A 1939 Columbia Westfield Compax Traveler
Get ready to ride back in time to the America of the 50's.
Here's a nice, historical 6 minute video hosted by the National Association of Manufacturers (
NAM) which documented how the Columbia line of bicycles ("
bringing health and pleasure to millions of Americans") were produced. West Field Manufacturing, at West Field Massachusetts, was
the first company to produce an American bicycle (Columbia highwheel) The video shows how ribbons of steel were seamlessly welded into tubes of various diameters and then cut and shaped to assemble frames, how handlebars were chrome plated, how spokes were connected to the rims and trued as well as glimpses of other cutting operations to yield chain rings and cogs, all over pleasant, soaring music and a serious, hurried narrator.
To see the video, go to the
NAM host page here and hit "
Click to View". If you're interested in knowing more about vintage Columbia bicycles,
click this page.
Check out this old Columbia poster, originally published in 1895 - found on
Ebay. Pretty funny. I guess it was hard then to substitute humans for animals.. Why is this monkey riding with a parrot, and why is this lazy parrot not flying? Was Columbia for monkeys and parrots? I.. I really can't explain this picture.
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