Bicycle
MakerMade by
Pope Manufacturing Co.
(American, 1890 - 1912)
Dateabout 1881
MediumSteel, rubber, leather, wood, oil paint
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (length x height x width at handlebars): 69 x 59 1/2 x 26in. (175.3 x 151.1 x 66cm)
ClassificationsVehicles
Credit LineGift of Aetna
Object number1994.204.3
DescriptionRed high wheel bicycle with straight handle bars and wooden handles. The foot pedals are attached to the larger front wheel and have no gears or chain. The tires (which probably are not original) are made of black rubber with vertical treads. The wheel rims are v-shaped. They are painted red but the spokes are silver. There is a round mounting step located above the smaller back wheel on the bike frame. The front wheel has 50 spokes.
Label TextPerhaps the most familiar bicycle of the 19th century is the high-wheeler or “ordinary.” Introduced in the 1870s from Britain, it was a challenging vehicle to master, and the subject of one of Mark Twain’s humorous essays. Pope Manufacturing Company constructed thousands of such bicycles in the 1870s and early 1880s. Not only was the design physically challenging but, given both the social conventions and clothing styles of the times, effectively prevented women from venturing out on these bicycles.
Status
On view
Unknown
