Pope Manufacturing Company is a manufacturing company started by Albert Augustus Pope in Hartford, CT. The company began with the introduction of the "Columbia" high-wheeler in 1878. Pope bought Pierre Lallement's original patent for the bicycle, and aggressively bought all other bicycle patents he could find, amassing a fortune by restricting the types of bicycles other American manufacturers could make and charging them royalties. He used the latest technologies in his bicycles -- inventions such as ball bearings in all moving parts, and hollow steel tubes for the frame, and he spent a great deal of money promoting bicycle clubs, journals, and races. Until 1896, Pope was the leading US producer of bicycles. Pope, Albert Augustus US industrialist (lived 1843 -1909) _ sometimes called Colonel Pope _ founded a successful cycle manufacturing group in 1879. ... Hartford is the capital of the state of Connecticut, in Hartford County. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Pierre Lallement (1843?-1891) was the inventor of the bicycle. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a patentee (the inventor or assignee) for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which... A royalty is a sum paid to the creator of performance art for the use of that art. ... Nickel-chrome plated steel balls A ball bearing is a common type of rolling_element bearing, a kind of bearing. ... The old Steel cable of a colliery winding tower Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with carbon content between 0. ... Steel frame and carbon fiber fork of 2000 LeMond Zurich racing bicycle A bicycle frame is the main component of a bicycle, onto which wheels and other components are fitted. ...

Pope Manufacturing was an innovator in the use of stamping for the production of metal parts.

Hiram Percy Maxim was head engineer of the Motor Vehicle Department. Hiram Percy Maxim (September 2, 1869 - February 17, 1936) was founder of the American Radio Relay League and had the amateur call sign W1AW (now the ARRL home station call sign). ...

In 1897, Pope Manufacturing began production of an electric vehicle. By 1899, the company had produced over 500 vehicles. The Electric Vehicle division was spun off that year as the independent company Columbia Automobile Company but it was acquired by the Electric Vehicle Company by the end of the year. Columbia Automobile Company was a leading early US manufacturer of electric automobiles. ... Electric Vehicle Company was a US automobile holding company and manufacturer. ...

Pope tried to re-enter the automobile manufacturing market in 1901 by acquiring a number of small firms, but the process was expensive and competition in the industry was heating up.

Pope declared bankruptcy is 1907 and abandoned the automobile industry in 1915.