Thomas Lewis Southam and Alexander Kay

Here is an Email from England Re. the photo of the  Southam & Kay  Bicycle Shop.     Ron 

Date: February 12, 2012 10:35:49 AM AST

To: "S. Ransom" <s.ransom@t-online.de>

Cc: Ron & Karen Miller <rk.miller@eastlink.ca>

Subject: Re: AW: Bicycle dealer "Southam & Kay"

Dear Stephen,

 Attached are copies of the 1896 patent - it applies to a conventional fra

I think Ron Miller had contact with Southam's grandson - who apparently has further photos.  I have copied this reply to him so you can make contact.  My impression is that the Vintage CCM group are small and the conversations are not continuous - but like you I haven't signed up.

All best

Glen

On 2/12/2012 5:05 AM, S. Ransom wrote:

Dear Glen,

Thanks for your response. Just after I sent you the e-mail I discovered the

Vintage CCM website (typical illustration of Murphy's law). The photo I sent

you was previously posted on a completely different site without any

reference to the Vintage CCM. Also previous searches on the Internet did not

produce any information about Southam&  Kay. I noticed that the Vintage CCM

website mentioned a grandson but I do not how to contact him directly - can

you help?. I do not particularly want to get involved in a chat session on

the website. I notice Ron Miller provided some information - is he the same

person who is a member of the V-CC? You may pass this e-mail to Ron.

I did a patent search through the European data bank and discovered that

Thomas Lewis Southam and Alexander Kay registered a patent in Canada in

1896, No. 54023 with the title "Bicycle Frame". This indicates that Southam

and Kay were working together well before 1905. I was not able to download

the patent (the Canadian patent office does not allow me to do this) and so

I am not sure whether it applies to the monocycle or the more conventional

bicycles shown in the photo. The style of monocycle indicated to me that it

was made in the 1890s. Southam&  Kay might have applied for other patents.

Thomas Lewis Southam was born on 31 July 1873, Paddington, Middlesex

(London). He was baptised at Christ Church, St. Marylebone, Middlesex, on 24

August 1873. His father Thomas was an engineer, his mother was Emma. Thomas

Lewis Southam married Fannie Maria Bolton in Toronto before 1901. He

emigrated to Canada between 1881 and 1891. Thomas Lewis was recorded in the

Canadian census for 1901 and 1911 as living in East Toronto. His death was

registered in York, Toronto, in 1929. This information was obtained from

ancestry.com, a genealogocal website, but I am not able to download any of

the Canadian records since I do not pay a full membership fee. I have not

been able to trace any information related to Alexander Kay.

I am planning to be at the ICHC at Roeselare and give a paper. I look

forward to meeting you there.

Best wishes, Stephen

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----

Von: gnorclif@yorku.ca [mailto:gnorclif@yorku.ca]

Gesendet: Samstag, 11. Februar 2012 20:03

An: S. Ransom

Betreff: Re: Bicycle dealer "Southam&  Kay"

Dear Stephen,

  Thank you for your message.  Have you seen the Vintage CCM web site, where

this photo has been posted?  The information on that site is more than I know.

My book on Canadian cycling ended in 1900, and this firm, Southam and Kay,

was started around 1905.  I gather Southam's grandson is on-line at that site

and might know more about that unicycle. Have you contacted him?  If you pressed

me, I would guess that the monocycle in that photo was cobbled together as a

publicity stunt - it bears some resemblance to the machine in the Musee at

St Etienne in France and the 1869 Rousseau monocycle in Fermo Galbiati's book.

Will you be at this year's Cycle History conference (ICHC) at Roeselare,

Belgium

in May?

best wishes

Glen

Quoting "S. Ransom"<s.ransom@t-online.de>:

Dear Mr Norcliffe,

I have been recommended by Nick Claytion to write to you as an expert on

bicycle manufacturers / dealers in Canada.

I have been researching the subject of monocycles for a number of years

and

just recently discovered the attached photograph posted on the Internet

which shows a pedal driven monocycle. The shop windows are marked "Southam

&

Kay K Wheels" and "Renting&  Repairing". I have done a little genealogical

research, which I am unable to confirm, that says Southam was a bicycle

maker who was born in London, England, but later emigrated to Canada. From

Internet I found the following quote: "Dave Southam whose grandfather made

&

raced bicycles&  gas engines circa 1905 in Toronto. [The attached] is a

photo of the shop with a very unusual "bike"

I am very interested to learn more about this dealer and I should be most

grateful for any help you could offer.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Ransom

Member V-CC