{"product_id":"m-strauss-bicycles-buffalo-1896-framed-print","title":"M. Strauss Bicycles, Buffalo — 1896 | Framed Print","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eM. Strauss Cycle Dealer, Buffalo, New York — 1896\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe \"999\" — Named After the Fastest Machine in America\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA museum-quality framed print of an original 1896 letterhead from M. Strauss Cycle Dealer in Buffalo, New York — a steel-engraved portrait of one of the city's most ambitious bicycle operations, at the peak of the greatest consumer craze America had seen. Includes a companion postcard with QR access to a fully narrated audio story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn 1896, Buffalo's bicycle boom was at full speed — and M. Strauss was building a machine named after the fastest locomotive in America.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt 160 Genesee Street, in the heart of Buffalo's German-American commercial district, Strauss ran one of the city's most ambitious cycle operations. He sold new and second-hand bicycles, handled repairs, and offered nickeling and enameling — electroplating and custom color finishing that turned a standard machine into something personal. Under his own name, he manufactured a bicycle he called the \"999,\" borrowing the name from a New York Central locomotive that had broken the world land speed record at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuffalo had seventy-nine bicycle manufacturers by the turn of the decade. Strauss was not content to be one among many. By early 1896 he was developing a wholesale supply circular for sub-dealers and repair shops across Western New York, sourcing components from manufacturers as far as Connecticut and producing illustrated catalogs designed to compete with the major Chicago houses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis letterhead dates to February 17th, 1896. It is a business letter, written in Strauss's own hand, at the height of the craze.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe art is not inspired by history. It is history.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery image in The Ephemera Collective began as a real artifact. This one was created by a master engraver over 130 years ago, long before computers or any digital tools, at a time when the main instruments of design were a skilled hand, a steel plate, and time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bicycle illustration at the top of this letterhead is a period engraving of Strauss's own \"999\" model — drop bars and all. It was printed directly onto his business stationery, the calling card of a man who took his product seriously enough to put it at the top of every letter he sent. Pulled from the archive, not conjured from a prompt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story doesn't stop at the frame.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery print ships with a QR code that unlocks a full narrated audio history — researched, written, and produced by Chronicles \u0026amp; Color. Scan it, and in about three minutes you'll know who M. Strauss was, what Engine 999 meant to a city obsessed with speed, why the bicycle was called \"the freedom machine,\" and what happened to Buffalo's boom when the automobile arrived.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHow it feels to own this.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is not only decoration. It's a conversation starter — the kind of wall art that stops guests in their tracks and invites the question: 'What's the story behind this?'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd now you have the answer — researched, documented, and narrated in full. This is a boutique piece, only available from Chronicles \u0026amp; Color, from a collection you won't find on a shelf at any big box store or scrolling through an online marketplace.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWho this is for.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis piece is for people who collect experiences\u003c\/strong\u003e, not just objects.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor those who furnish their homes with intention\u003c\/strong\u003e — who want their walls to tell stories, not just fill space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor history lovers who appreciate craft\u003c\/strong\u003e. For design enthusiasts who value authenticity. For collectors who know the difference between mass-produced prints and archival artifacts restored by hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor the cycling enthusiast\u003c\/strong\u003e who knows what the safety bicycle meant to America in 1896 — and wants that story on their wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor anyone who believes a home should feel curated\u003c\/strong\u003e, not ordered from a catalog.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnd for the gift-giver\u003c\/strong\u003e looking for something genuinely rare.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe details.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFrame dimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e21¼\" W × 17¼\" H\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eVisible print\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16\" W × 12\" H\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFrame\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePremium box frame, black finish, Perspex glaze\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMatting\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSnow white 2\" border mount\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePaper\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEMA 200gsm archival quality\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eIncludes\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCompanion postcard with QR access to full audio story\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePackaging\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePremium archival presentation\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOwn a piece of the story.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chronicles \u0026 Color","offers":[{"title":"Black","offer_id":47869379510459,"sku":null,"price":179.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0680\/6487\/0587\/files\/MStraussBicycles_1896_HERO-1x1.jpg?v=1779658922","url":"https:\/\/chroniclesandcolor.com\/products\/m-strauss-bicycles-buffalo-1896-framed-print","provider":"Chronicles \u0026 Color","version":"1.0","type":"link"}