Philander Barclay in 1919. Studio portrait by George E. Birdsall. Photo from The Oakparker, November 11, 1927.
The Barclay Blog
A detailed exploration of the life of Philander Walker Barclay (1878 - 1940),
bicycle mechanic and Oak Park's first Village Historian.
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Philander Barclay as he appeared in the Oak Leaves, November 13, 1903.
Poster session at Open Hours, Special Collections, Oak Park Public Library on October 22, 2025. Photo by Anna-Maria Manuel.
“Better Call Around and Get Acquainted”:
Exploring Bicycle Barclay’s Business Through His Advertising.
Poster session presented by Anna-Maria Manuel at the Halloween Open Hours, Special Collections, Oak Park Public Library on October 22, 2025. The introduction, images, and captions from the display are included on this page.
Philander Barclay learning the bicycle trade in 1898 at Wright Elsom Jr.’s bicycle and electrical goods shop in Oak Park.
Photo from: The Philander Barclay Collection, Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest.
Introduction
For Philander Walker Barclay (September 16, 1878 – July 7, 1940)—also known as “Bicycle Barclay”—documenting the history of Oak Park and River Forest was more than a hobby. It was his passion in life.
By trade, Barclay was a bicycle mechanic and dealer. He began learning the craft in 1898 at Wright Elsom Jr.’s bicycle and electrical supply shop in Oak Park [1], during the height of the Bicycle Craze in the United States. The young mechanic gained broad experience there. Barclay recalled, the shop “took in every sort of work that came along.” Elsom’s team repaired bicycles, automobiles, motorcycles, racing sulkies, wheelchairs, baby buggies, umbrellas, hot-water bottles, and rubber shoes. [2]
As the Bicycle Craze waned, Elsom constructed a new building and gradually offered automobile sales [3]. In 1903, Elsom’s new shop, the Oak Park Bicycle and Automobile Depot, featured an office, salesroom, and a well-equipped machine shop for auto repairs. [4]
Barclay may have sensed that bicycles were being edged out, both by Elsom’s shifting focus and by the rise of automobiles.
By 1905, Barclay was co-managing the Bicycle Sales and Repair Department alongside Elsom. [5] With years of hands-on experience, he was ready to strike out on his own—in 1906, he did just that. [6]
From 1906 through most of 1921, Barclay ran his bicycle business in Oak Park, relocating five times, but always staying in the downtown area. In a 1922 interview in MotorCycling and Bicycling, he explained one reason for the frequent moves—his unwillingness “to be gouged for high rent.” [7] If you look closely at the ad captions, you’ll discover other reasons, too.
Barclay never hired employees. So how did he manage the workload? He credited a “system” built on efficiency. “My methods of work have been so systematized that I turn out jobs much faster than average,” he said in that same interview. [8]
He also shared his philosophy on advertising: keep expenses in check, but “spend liberally” on ads. Choose the “best medium” and craft ads with “pull.” To Barclay, an ad’s purpose was “to draw people to your shop, to make them remember your name and address, and to make them feel that you can ‘deliver the goods.’” [9]
The ads Barclay placed in the Oak Leaves offer a glimpse into his business and mindset. The collection in this display represents just a small sample from his 15 years in business in Oak Park. So, keep reading—and “get acquainted” with the bicycle business of Oak Park’s first Village Historian.
Sources
1. Oak Park Directory, January 1, 1898; pg. 38. Wright Elsom Jr.
Oak Park Reporter; August 17, 1894; pg. 4. Elsom opened bicycle and electrical shop.
Oak Park Reporter; August 17, 1894; pg. 5. Elsom ad for new shop.
2. Philander Barclay; “Famous Bicycle Barclay in Front of His Shop”; The Oakparker; Jubilee Number; November 29, 1935; pg. 4.
3. Oak Park Argus; September 26, 1902; pg.1. Elsom purchased lot from E.W. Hoard on North Boulevard.
Oak Park Cycle & Automobile Depot ad; Oak Leaves; January 9, 1903; pg. 19.
