J. Edwards & Co.

J. EDWARDS & Co., The Western Cycle Works, 3, 5, and 7, Gibson Street, Hillhead, Glasgow.

    Since the invention of the steamboat and the locomotive we doubt if there has been invented a vehicle of conveyance which has sprung into such rapid and universal popularity among all sections of the community as has the bicycle and its nearly related fellow, the tricycle. With the development of the public taste for cycling has been brought about a commensurate improvement in the character and construction of the machine itself, and the contrast between the “Puffing Billy” of the great Stephenson’s day is not more marked than is that between the modern “Safety”, or other equally improved instrument of road locomotion, and the now antiquated “velocipede”, or “boneshaker”, of our schoolboy days.

    The manufacture of high-class machines has, within the past fifteen or twenty years, called into existence a distinct mechanical industry, and in this particular branch of industrial enterprise not only are great fortunes being amassed, but the rehabilitation of an ancient English city has been brought about entirely through the facilities it has afforded for the economic settlement of cycle manufacturers in its midst. Nor is the great Scottish industrial metropolis oblivious to the branch of activity in question, as a visit to the splendid establishment of Messrs. J. Edwards & Co., of the Western Cycle Works, 3, 5, and 7, Gibson Street (West End Park Gate), abundantly demonstrates. This highly popular manufactory was founded some years ago, and passed from the previous proprietors (Messrs. Crawford and Co.), in 1888, into the hands of Messrs. J. Edwards & Co., who now, with characteristic enterprise, control the vast business operations of the concern. We may mention that the principal of the firm is possessed of a wide practical experience, gained in some of the leading centres of English cycle manufacture, and this fact distinguishes him and his house from the merely local agents who, designating themselves cycle manufacturers, are utterly unacquainted with the most rudimentary steps in the building up of the delicately constructed machine.

    The firm under review, let the reader bear in mind, are manufacturers, and not mere cycle agents ; and at the Western Works will be found the evidences of the high standard of manufacture to which the firm have attained. The “Western” machines may be classed into six varieties, each possessing some special recommendatory features. All machines are constructed on the premises and are equipped with all the most appropriate fittings and improvements.

    In the Cycle List of Messrs. J. Edwards & Co. will be found a series of machines to which it is an unfeigned pleasure to draw the reader’s attention. The “Western” No. 7 is a magnificent roadster, possessed of a cross frame and fitted with ball bearings throughout, including pedals. The spokes are affixed by means of patent nipples, by which these, when broken, can be removed without taking off the tyres, an operation which has justly been described by the Mercantile Age as “laborious for so small a work”. The wheels of this magnificent machine are fitted with Dunlop’s Patent Pneumatic Tyres, and the price is £16. The “Western” No. 6 is a diamond frame machine. The framework of this machine is preferred by many cyclists on account of the stability which it gives. This famous machine has also the ball bearings in every part and carries the Clincher pneumatic tyres. The price set upon this capable roadster is £15. The “Western” No. 5 has a cross frame and ball bearings, both throughout and in pedals, with ball head and Silicium bronze spokes and cushion tyres. The price of this machine is £16. A less expensive machine is the “Western” No. 4, sold at £12, possessed, however, of ball bearings in all parts, including pedals ; it has a diamond frame and is fitted with the famous Clincher band cushion tyres. At the same price (£12) may be purchased the “Western” No. 3, a serviceable and durable machine similar to No. 4 in every respect, save its solid tyres. The “Western” No. 2 is a low-priced machine, the frame of which is a cross one and the bearings ball. The tyres are solid, but these can be fitted with cushion tyres for an additional expenditure of thirty shillings, and with ball pedals for an additional half-sovereign.

    It has ever been the object of the firm to supply to customers the highest quality of material, the best class of workmanship, and the newest and most serviceable design at prices which come at first hand, and do not undergo a process of summary increase at the hands of “middlemen” or agents. These are the infallible secrets of success, and by enunciating them in daily practice, the firm of Messrs. Edwards & Co. are building up a trading connection which, vast and well equipped as the Western Cycle Works are, will, ere long, try to the uttermost the great resources of the firm. It is gratifying to note, too, that among the awards granted to the house for excellence the City of Glasgow is represented by a magnificent gold medal, granted at its memorable East End Industrial Exhibition, 1890-91, in which Messrs. J. Edwards & Co.’s Cycle Works made a truly splendid display, far outstripping, as we thought at the time, the displays made by other and more pretentious establishments. We should mention that the firm possess a branch at 280, Great Western Road, which meets the support of this fashionable and busy neighbourhood.

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