Pope Manufacturing Company was founded by
Albert Augustus PopeAlbert Augustus Pope was a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel who founded the Pope Manufacturing Company in 1877. -Birth:...
in
Hartford, ConnecticutHartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. The company began with the introduction of the "Columbia High Wheeler" bicycle in 1878.
History
After the introduction of the high wheeler, Pope bought
Pierre LallementPierre Lallement is considered by some to be the inventor of the bicycle.-Early years:Lallement was born on October 25, 1843 in Pont-à-Mousson near Nancy, France....
's original
patentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for the bicycle, and aggressively bought all other bicycle patents he could find, amassing a fortune by restricting the types of bicycles other
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
manufacturers could make and charging them
royaltiesRoyalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
. He used the latest technologies in his bicycles—inventions such as ball bearings in all moving parts, and hollow
steelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
tubes for the
frameA bicycle frame is the main component of a bicycle, on to which wheels and other components are fitted. The modern and most common frame design for an upright bicycle is based on the safety bicycle, and consists of two triangles, a main triangle and a paired rear triangle...
, and he spent a great deal of money promoting bicycle clubs, journals, and races.
Pope Manufacturing was an innovator in the use of stamping for the production of metal parts. Until 1896, the company was the leading US producer of bicycles.
Automobile company
- See also Pope-Hartford, Pope-Robinson
Pope-Robinson was part of the Pope automobile group of companies founded by Colonel Albert Pope manufacturing Brass Era automobiles in Hyde Park, Massachusetts. The company could trace its roots back to Bramwell-Robinson who started as paper box machinery makers going on to make some...
, Pope-ToledoThe Pope-Toledo was one of the makes of the Pope Motor Car Company founded by Colonel AA Pope, and was a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles in Toledo, Ohio between 1903 and 1909. The Pope-Toledo was the most expensive of the Pope range and was the successor to the Toledo of the International...
, Pope-Tribune and Pope-WaverleyPope-Waverley was one of the brands of the Pope Motor Car Company founded by Albert Augustus Pope and was a manufacturer of Brass Era electric automobiles in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company was originally formed as the Indiana Bicycle Company in 1898 changing to the American Bicycle Company in...
In 1897, Pope Manufacturing began production of an electric vehicle. By 1899, the company had produced over 500 vehicles.
Hiram Percy MaximHiram Percy Maxim was an American radio pioneer and inventor, and co-founder of the American Radio Relay League . He originally had the amateur call signs SNY, 1WH, 1ZM, 1AW, and later W1AW, which is now the ARRL Headquarters club station call sign...
was head engineer of the Motor Vehicle Department. The Electric Vehicle division was spun off that year as the independent company
Columbia Automobile CompanyThe Columbia Automobile Company was a leading early Hartford, Connecticut, United States manufacturer of automobiles.The Columbia Automobile Company was created as a joint venture of the Motor Vehicle Division of the Pope Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, and the Electric Vehicle...
but it was acquired by the
Electric Vehicle Company-History:The Electric Vehicle Company was founded as a holding company of battery-powered electric automobile manufacturers made up of several car companies assembled by Isaac L. Rice beginning in 1897. It was taken over in 1899 by William C. Whitney and P. A. B...
by the end of the year.
Pope tried to re-enter the automobile manufacturing market in 1901 by acquiring a number of small firms, but the process was expensive and competition in the industry was heating up.
Between the years 1903 and 1915, the company operated a number of automobile companies including Pope-Hartford (1903-1914),
Pope-RobinsonPope-Robinson was part of the Pope automobile group of companies founded by Colonel Albert Pope manufacturing Brass Era automobiles in Hyde Park, Massachusetts. The company could trace its roots back to Bramwell-Robinson who started as paper box machinery makers going on to make some...
,
Pope-ToledoThe Pope-Toledo was one of the makes of the Pope Motor Car Company founded by Colonel AA Pope, and was a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles in Toledo, Ohio between 1903 and 1909. The Pope-Toledo was the most expensive of the Pope range and was the successor to the Toledo of the International...
(1903-1909), Pope-Tribune (1904-1907) and Pope-Waverly.
Pope declared bankruptcy in 1907 and abandoned the automobile industry in 1915.
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