Nordstjernan Wiklund double-top-tube cargo bike
Found this at an antique store today. Typical crack pipe price too ($1,200 - and it's not even well-preserved), but it's an interesting machine. The tires and one-piece crankset (NOT an Ashtabula) made me believe it was a US product initially (that '80s replacement saddle doesn't help) - but sure enough, it's a Wiklund, made in Sweeden. This site probably has the best info on them; it's a shame the aforementioned catalog isn't posted.
Apparently, the marquee (founded in 1889) was dead by 1941 when WWII started, and these two websites are the only sites I've seen with any comprehensive info. Given the conventional inch-pitch chain, I'd take a guess at mid to late '30s on this one. I'm really quite surprised that wrap-around chainguard has survived this long without getting dented up.
Side note: The opportunists at the antique shop insist it is from the late 1800's, probably because someone Googled that the marquee was founded in 1889. Ignorance is profitable. Also hanging up was a '60s Schwinn middleweight and a 1973+ Raleigh Sports so rusty that it might as well have been a barnacle bike at one time.
-Kurt
Apparently, the marquee (founded in 1889) was dead by 1941 when WWII started, and these two websites are the only sites I've seen with any comprehensive info. Given the conventional inch-pitch chain, I'd take a guess at mid to late '30s on this one. I'm really quite surprised that wrap-around chainguard has survived this long without getting dented up.
Side note: The opportunists at the antique shop insist it is from the late 1800's, probably because someone Googled that the marquee was founded in 1889. Ignorance is profitable. Also hanging up was a '60s Schwinn middleweight and a 1973+ Raleigh Sports so rusty that it might as well have been a barnacle bike at one time.
-Kurt