This rare survivor is one of the first Premier (until july 1891 factory was called Hillman Herbert and Cooper) bicycles with helical tubing. This tube was expensive to make, but very lightweight. Premier patented this tube in 1892 and kept on using it at least until 1914. They were the only one.
Premier placed the chain on the left side of the bike. In the early days, more safeties features a left hand chain, but in 1894 only Premier kept making bikes this way. And they held on to it until 1899!
You will find a full Premier prospect and a lot of pictures of this bike on the site Oldbike.eu. The serial number is 89120 and and it was made in 1894. Owner thinks the wheels are not original. Saddle is far too modern. Click one of the pictures for a link, and please e-mail me if the link doesn't work any more.
I made a graphic drawing of HHC / Premier serial numbers, click here.
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