“Business Changes”; Oak Leaves; April 17, 1903; pg. 24.
4. “Wright Elsom’s Garage”; Oak Leaves; May 1, 1903; pg. 10.
5. Oak Leaves; August 19, 1905; pg. 20. Elsom ad. Elsom and Barclay managed the Bicycle Sales and Repair Department.
6. Oak Leaves, February 24, 1906; pg. 4.
Oak Leaves, March 10, 1906; pg. 12. Barclay’s ad for his new shop.
7. “‘Bicycle Barclay’ The Average Dealer”; John Anson Ford; MotorCycling and Bicycling, October 11, 1922, pgs. 23-24, 26. Article from the Philander Barclay Collection, Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest.
8. Ibid.
Oak Leaves; September 29, 1917; pg. 16. Barclay's ad mentioned that he has a “system.”
9. “‘Bicycle Barclay’ The Average Dealer”; John Anson Ford; MotorCycling and Bicycling, October 11, 1922, pgs. 23-24, 26. Article from the Philander Barclay Collection, Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest.
Ad from: Oak Leaves; May 12, 1906; pg. 23.
Buying a new bicycle in 1906 was quite an investment. $25 back then is roughly equivalent to $900 today. A second-hand bicycle priced at $6 in 1906 compares to a little over $200 now. [1]
Oak Leaves; May 19, 1906; pg. 19.
According to the Ordinance, automobiles and “other similar vehicles” in use “from sunset to daybreak” needed a lighted lamp (or lamps). The penalty ranged from “not less than five ($5.00) dollars, nor more than twenty-five ($25.00) dollars for each offense.” [2]
2. “An Ordinance”; The Oak Park Reporter-Argus June 10, 1905; pg. 8.
Oak Leaves; July 28, 1906; pg. 25.
After just four months in business, Barclay moved to 133 Lake Street (old street-numbering system) from his original location at 138 Lake Street. The Oak Leaves reported that Barclay “has met with so good success in his bicycle repair business that he has been forced to seek larger quarters.” [3]
3. Oak Leaves; July 14, 1906; pg. 12.
Oak Leaves; April 27, 1907; no page number.
Barclay’s full-page ad reflected on his first year in business, publishing a message of gratitude and fairness—insisting that children, in particular, deserved honest treatment.
Oak Leaves; June 29, 1907; pg. 11.
This ad summarized what Barclay’s bicycle shop had to offer, including electrical supplies, a “side line” to his bicycle business (for extra income).
Oak Leaves; March 21, 1908; pg. 19.
Alvin Joslyn (“A.J.”) Musselman (1873 – 1950), an inventor, lived in Oak Park beginning around 1906 [4] until sometime in the 1920s. [5] The Musselman Coaster Brake was just one of his inventions. According to his obituary in the October 12, 1950 Alton Evening Telegraph, Musselman “invented a super balloon tire, a braking system for B-29 bombers and developed many improvements for automobiles, airplans [sic] and locomotives.” [6]
4. Oak Leaves; September 1, 1906; pg. 11. This seems to be the earliest report of Musselman in an Oak Park newspaper.
5. 1920 U.S. Census; Musselman, Oak Park, IL.
1930 U.S. Census; Musselman, Cuyahoga Falls, OH.
6. “A.J. Musselman, Inventor Formerly of Quincy, Dies”; Alton Evening Telegraph (Illinois); October 12, 1950; pg. 37.
Oak Leaves; June 24, 1911; pg. XII.
Barclay moved his business to 118 Lake Street (old street-numbering system) a few months before he became a dealer for Dayton-brand bicycles, which were first manufactured in 1892 by the Davis Sewing Machine Company, in Dayton, Ohio. The familiar Huffy-bicycle brand name is traceable to the Davis origin. [7]
7. https://ismacs.net/davis/history_repeats_itself_story_of_the_davis_sewing_machine_company.html
https://blog.library.si.edu/blog/2022/07/14/pedalling-through-time-with-davis-sewing-machine-co/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huffy
All accessed on October 13, 2025.
