Manufactured by Monark Battery Company, Chicago, Illinois in 1936
This girl's bike features an aluminum frame in the streamlined style first introduced by the Arnold Schwinn Co. in 1934. A product of industrial design, streamlining was very popular in the 1930’s and 40’s for bicycles, and also for automobiles and household appliances. While this was a heavy machine at 42 pounds, the Silver King was about 20 pounds lighter than the average steel bicycle of similar design. This machine is equipped with the 24 x 2 ¼” balloon tires that were introduced by Schwinn in 1936. It features a fender laced with cord to create a skirt guard, a motorcycle-style butterfly kickstand, and a Morrow coaster brake, and it sold new for around $35.00. The first aluminum frame bicycle was the Lu-minum, built in 1893 by the St. Louis Refrigerator and Wooden Gutter Co. Monark reintroduced the aluminum frame in 1935 and by 1936 offered eight models. During this time they changed there name to Monark Silver King Inc. and continued to create some of the coolest bikes of the balloon tire era, including popular bikes such as the Flocycle, the Wingbar and the “Gene Autry” model of the 1950’s.
