Montgomery Ward Hawthorne Bicycle Serial Numbers

Sometimes rusty is handsome. Like this estate find Pre-War Wards Hawthorne bicycle. Hawthorne was Montgomery Wards house brand.

They were produced and sold from the 1930s until the 1960s. Wards didn’t actually make the bikes, they were produced by either Cleveland Welding or H.P. Vhdl program for parity generator. We would have liked to actually date this Hawthorne but there are no records of the serial number manufacturing dates. The age could only be estimated by the style of the frame and a few other clues. Yes, it’s rusty but it does have the original frame, head badge, fenders, headlight, rear rack, sprockets and rims. Good bones for someone that wants to restore it to original condition.

Feb 12, 2014  Wards Hawthorne serial numbers. Thread starter. Any way to find out which model/how it was equipped, colors etc? Would it show up in the Montgomery Ward catalogs? Many serial numbers and pic's as people will send in order to better date and document all the Cleveland Welding built bikes. They were made with a number of different.

Unfortunately someone gave it a not so nice maroon paint job with a brush. While some vintage bicycles can bring big bucks, the Wards Hawthorne bikes are not in big demand. You may be able to the odd collector that specializes in Montgomery Wards bicycles but they are far and few between. To me all it needs are new tires and a bit of oiling. Get it on the road and enjoy it. Rusty can be handsome.

Wards Hawthorne Bicycles For Sale.