Henry W. Higham’s Bicycle Trophy Belt, 1880
date: label: date made
content: ca 1880
notes: label: Description
content: When Henry W. Higham of Nottingham, England came to the United States in the early 1880s, he had an impressive bicycle racing record under his belt – or rather on top of it. This velvet trophy belt, measuring three inches wide by 34 inches long, has a silver plate with the inscription “6 Days Bicycle Champion Belt of Scotland – Won by H. W. Higham – Nottingham – 19th June 1880. Contested at Glasgow” Smaller silver plates mounted on the blue velvet have engravings of a man riding a high-wheel bicycle, a man standing beside a high-wheel bicycle, and a coat of arms. In 1883, Higham challenged champion racer John S. Prince to a series of three races in the United States. Prince won two out of three races to take the match. Higham then challenged Prince and three other racers to a single 20-mile rematch, and Higham won. His son, Harry Higham, donated the 1880 belt and 1883 gold medal to the Smithsonian Institution in 1944.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
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content: Transportation
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content: Road Transportation
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: H. W. Higham
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.313687
label: catalog number
content: 313687
label: accession number
content: 168449
objectType: label: Object Name
content: trophy, belt
label: Other Terms
content: trophy, belt; Road; Bicycle
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: silver (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: velvet (part: material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 34 1/2 in x 3 in; 87.63 cm x 7.62 cm