For my latest research project, I chose this postal card from Great Britain cancelled in London on December 20, 1901. Note the words POST CARD on the front. The sender was the Army & Navy Co-operative Society, Ltd., 105 Victoria Street, London, SW. I think this is regarding the repair of a green bicycle called a "Rover."

Linus





From Wikipedia, I learned the following:

John Kemp Starley (1854–1901) was an English inventor and industrialist who is widely considered the inventor of the modern bicycle, and also originator of the name Rover.

Starley was born on 14 December 1854 and lived on Church Hill, Walthamstow, London, England. He was the son of a gardener, John Starley, and Mary Ann (née Cippen). In 1872 he moved to Coventry to work with his uncle James Starley, an inventor. He worked with his uncle and William Hillman for several years building Ariel cycles.

In 1877, he started a new business Starley & Sutton Co with William Sutton, a local cycling enthusiast. They set about developing bicycles that were safer and easier to use than the prevailing penny farthing or "ordinary" bicycles. They started by manufacturing tricycles, and by 1883 their products were being branded as "Rover".

In 1885, Starley made history when he produced the Rover Safety Bicycle. The Rover was a rear-wheel-drive, chain-driven cycle with two similar-sized wheels, making it more stable than the previous high wheeler designs. Cycling magazine said the Rover had "set the pattern to the world" and the phrase was used in their advertising for many years.


In 1889, the company became J. K. Starley & Co. Ltd and in the late 1890s, it had become the Rover Cycle Company Ltd.

Starley died suddenly on 29 October 1901. Soon after Starley's death the Rover company began building motorcycles and then cars.





Photo from Wikipedia...note the front tire is flat, so maybe this post card is talking about a bicycle like this one: