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- Pickering Velocipede, circa 1870 - Pickering and Davis of New York developed this velocipede to be durable enough to travel the American roads of the late 1860s. It featured smaller wheels, a lower frame, and sprung handlebars to reduce road shock. The machine's backbone was made from an iron tube rather than cast iron, creating a slightly lighter yet strong vehicle.
- circa 1870
- Collections - Artifact
Pickering Velocipede, circa 1870
Pickering and Davis of New York developed this velocipede to be durable enough to travel the American roads of the late 1860s. It featured smaller wheels, a lower frame, and sprung handlebars to reduce road shock. The machine's backbone was made from an iron tube rather than cast iron, creating a slightly lighter yet strong vehicle.
- Boy on Mechanical Velocipede, 1870 - Toy makers have long experimented with ways that toys could simulate human and other real-life action. Key-wound clockwork mechanisms, mass produced by the late 1800s, revolutionized the toy world. In this toy, when a key is wound, the mechanism mounted between the wheels causes the boy's legs to pedal, moving the velocipede forward.
- 1870
- Collections - Artifact
Boy on Mechanical Velocipede, 1870
Toy makers have long experimented with ways that toys could simulate human and other real-life action. Key-wound clockwork mechanisms, mass produced by the late 1800s, revolutionized the toy world. In this toy, when a key is wound, the mechanism mounted between the wheels causes the boy's legs to pedal, moving the velocipede forward.
- Draisine, circa 1818 - German Karl Drais invented the draisine in 1817. Operators of this human-powered vehicle sat astride the wooden rail and pushed off with their feet. The early velocipede caught the public's attention, but its novelty soon wore off. A number of substantial improvements, made many years later, were needed before this running machine would evolve into the modern bicycle.
- circa 1818
- Collections - Artifact
Draisine, circa 1818
German Karl Drais invented the draisine in 1817. Operators of this human-powered vehicle sat astride the wooden rail and pushed off with their feet. The early velocipede caught the public's attention, but its novelty soon wore off. A number of substantial improvements, made many years later, were needed before this running machine would evolve into the modern bicycle.
- Sargent & Co. Velocipede, 1866 - The Boston, Massachusetts, firm of William P. Sargent and Company manufactured this velocipede under Pierre Lallement's 1866 American patent. A key feature was the rotary crank attached to the front wheel. This was an improvement over the draisine from the late 1810s, where the rider moved the vehicle by pushing off the ground.
- 1866
- Collections - Artifact
Sargent & Co. Velocipede, 1866
The Boston, Massachusetts, firm of William P. Sargent and Company manufactured this velocipede under Pierre Lallement's 1866 American patent. A key feature was the rotary crank attached to the front wheel. This was an improvement over the draisine from the late 1810s, where the rider moved the vehicle by pushing off the ground.
- Child's Velocipede Tricycle, 1880-1890 - A number of three-wheeled vehicles designed specifically for children were introduced during the last decades of the 19th century. This version, with its large front wheel with attached pedals and two smaller rear wheels, was called a velocipede. By the mid-20th century, all three-wheeled children's vehicles came to be known as tricycles.
- 1880-1890
- Collections - Artifact
Child's Velocipede Tricycle, 1880-1890
A number of three-wheeled vehicles designed specifically for children were introduced during the last decades of the 19th century. This version, with its large front wheel with attached pedals and two smaller rear wheels, was called a velocipede. By the mid-20th century, all three-wheeled children's vehicles came to be known as tricycles.