![]() Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the book however is the omission of the 1937-39 models that were offered through Wards. With a little online searching you can find this page. The correct page should show the Model 396C-Men’s Special Fully Equipped. One error to be noted is the erroneous insertion of page 8 of the 1940 catalog into the 1941 catalog. Also provided is information on the beginning of CWC making bicycles, period ads, and excerpts from various suppliers and vendors that provide additional insight into the different models such as the uber rare ’39 Motor Master. The catalogs are reproduced in color and the author has also skillfully placed other material throughout the book to fill in some holes and provide more information such as articles from the American Bicyclist and Motorcyclist magazine. The author/editor has done a wonderful job cleaning up the images and there is no graininess or shadows as evidenced in some similar books such as the Shelby Bicycles book. The author has skillfully placed other material throughout the book to fill in some holes and provide more info such as articles from the American Bicyclist and Motorcyclist magazine that give information on the beginning of CWC making bicycles, period ads, and excerpts from various suppliers and vendors that provide additional insight into the different models such as the uber rare ’39 Motor Master. Roadmaster was the in-house brand of CWC and this catalog provides all the Roadmaster catalogs in their entirety from 1936 to 1941 in color. Until this book was published there was no book for Cleveland Welding Co. ![]() Some portions are so poor they are hard to see or read but this is the most comprehensive resource available for these bikes. This catalog is entirely reprints of the bicycle sections of the Sears and Wards catalogs. Higgins from 1947-1965 (1965 was really branded as Sears), and Hawthorne from 1934-1960 and is fairly comprehensive. This book covers covers Elgin from 1933-1946, J.C. Wards used the Hawthrone brand up until the mid 1960s. Higgins up until 1964 when Sears began using their own label. Sears branded its bikes as Elgin through 1946. Some models were built exclusively for the stores such as the Bluebird for Sears and the Zep for Wards. Companies such as Westfield, Snyder, Cleveland Welding, Murray and others built bicycles that were sold through these department stores. The important thing to understand about both Sears and Wards (later Montgomery Wards) is that these were department stores and they did not manufacture their own bicycles. Higgins, and Sears) and Wards (Hawthorne) branded bicycles. This book has been reprinted at least twice and is the definitive work on the Sears (Elgin, J.C. If you collect postwar, balloon tire Schwinns this is a must have book. As it says on the cover this only covers the postwar models. The third section is an assortment of selected catalog pages showing parts and accessories. For example it describes the Phantom seat but does not picture it or mention that there are different varieties of this seat used on certain years. It provides more of a general overview and is not detailed or comprehensive. ![]() The second section of this book is devoted strictly to individual parts. A lot of really good information including catalog pages, Fair Trade sheets, and period ads. ![]() Instead of alphabetical order as in the middleweight book this book arranges the models chronologically. This is a good thing because this book is three times larger than the middleweight book. Although this book, too, lacks a table of contents it does have a good introduction that describes, in detail, how the book is arranged and what each section contains. This is the companion of the middleweight book above. Many of these are out of print but can be found on both EBay and Amazon. The mini reviews I provide here will hopefully give you enough information to decide whether a book will fit your needs. Bikes are still being found that defy what is found in print. Some references are better than others but no book (or website) should ever be considered the final word on the subject. Unfortunately many original bikes have been “catalogue corrected” and their true configurations are lost to time. It should be understood that the manufacturers produced many regional, promotional, and special order models that never appeared in catalogs. Many of the books listed here are compilations of contemporary ads, manufacturers catalogs, and dealer sheets. I am not implying that these are the only books worth reading on the subject and if you have a book that you think is worthwhile then please contact me to see about including it here. The books listed here are part of my library and are used extensively for the research I do. That said there is still much information contained in print that has not been digitized. The Internet provides a wealth of information and websites such as this contribute to the body of bicycle knowledge.
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