For your consideration is this rare, Columbia high wheel bike hub light made by The Pope Manufacturing Company in 1884-1885. Colonel Albert Augustus Pope started the Pope Manufacturing Company in Boston, Massachusetts in 1877, as a pioneering American corporation. It is most famous for producing bicycles, followed by vehicles and motorcycles, and played an important part in the development of personal mobility in the United States. Albert A. Pope, a Union Army veteran and wealthy businessman, became intrigued in the bicycle's possibilities after seeing high-wheeled "ordinary" bicycles during the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. He started importing and later making bicycles under the Columbia brand, finally manufacturing them in Hartford, Connecticut. This light features a japanned metal construction and a large plastic light cover on the front of the lamp. The back can be opened to pull out the kerosene compartment with the wick. The sides and back feature colored plastic windows to view the lit kerosene lamp. The front features a metal tag reading, "Columbia Lamp, Made by The Pope MFG. Co. Boston". This lamp would have been mounted on the front axle of a high wheel bicycle to illuminate dark roads and path and provide a beacon to let others know they were on the path. It shows great condition despite its age and use over the years, showing slight wear but no signs of damage. It measures 2 5/8" L x 5 1/2" W x 7 3/8" H and weighs 14 ounces. Provenance: From the Tombstone Western Heritage Museum in Tombstone, Arizona. HW13 SKE69