAGE Ltd

Holborn, London, E.C

Gamages Department Store first opened in 1878. It sold affordable, high quality domestic goods, and produced cram-packed catalogues from which customers could order items for home delivery.

In a Gamages catalogue you could find picnic baskets, bee keeping appliances, magic tricks, bicycles, motoring accessories and many more fascinating things. By the early 20th century, Gamages was one of London ‘s best known stores. It closed in 1972.

The store also offered an international shipping service, sending their products anywhere in the world.

They published a postage rate chart for ‘Colony or Country.’

Some of the destinations in this 1914 chart have interesting descriptions.

Of course, this 1914 catalogue would be the final one before the world dramatically changed. The Ottoman Empire described below, for example, ceased to exist after WW1.

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The wheels are a bit tarnished, and the original paintwork is old. But the tyres are new and the bicycle is ready to ride.

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WATSONIAN SIDECAR

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GAMAGES SIDECAR OPTIONS:

Tradesmen’s Sidecar or Child’s Sidecar?

As you can see from the 1914 Gamages catalogue below, their sidecar options were advertised in that year as ‘Something Quite New.’ After WW2, these folding Watsonian sidecars were used instead of the non-folding type advertised below with full size wheels.