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Also, the old 5-6 speed freewheels had pretty big jumps between gears.
Using closely spaced (in size) chainrings allowed for reliable shifting at the front and the gear ratios worked quite well. If you needed a big step in gear ratio (changing down) you changed gear at the rear, if you wanted smaller step, you changed gear at the front.
Alex_B
@bonnvelo
Older type front derailleurs (pre 1960) simply didn't offer the same travel in the vertical plane as more modern derailleurs. Many times you see a combination of 46/49 or 47/49 chain rings.
Is there a point to it? Not really, it offers a slight increase in gear range...
My first 10-speeds (I am from 1976) came with 42/52 chain rings - again the point being that 10 or 11 teeth was the maximum jump with the components of the day.