c1880 Henry Keat & Sons Cycling Bugle

December 14th - 21st 2024

THIS WEEKS FEATURE

c1880 CYCLING BUGLE

Made by Henry Keat & Sons

3-Turn, Brass, 7 1/2" long - Bell 3 1/4" tall x 2" wide

Stamped on Bell

MADE BY

Hy KEAT & SONS 105 MATTHIAS RD LONDON N

FOR C.R. PERCIVAL, BOSTON

Closing quote:

...Congratulations...you have now completed Cycling Bugles 101...You are now ready

to go to flea markets, antiques shows, malls, and spot a cycling bugle...

\c1885 Henry Keat & Sons Cycling Bugle on Display in Carlton's Relics Cabinet

A LONG FORGOTTEN

19TH CENTURY CYCLING RELIC

By Carlton Hendricks

...During the 1880-1900 period the cycling bugle was sometimes referred to as a "Buglet"...because of their

diminutive size...They look essentially like a trench bugle but smaller...and have an oval bell

that rests against the buglers side easier than a round bell...

...And so…thru all that pomp and formality came the use of buglers to issue commands during runs…

The captain riding at the front gave verbal commands...to which a bugler then sounded them.

Sometimes there were more than one bugler. I believe on larger runs a second

bugler rode in the middle of the pack and repeated the call....

A two page feature
Cycling Bugle Page 1	Cycling Bugle Page 2
Home

he first time I noticed these cycling bugles was in the Copake Bicycle Auction October 2023…I requested a phone call to bid live for eight items...One was the c1880's Keat & Sons cycling trophy bugle you see to the right...I got the bronze statue I was primarily after…but it wiped me out and I couldn’t bid on the bugle…At the time I was barely familiar with 1880 cycling bugles. I did a cursory study of them during the auction, which gave me the basics...I learned they were used to issue commands during runs and excursions by bicycle clubs in the late 19th century both in the United States and England...And that these clubs, although civilian, operated in a military fashion…Five months after the Copake auction I had refueled and began looking into them again...I was engaged at how widespread their use was, yet today practically unheard of...

Most all the ones I saw were by horn maker Henry Keat and Sons in London...but I wanted an American one...or so I thought...Then I spotted this Keat bugle on a bicycle website, stamped in the bell "FOR C.R. PERCIVAL, BOSTON USA"...That would be Charles R. Percival of the Bicycle Emporium, an 1880's Boston bicycle retailer at 96 Worcester Street...Clearly identifying it as made for America, used in America...I remembered seeing an advertisement for the Bicycle Emporium in Bicycle World Magazine...

So I emailed the website to see if it was for sale...the owner gave me a price I bought it without dickering...The seller was a very advanced collector of high wheel era cycling memorabilia...He had collected cycling memorabilia 43 years, and had a collection of cycling bugles...He said mine was the only one he'd ever seen made for Percival...I connected the dots...made for Charles Percival...of the Bicycle Emporium in Boston... one of the earliest American bicycle dealers...Maybe the second earliest next to Arthur Cummingham and crew of the Cunningham-Heath Company, the first to import bicycles into Boston...Who Charles Percival previously worked for...or at least was associated with.. As cycling bugles go...it just couldn't get much better...a no-brainer!...

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

Today these bugles are all but forgotten…so let's take a look at their history and how they were used...In 1878 former Civil War officer Albert Pope 1843-1909 of Boston started manufacturing bicycles of the high wheel era in Hartford Connecticut. Two years later in 1880…as the high wheel popularity quickly spread, Pope called a meeting of thirty one cycling clubs to form “The League of American Wheelman” The purpose of the L.A.W. was to promote the new phenomena of bicycle riding, advocate for better roads, and unite the cycling community for pleasure and camaraderie.

THE CULTURE

Please note the new phenomena of the high wheel was relatively expensive and the L.A.W. was more or less made up of well to do gentleman. The organization carried out it's runs and excursions in a structured military fashion with formality. Perhaps this was due to constituents wanting to look exclusive and important.

WHAT THEY WORE

There doesn’t seem to have been an exact official uniform but for the most part they seem to have been after a certain general look most of them kept. For instance the Norfolk jacket was a staple worn by many…seen in early L.A.W. photos. Choice of headgear appears to have been left to the individual. but Greek fisherman’s caps seem to have been the most popular. Pith helmets were also worn echoing a British influence. Knickers with leg stockings were very popular. Long pants required pegging to avoid contact with the spokes. Bicycle World Magazine in the 1880-90’s, a twice a month publication, and the official organ of the L.A.W., ran many ads for riding attire, along with many other bicycle related goods…Charles Percival, who my bugle was made for ran ads for his Bicycle Emporium in Bicycle World Magazine...

TWENTY YEARS AND IT WAS OVER

The hay-day of the L.A.W. lasted from 1880 to about 1902…when the automobile came of age. To one degree or another the formality spoken of here was spent during those two decades…I would speculate the formality waned gradually...As cycling grew; riders likely became more focused on the enjoyment of cycling than social aspects of belonging to a club.

THE CYCLING BUGLE IS BORN

And so…thru all that pomp and formality came the use of buglers to issue commands during runs…The captains riding at the front gave verbal commands...to which a bugler then sounded them. Sometimes there were more than one bugler. I believe on larger runs a second bugler rode in the middle of the pack and repeated the call. Please note I’m only giving my cursory study of the cycling culture…and how these bugles fit in…I would speculate much of the formality was modeled after the English clubs...And speaking of our English cousins... I came across a fascinating YouTube video of bugle calls used by the London Bicycle Club c1880...which you'll be seeing a little latter...