Oak Leaves; April 18, 1914; pg. 37.
Yet another shop relocation: In 1913, Barclay took over the bicycle business of his former employer, Wright Elsom, Jr. and moved back to Elsom’s shop at 141 North Boulevard (old street-numbering system). [8]
8. “Barclay Returns from California”; Oak Leaves; March 1, 1913; pg. 17.
Oak Leaves; May 16, 1914; pg. 27.
Oak Leaves; April 24, 1915; pg. 60.
No, Barclay didn’t relocate his shop. In the c. 1915 Oak Park street renumbering, 141 North Boulevard became 1112 North Boulevard. [9]
9. Oak Leaves; April 3, 1915; pg. 10. Barclay's ad used old and new addresses.
Oak Leaves; September 29, 1917; pg. 16.
Barclay didn’t hire employees. So, how did he keep up with the work in his shop? He had a “system.” He explained his system in more detail in a 1922 interview in the trade publication MotorCycling and Bicycling. [10]
10. John Anson Ford; “‘Bicycle Barclay’: The Average Dealer”; MotorCycling and Bicycling; October 11. 1922; pgs. 23-24, 26. Article part of the Philander Barclay Collection, Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest.
Oak Leaves; December 22, 1917; pg. 15.
Oak Leaves; March 9, 1918; pg. 21.
Oak Leaves; September 6, 1919; pg. 19.
Barclay stands in the doorway of his shop.
Barclay’s shop attracted customers from a large area that included the southeast and northeast parts of Oak Park, plus River Forest and Forest Park.
Oak Leaves; February 28, 1920; pg. 28.
Barclay moved from 1112 North Boulevard due to the expansion of neighboring Pioneer Publishing Company, publisher of Oak Leaves, at 1114 North Boulevard. [11]
11. Oak Leaves; January 19, 1918; pg. 43; Pioneer Publishing Company ad. The company was located at 1114 North Boulevard.
“Real Estate Market”; Oak Leaves; January 3, 1920; pg. 55. An article announced the sale of 1112 North Boulevard, erroneously reported as 1114 North Boulevard.
Oak Leaves; October 1, 1921; pg. 87. Pioneer Publishing Company ad used its new address, 1112 North Boulevard.
Oak Leaves; July 31, 1920; pg. 31.
According to an Oak Leaves article from August 12, 1911, Barclay had a collection of “several . . . old wheels” (bicycles). [12] So, it’s no surprise that he created a window display featuring his ordinary bicycle (a high-wheel bicycle or penny farthing). For his display, the sign on the bicycle read, “Pride of Oak Park, 1886.” [13]
12. “Veteran Bicycle Takes Spin”; Oak Leaves; August 12, 1911; pg. 3.
13. Philander Barclay; “Early Days of the Bicycle in Early Oak Park Told by Pioneer”; Oak Leaves; July 12, 1934; pg. 29.
Oak Leaves; January 7, 1911; pg. 27.
Oak Leaves; April 16, 1921; pg. 18.
An ad for Barclay’s last shop location in Oak Park. Williams Street is now Westgate Street.
In late 1921, Barclay moved to Hollywood, California to be closer to his brother and sister, and to open a bicycle shop where bike season lasted the entire year. [14] Barclay moved back to Oak Park in the last half of 1926. [15]
14. “Bicycle Barclay Here”; Holly Leaves (Hollywood, CA); July 1, 1922; pg. 67.
1922 Los Angeles (California) City Directory; pg. 459; James T. Barclay.
1924 Index to Register of Voters; Los Angeles County. Philander lived with his sister, Luan.
15. “Swatting Mosquitoes”; Oak Leaves; November 26, 1927; pg. 6. Barclay wrote that he returned from California “a little over a year ago.”