The original Thomas Inch Middleweight Dumbbells weighing 144lb. and 153lb., from the original set of certainly four possibly five bells, the most famo

The original Thomas Inch Middleweight Dumbbells weighing 144lb. and 153lb., from the original set of certainly four possibly five bells, the most famous of which was the 172lb. heavyweight ''challenge dumbbell'', the set originally belonging to Thomas Inch (1881-1963) the celebrated British Strong Man, and believed to date circa 1897-1904 Thomas Inch was born at Scarborough 27th December 1881. His name is perpetuated to this day in the world of strength and body building by the Thomas Inch dumbbell. Inch claimed that in his lifetime he never encountered anybody who was able to lift the 172lb. dumbbell above his head, and only one who was able to even raise it off the floor. In modern times the surviving 172lb. bell has never been taken 'clean' above the shoulder, although Strongman Bill Kazmeier lifted it 'continental' style which allows for body touching on the upward movement to the shoulder. Most of the historical information on Thomas Inch and his dumbbells is written in the ''Strength'' publications and newspapers of the day. These have been summarised in later writings, some now published on the net, but for those with a serious interest in Inch it would be advised to go back to the original source materials when drawing all conclusions. The most famous of Thomas Inch's dumbells is his ''challenge dumbbell''. This was the largest and weighed 172lb. In subsequent times it has had a few owners including the bodybuilder Reg Park who sold it to the enthusiast Bert Lightfoot who, in turn, sold it to the British bodybuilder and weightlifter David Prowse, later famous as being the actor who portrayed Darth Vader in the Star Wars films. Prowse then sold the Challenge bell to the American collector Kim Wood, the former NFL strength coach at the Cincinnati Bengals. There is a video on 'You Tube' of Thomas Inch lifting what he calls his ''famous challenge dumbbell'' and another smaller example to set an overall weight lifting record. However, it is far from certain what he is actually lifting on the occasion of this publicity film. The dumbbells in the video are of a different style of manufacture to the celebrated Inch bells with threaded handles and removable hollow cast iron globes. The Thomas Inch Middleweight Dumbbells Thomas Inch is believed to have had certainly four probably five different thick handle globe dumbbells. The most famous and heaviest being the previous described 172lbs. bell. What are being offered here in the auction are the two 'middleweight' dummbells, weighing 144lbs and 153lbs. There has been much speculation as to the whereabouts of the middleweight bells in recent times. The auctioneer can now reveal that they have been a private collection in west Wales. The collector acquired them from Tom Fenton who had been bequeathed the dummbells by Thomas Inch. Tom Fenton was from the Cathays area of the Welsh capital Cardiff. He was a strength enthusiast who had been a close friend of Inch for many years. When in possession of the dumbbells Fenton set up his own club, albeit it run from his home. The bells were often loaned out for public performances by local athletes and at least three individuals have been recorded as successfully lifting the middleweight bells at the time, namely Gerald ''Strang'' Davies, Hubert Thomas and Mike Brown. A careful analysis has been carried out on the weight, dimensions and structure of the dumbbells on behalf of the auctioneer: The144lbs. dumbbell has a 60.5mm diameter handle, 100mm between globes, a 10mm hole at the centre of the handle. The handle is hollow with a wall thickness of 3mm. It has a silver coating that appears directly applied to the iron casting. The 153lbs. dumbbell, also with direct silver coating, has a 59.5mm diameter handle, 100mm between globes, 10mm hole in the centre of the handle filled with a malleable substance, a small second hole 10mm from one globe in line with the central hole, filled with a non ferrous metal silver paint. It has been suggested that Thomas Inch would substitute the dumbbells at different points in his performances, so it is no surprise to see the presence of handle holes. The casting of the dumbbells is of exceptional quality. Now with slight rusting, dust and a patina accumulated over the years but with enough silver coating preserved to relay the impression of how spectacular they must have looked during Thomas Inch's original performances.