Syracuse Bicycles Pin
Syracuse Bicycles Pin
Previous
Next
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- A metal token is attached to this stickpin that bears the image of a bicycle surrounded by the text “Syracuse Bicycles/Crimson Rims.” The reverse side of the token reads “Chas. J. Stebbins/Syracuse Bicycles/103 Reade St. New York.” This stickpin was used by the Syracuse Cycle Company and agent Charles J. Stebbins to advertise the Syracuse bicycle with the Crimson Rim. Syracuse became a hub of bicycle production in the 1890s, and the Syracuse Cycle Company was a popular producer of wheels and cycles during the time. Charles Stebbins acted as a resale agent in Brooklyn for the company, likely handing out this pin at one of the National Cycle Shows in 1896 or 1897.
- Bicycling boomed in popularity in the United States during the 1890s when the invention of the “safety” bicycle replaced the dangerous high-wheeler. The National Cycle Board of Trade held the largest annual exhibitions in New York and Chicago between 1893 and 1897. At these cycle shows manufacturers attempted to capitalize on the bicycle boom with exhibitions of their products to both the public and bicycle agents from other cities. At shows like these, manufacturers advertised their wares with pins and buttons made of tin and celluloid—cheap materials easily mass manufactured into trinkets and souvenirs. The Chicago Tribune’s account of the 1896 Chicago show speaks to the ubiquity of these kind of souvenirs. “Every visitor seems to have a desire to cherish its memory through some kind of a souvenir... anyone who does not look like a walking sign board is a rarity and every exhibiter goes after him and every available buttonhole has some kind of button in it, and stick pins are thrust at him from all sides.”
- Object Name
- pin, lapel
- Physical Description
- metal (overall material)
- celluloid (overall material)
- ID Number
- 1990.0294.32
- catalog number
- 1990.0294.32
- accession number
- 1990.0294
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
- Bicycle Pins
- Transportation
- Exhibition
- Object Project
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.
