Letter From the Editor
21 Feb. 2025
We are fortunate in having a substantial body of documentary evidence regarding Hetchins frame production. Ledgers exist, with a few gaps, from August 1935. Records for the periods 1967 - Feb. 1969, and Feb. 1973 - 1986 are not available. An original receipt book from March 1969 to January 1973 is extant. Hetchins yearly production totals for the period 1986 to 1993 (Bob Jackson Cycles in Leeds) surfaced in 2024, but details of single frames are not accessible to this Editor. Detailed records accessible to this Editor pick up again at 1993 to the present.
The Editor is pleased to report that all known ledgers from August 1935 to January 1973 have been scanned, and hereby presents some highlights from the aforesaid corpus. A few puzzles remain, and the Editor would be grateful to receive ideas and suggestions, what some of the puzzling entries might mean.
In addition to providing documentary proof of authenticity of individual Hetchins frames, a boon for buyers and sellers, the ledgers provide a wealth of information into the production history of the marque in general. The ledgers provide indications when models were introduced (sometimes pre-dating catalogs or press notifications), as well as clues to Hyman's, and later Alf's, business. We can see when the business thrived and when it did not, which models were much in demand, when Alf started exporting to the USA (Alf once remarked that his USA exports had kept the shop in business), among other items of historic interest. Some excerpts are presented below. Let us begin at the beginning ...
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Above is the earliest extant ledger entry, beginning August 1935, when a date-coded numbering system was introduced. The frame number 3581 decodes as follows:
35 = year of production
8 = month of production, August
1 = production sequence, first frame produced
An unknown number of frames were produced prior to August 1935, using some other frame nr. system. See below: the green arrow marks one such frame. We do not know what the frame nr. 311 means. It is unlikely that 311 frames had been produced to that date.
Below, in the right-hand column, note that by the end of Dec. 1935, 105 frames had been produced (blue arrow). This was an auspicious start indeed.
Two digits for the year proved cumbersome; (19)35 was soon truncated to simply "5". Of course, this would no longer work for (194)5 or (195)5. Frames made in 1936 bear nr.s beginning with "6" plus a month code, followed by the production sequence nr. The dating system was subsequently changed many times, but the production sequence nr. continued, unbroken, until Hyman's death in 1961. Note Hyman's neat hand-printing.
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We are also fortunate in having clever people among the Hetchins enthusiasts who understand something about business and accounting. The Editor has received correspondence which helps to decipher some of the data, marked in red, from the ledgers, as follows:
Column 1:
L = local pickup
x/y = carriage paid for train delivery; note the column header: RAIL LON(don) (the Editor has received emails from people who remember having picked up their bikes at train stations).
Column 2:
F = frame only
C = complete bike, as evidenced by the difference in prices
Column 3:
L = Lea Bridge Rd. (Leyton premises, until 1937)
T = Seven Sisters Rd. (Tottenham premises)
W = unknown
Column 4:
C = cash paid
H.P. = hire purchase (paid in installments)
The Editor thanks David B. and Tom F. for their comments regarding the above data.
Sales were strong in the 1930s, due in part to Hetchin's support of Toni Merkens, who racked up many successes in track racing, but also to Hyman's business acumen. Most frames were sold to trade, with some dealers taking half a dozen at a time, as the sample below from 1937 indicates.
Bill Grundy's bike, marked in green below, is extant and has been documented; click here for more on Bill's bike.
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By the end of 1939, approx. 2,300 frames had been sold. The highest-numbered frame at the end of 1940 bore the production-nr. 2,440, an increase for the whole year of only 140 new frames. Sales for 1941 were even worse, reaching 91 new units and some previous builds from 1938/9 also sold. 1943 and '44 saw the number of units sold drop even further. Sales slowly improved from 1946 to 1950, but still did not reach 1930s levels.
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Ledger entries for 1946 allow us to identify with precision when the double-plate fork crown was introduced; this became a hallmark of Hetchin's production well into the 1970s. See below. C.L. indicates Chater Lea lugs. 27 or 26 in the middle column indicates wheel size (inches, of course). Hyman's once-lovely handwriting was getting difficult to decipher (maybe he was under stress to restore the pre-war sales levels); the models in the third column from the right are: Comp(etition), Sup(er), and one Six-Day (invoice nr. 960).
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In 1948, several frames were produced for a show, held at Earls Court, London; among them a Toni Merkens model, with "show" nearly rubbed out and subsequently sold, a Super Massed Start (ditto), and a black-&-chrome one-off with elaborate lugwork. This latter was presumably made to test the market for a new concept which Hetchin & Denny hoped would revive their fortunes to pre-war levels. Click here for the Gallery feature on the Earls Court show frame. The ledger entry appears below (the entry just above the Toni Merkens model indicates a model Super S.(pecial) with oval fork blades):
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1950 saw Hetchin's fortunes turn for the better. The Latin Series had been presented at a trade show in 1949 and went into production in 1950. The ledger page below shows the moment when Supers and Super Specials using Chater Lea lugs were replaced by Hetchin's own Nulli Secundus design. 6/D stands for Six Day (with fluted seat tube); E.C. stands for Experto Crede; MO for Magnum Opus. Both of these latter models would remain strong sellers into the 1970s. Click here for the Gallery feature on the Nulli Secundus show bike.
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By the mid 1950s, Hetchin's production had sufficiently recovered, that Hyman employed two additional frame builders, Stan Broom and Bob Stratfull.
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item |
explanation
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1.
Frame size (seat tube) in inches.
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2. |
O=orthodox (straight) stays; V=vibrant (curly) stays.
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3. |
Invoice number.
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4. |
Model: Experto Crede (P = pressed lugs), Vade Mecum, Mag.Bonum, etc.
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5. |
Geometry: SU (set up), CoB (Circuit of Britain), 3, 3A, 6, 10, etc. See catalogs.
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6. |
F frame (built by) S for Bob Stratfull; JD for Jack Denny: BR indicated Stan Broom.
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Hyman passed away in 1961, having overseen the production of 8,462 frames. Alf took over the business, and started a new numbering system, consisting of the final digit of the year, (196)2, plus a production sequence nr. which restarted at 001. The ledger records the moment, below.
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Alf's tenure, to be continued ....
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The annual Hetchins event returns this year to Banbury (Oxfordshire), the 3d w/e of July (18th to 20th). Kindly add this to your calendars and let either myself or Brian Reid (Golden Age Cycles) know whether you will be joining us. Watch this page for more details.
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