PREVIOUS OWNER

The seller of my bugle was a wealth of in invaluable information about cycling bugles...Below some of the knowledge I gained...Two key take-aways were that Henry Keats & Sons made three styles and sizes of cycling bugles...The other... that he got my bugle from an antiques picker who got it from "an old time member of the Wheelmen"...and that both were east coasters and he felt it had come out of Massachusetts.

Bugle Sellers Emails

Mon 3/4/2024 8:32 PM
Hello Carlton,

To answer some of your questions.

The bugle is a three turn bugle and is in the rarer smaller size. I have been collecting antique bicycles and various memorabilia for 43 years. I've been very lucky and some real gems have come my way. I have a small collection of cycling bugles. This is the only small size Keats Bugle I've ever come across and one of the only American marked bugles in my collection. The connection to Perceivably and the Bicycle Emporium is most unusual.

The size is 7 1/2 inches in length. The bell is oval in form. I believe that it is made of brass and I would agree that leaving the patina is best. Polishing it would decrease its value imo.

I have immersed my life in bicycle history and studied it at length.

Not many folks know the storied history of the bicycle bugle and its importance as a tool of the early riders of the Ordinary bicycle. A colorful time for cycling.

Again, thanks for your interest.
_____________________________________________

Mon 3/4/2024 8:38 PM
Hi Carlton,

Overall length is 7 1/2 inches. The bell is 3 1/4 inches high. It is 2 inches wide. Again this is the smaller size bicycle bugle.

Keats made 3 sizes and styles of bugles (cycling Bugles). I have three or four that are marked "The Bicycle Bugle" 3 turns. I have two or three marked Keats Buglet 4 turns. They were offered in brass, copper with nickel trim, nickel plate, and silver plate.

_____________________________________________

Tue 3/5/2024 8:19 AM
Hello Carlton,

The Percival Bugle belonged to an old time member of the Wheelmen. I bought it from a picker character that had acquired it from him. Both men were East Coast folks so likely it came out of Massachusetts.

There probably are Keats catalogs available although I've never seen one.

The bugle is brass. I've tried to capture it with photos. It has a few dents that you can see. All of my bugles have dents in the same area which is likely from dropping them from the saddle of a high wheel bike!

There's nothing better than an inscription when you're researching something...Stamped into the bell of this bugle is:

PIONEER BOSTON BICYCLE SHOP

So who was C. Percival...C. Percival Owned the Bicycle Emporium in Boston. I've been able to find some references on him but not a lot...I actually learned more about him from his son's biography in the great 1894 book "Prominent Wheelman and Bicycle Club Directory of Massachusetts"

Cycling bugles are either three-turn or four-turn. Meaning the number of times the tubing was turned, or bent by the maker. Henry Keat & Sons referred to them as bugletes...probably because of their diminutive size......They look essentially like a trench bugle but smaller...and have an oval bell that rests against the buglers side easier than a round bell.

Henry Keat & Sons definitely seems to have been the leading maker of cycling bugles back in the day. Pretty much all the ones I've seen have been made by them...Although I would assume there would have been other trumpet makers that made them...I just haven't come across any...However I did find an advertisement for one American company that made them, from Springfield Massachusetts...that advertised them as the "League Bicycle Bugle"...Springfield MA had a strong cycling history...It was the home of Hampden Park where the Springfield Bicycle Club put on a yearly three day race in the early 1880's...

C.W. HUTCHINS - ONLY OTHER CYCLING SPECIFIC

BUGLE MAKER CARLTON HAS FOUND THAN HENRY KEAT & SONS

Courtesy New England Historical Society

- THE BICYCLE IN AMERICAN LITERATURE -

CYCLING BUGLE POETRY

HUMOROUS 1884 POEM ILLUSTRATES HOW PREVALENT

CYCLING BUGLES WERE IN POPULAR CULTURE

THAT BICYCLE BUGLE

AN 1884 POEM ON THE WOES OF LIVING NEAR A BUGLER

The most interesting aspect of this 1884 poem by S. Conant Foster, about the painful experience living near a bicycle bugler, is the part that says "By raising the rate on its vile importation" Apparently it was common knowledge back then that bicycle bugles were imported...which is consistent with today, as most cycling bugles you see are by Henry Keat & Sons of London England...Also interesting is the price of a bugle is contemptuously given as "that six-dollar bugle", in the authors disdain. Also referenced are "Colonel Pope"...."formations", and "League" capitalized for League of American Wheelman...

By Carlton Hendricks

o give better understanding of c1880-1900 American cycling culture let's take look at four basic aspects of how American bicycle clubs operated then...1. The uniforms...2. The officers...3. The excursions & runs, and 4. The bugle calls...It's important to remember the bicycle craze sweeping the nation was very new then. The 1879 book "The American Bicycler: a manual for the observer, the learner, and the expert" By Charles E. Pratt., provided detailed guidance how bicycle clubs should operate...I like the 1880 edition better because they added a section on bugle calls, including sheet music...Two other influential publications of the period were "Bicycling World", Boston, Mass. 1879-1894 , which was a bi-weekly periodical, initially called "Bicycling World & Archery Field" until the May 6th 1881 name change....Lastly the book "Prominent Wheelmen, and Bicycle Club Directory of Massachusetts, 1894" by Daniel J Dwyer. Though not about cycling club structure; it provides an excellent look at the leading wheelman and clubs of the era in New England. New England...and more specifically Massachusetts and Connecticut...were the birthplace of American cycling.

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