The bike you see in the pictures is the only Securitas highwheel I know of. It’s a high quality bike with fluted forks, Humber type spring and Bown Aeolus type ball bearings. Very nice is the makers plate. Securitas is so rare that we would never know the maker if this plate had gone lost.
Serial number of this bike is 87 and I guess it dates from 1886 or 1887. It is still in France and former owners have been creative to keep it on the road: look at the way the broken tire and broken saddle spring have been fixed!
The collector who owns the bike bought it from the family that owned it from new. The seller told him her father still rode it in local flower shows in the 1950’s. This bike shows its history and it deserves to stay like this. I hope it will never be restored.
Securitas was a brand name of the French firm M.A. Maquaire, based at 5 Boulevard de
Strasbourg in Paris. The Encyclopaedia of Cycle Manufacturers (VCC, Ray Miller) mentions that Securitas made bikes around c.1886-90. The 1890 catalogue I have copies of shows a complete range of models, such as the ‘Express Post’ safety, ladies model ‘La Gazelle’ a tricycle, tandems and various military cross frames. It also features a penny farthing, only available in 56 inch and intended for racing. See illustration. In earlier years, Securitas must have had more models.
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