Velocipede, 1868
date: label: date made
content: ca 1868
notes: label: Description
content: This French-patterned velocipede was donated to the museum in 1907. The donor of this machine stated that it was made by either Sargent or French, carriage builders of Boston, Massachusetts, about
label: Description
content: 1868, and that it sold for $160. It seems likely it is from the period: an illustration of an almost identical machine is captioned "American velocipede of 1869" on page 22 of Charles Pratt's The American Bicycler (1880). Another similar machine, illustrated on page 28 of Harry Griffin's Cycles and Cycling (1890), is described as an "Improved Boneshaker of
label: Description
content: 1870," made by Charles Pomeroy Button, of 142 Cheapside, London.
label: Description
content: The velocipede is made from a heavy forged bar with a fork at its lower end to hold the rear wheel. A vertical iron fork, topped by a horizontal
label: Description
content: handlebar holds the front wheel. The wood-spoke wheels have 13/16 inch- wide iron tires. A forward projection of the frame carries a pair of footrests for use while coasting. Weighted bronze pedals hang from the cranks that are secured to the live front axle. Twisting the handlebars in the mounting brackets winds up a cord, which presses a brake shoe against the tire of the rear wheel. A padded, pigskin-covered metal saddle is mounted on a flat steel spring, on which it can be adjusted forward or backward to suit the length of the rider's legs.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Associated Place
content: United States: Massachusetts
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
label: See more items in
content: America on the Move
label: See more items in
content: Transportation
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of William Sturgis Bigelow
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.247884
label: catalog number
content: 247884
label: accession number
content: 47725
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Velocipede, 1868
label: Other Terms
content: Velocipede, 1868; Road