Whimsical Gilt Bicycle Set on a metal base. 33 x 12 x 47 in. Note: The curator from the Heritage Museums & Gardens, Sandwich, MA was kind enough to provide us with the following research on the possible history of the bicycle. Please note that the research done is inconclusive. -An identical piece is in the collection of the Heritage Museum & Gardens Collection. A letter in the object files at the Heritage Museum says "The bike was in the Cliff Side Museum from 1901 until 1969, the year the building had a fire. It is believed to have been made by a Chinaman. The chain is in the 1890 period. I phoned Fred Fried. He had seen it in the window of the Cliff House." The seller also says that she has a photo of the man that was said to be the carver and she would send it, but there is no photo in the file. The dealer got the item from an Oakland, CA dealer who said it came from the Cliff House. He wrote to the Cliff House asking for more information, but they replied saying they had none. They guessed it may have been an exhibit in the Sutro Baths at some point. -Another bicycle was sold at the Crow Canyon Park Museum auction by Hewlett's Antique Auctions of Le Grand, CA in 1987. In 1993 I called Al Sphil who owned the objects that were sold at that auction. He said that there were 8 or 10 of these bicycles made by a Chinese man, and that all of them were bought for Sutro Baths by George Whitney. One was put on a rope and ran back and forth above the baths. Mr. Sphil saw the bicycle that ran back and forth and saw the other bicycles in storage. Later, someone bought all of them from Sutro Baths and sold them off. He said there was an article about these bicycles in the San Francisco Chronicle sometime between 1898-1900. -Another one was offered for sale in the fall 1988 edition of The Clarion by Double K Gallery of West Hollywood, CA. -The July 2003 edition of Maine Antique Digest another of these bicycles was offered for sale by R.E. Van Anda and Sandra J. Whitson of Lititz, PA. Their history said "This is a sea horse bicycle with fish pedals and seat from the 1902 Georges Melies film Le Voyage Dans la Lune, a landmark in the history of filmmaking. There was a carousel with four monkeys riding bicycles; one of the bicycles is owned by George Lucas one is owned privately and the whereabouts of the other is unknown." The asking price was $35,000. -Acting on the information above I requested microfilm (this was some time ago, obviously) copies of the San Francisco Chronicle from 1898-1900. I didn't find an article. I also found a copy of the movie above and didn't see the bicycles there either. I have looked at historic photos of The Cliff House and Sutro Baths and did not find an image that included the bicycles.
Whimsical Gilt Bicycle Set on a metal base. 33 x 12 x 47 in. Note: The curator from the Heritage Museums & Gardens, Sandwich, MA was kind enough to provide us with the following research on the possible history of the bicycle. Please note that the research done is inconclusive. -An identical piece is in the collection of the Heritage Museum & Gardens Collection. A letter in the object files at the Heritage Museum says "The bike was in the Cliff Side Museum from 1901 until 1969, the year the building had a fire. It is believed to have been made by a Chinaman. The chain is in the 1890 period. I phoned Fred Fried. He had seen it in the window of the Cliff House." The seller also says that she has a photo of the man that was said to be the carver and she would send it, but there is no photo in the file. The dealer got the item from an Oakland, CA dealer who said it came from the Cliff House. He wrote to the Cliff House asking for more information, but they replied saying they had none. They guessed it may have been an exhibit in the Sutro Baths at some point. -Another bicycle was sold at the Crow Canyon Park Museum auction by Hewlett's Antique Auctions of Le Grand, CA in 1987. In 1993 I called Al Sphil who owned the objects that were sold at that auction. He said that there were 8 or 10 of these bicycles made by a Chinese man, and that all of them were bought for Sutro Baths by George Whitney. One was put on a rope and ran back and forth above the baths. Mr. Sphil saw the bicycle that ran back and forth and saw the other bicycles in storage. Later, someone bought all of them from Sutro Baths and sold them off. He said there was an article about these bicycles in the San Francisco Chronicle sometime between 1898-1900. -Another one was offered for sale in the fall 1988 edition of The Clarion by Double K Gallery of West Hollywood, CA. -The July 2003 edition of Maine Antique Digest another of these bicycles was offered for sale by R.E. Van Anda and Sandra J. Whitson of Lititz, PA. Their history said "This is a sea horse bicycle with fish pedals and seat from the 1902 Georges Melies film Le Voyage Dans la Lune, a landmark in the history of filmmaking. There was a carousel with four monkeys riding bicycles; one of the bicycles is owned by George Lucas one is owned privately and the whereabouts of the other is unknown." The asking price was $35,000. -Acting on the information above I requested microfilm (this was some time ago, obviously) copies of the San Francisco Chronicle from 1898-1900. I didn't find an article. I also found a copy of the movie above and didn't see the bicycles there either. I have looked at historic photos of The Cliff House and Sutro Baths and did not find an image that included the bicycles.
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