I picked up this bronze of a high wheeler bicycle last summer right before I was to leave for the National. It's one of the most exciting bronzes I've ever seen. That excitement is generated foremost because the sculptor S. Bechho, inscribed the date 1885 next to his signature. Moreover, the quality of the casting confirms it's period. "Period" meaning  it's original, produced during the time it represents. So it's not a cute nostalgic piece made to represent old time bicycling....it's the real deal produced when high wheel's were actually used.  Which was a relatively short time. The "high wheel", also called the "penny farthing" and the "ordinary" was a link in the evolution of the bicycle, and was only popular from about 1870 to the late 1880's. They were hazardous, riders were prone to falling off them. The next generation bicycle was called the "safety", and they were essentially the bicycle of today. 

The way I came into it was unusual. I was at the 49'er western antiques show in Grass Valley California, and ran into Chuck Morganstein of Woodchuck Antiques in San Francisco. Chuck knew I liked sports sculpture, and told me about this bronze, and that he sold it at the Hillsborough Antiques Show to two ladies before the show opened. Chuck said they spotted it right as he pulled it out of the box. He described it and it sounded fantastic, but all I could do is go shucks I wish I'd have gotten it, and that was it. Then a few months latter I saw it on GoAntiques.com. I figured it had to be the same one and emailed the seller. They confirmed they got it from Chuck. I had to swing hard, but the gal's worked with me, and I got it. Even after we made the deal it was a logistics scramble. The Gals lived in Las Vegas, and were going to be doing a show in Redondo Beach California near Los Angeles. Picking it up in person is way better than risking damage in shipment. The only thing was I was going to be in Chicago for the National when they'd be in Redondo. My buddy John Buonaguidi's sister lives the next town over in Manhattan Beach, and was kind enough to pick it up and hold it till I was down in L.A. for the Glendale show. I remember when I came to pick it up. I had bought it based on photos only, never seeing it in person. Buying an expensive piece like this is a little bit of a gamble. But when I unwrapped it, I was more than pleased. It looked even better than I thought it would. Below more shots of it.

Helpful Search Tips

1.

Click customize display on your eBay page, and set "items per page" to 200

2.

iNOW SAVE TIMEi

with SportsAntiques.com's

eBay Search Feature