If this was published in 1945, the photos were probably taken during WWII. A lot of US industries hired women into factory jobs for the first time to replace military age men. I wouldn't be that surprised if the Schwinn factory workforce was half female at that time. Many women left the workforce after the war, but a number at Schwinn stayed, including the ones you always see in the photos brazing Paramounts in the 50's and early 60's.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
Tam Pham <terminaut@gmail.com> wrote:
On 8/9/07, Tom Sanders wrote:
>
> Did they build them in house, or were they built by another manufacturer?
I had forgotten that I have a book put out by Schwinn to commemorate their 50th anniversary, "50 Years of Schwinn Built Bicycles", which was originally published in 1945. In one of the pages with photos of Paramount cranks and various other parts, the text says "Arnold, Schwinn, & Company is today the only manufacturer of fine, precision-built cycle parts in America". With that claim I am inclined to believe that they manufactured the cranks themselves.
What's even more interesting is that there are a bunch of photos from inside the factory and I was surprised to see that the had their own tube milling machinery. I'll get scans of the photos posted later this eve, including a noteworthy one showing the framebuilding area full of women building (non-Paramount) frames!
Tam Pham
Huntington Beach, CA - USA