Bicycle
MakerMade by
The League Cycle Company
(American)
Datec. 1894
MediumSteel, aluminium, wood leather cork, rubber string or cord
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width x depth): 41 1/2 × 23 1/2 × 70in. (105.4 × 59.7 × 177.8cm)
ClassificationsVehicles
Credit LineGift of The Thompson Family Land Trust
Object number1994.172.1
DescriptionWomen's chainless safety bicycle made by The League Cycle Company, c. 1894.
The bicycle is black and the handle bars are silver colored with cork handle grips. The saddle is brown leather and sits on coil spring. The right side of the handle bars has a hand brake that stops the front wheel. The wheel rims are wooden. There are metal pieces on the back of the front wheel and top of the back wheel. The metal pieces on back of front wheel and and top of back wheel. The metal piece on the back is held on with cord. The pedals are made of white hard rubber.
The bicycle is black and the handle bars are silver colored with cork handle grips. The saddle is brown leather and sits on coil spring. The right side of the handle bars has a hand brake that stops the front wheel. The wheel rims are wooden. There are metal pieces on the back of the front wheel and top of the back wheel. The metal pieces on back of front wheel and and top of back wheel. The metal piece on the back is held on with cord. The pedals are made of white hard rubber.
Label TextWhile in theory the safety bicycle made it easier for women to enjoy this recreational activity, and the modified “drop frame” design solved some problems, certain obstacles remained, due in large part to the nature of women’s clothing of the time. Long skirts, for example, did not lend themselves to pedaling bikes with exposed chains. Enter the “chainless” bicycle, in which power from the pedals is transmitted to the rear wheel by an enclosed drive shaft and sets of bevel gears. Hartford’s League Bicycle Company introduced this technology in the early 1890s, and by the middle of the decade the firm and their patents were controlled by the much larger Pope Manufacturing Company, which then introduced its own chainless models.
NotesHistorical Note: This bicycle belonged to Miss Fannie Ellsworth Thompson (1871-1955) of Melrose, Connecticut. She spent her life on the Thompson family farm in East Windsor and Ellington.Status
Not on view
Unknown
