 | This picture of the 1891 Yale bicycle club, from Yale's Manuscripts and Archives Department, appears in "Bicycle: The History." |
Local history related to bicycling in New Haven -- and at Yale -- is featured in a book soon to be released by the Yale University Press.
"Bicycle: The History," by historian and freelance writer David V. Herlihy, recounts how in 1866 French mechanic Pierre Lallement, who had settled in Ansonia, Connecticut, filed the first published specification of a true bicycle featuring cranks and rotary pedals for propulsion. Hence, as the home of the first bicycle patent, New Haven has the distinction of being considered the bike's birthplace. A brass plaque on the upper New Haven Green commemorates the date.
Herlihy also tells how New Haven in 1819 was a hotbed of velocipedes -- a hobbyhorse-like vehicle that was a precursor to true bicycles. In "Bicycle," he describes the public reaction to these human-powered contraptions, drawn from a local newspaper account:
"Before long, New Haven became the only American city where velocipedes combed the streets 'in great numbers.' The local reaction, however, was less than encouraging. One paper allowed that velocipedes 'possess some advantages for exercise, and may answer a useful purpose,' but decried the 'sundry and wild riders' who routinely dashed along the sidewalks after dark. So great was their 'heedlessness and impetuosity,' they annoyed all those who had not, like themselves, 'the good fortune to be mounted on wooden horses.' The newspaper noted that accidents had already occurred owing either to the faulty construction of the vehicles or the ineptitude of their riders; it knew not which. The paper implored the young riders 'to keep in the middle of the streets, and leave the pavements to those who are willing to walk without wheels.'"
"Bicycle" also features an illustration of an 1819 newspaper ad by a business specializing in renting bikes to Yale students, looking for a "sprightly, active young man" who can not only manage a velocipede but also bartend.
While Harvard was the first American college to host a bicycle club, Yale soon followed with one of its own. Pictured in "Bicycle" is the Yale club in 1891, boasting nine members.
Herlihy will share anecdotes about the bicycle's history during a "Books Sandwiched In" talk at noon on Thursday, Oct. 28, at the New Haven Free Public Library,
At 4 p.m. that day, there will be a New Haven Bike Tour, co-sponsored by the Devil's Gear bike shop and led by members of Elm City Cycling (see related story). The tour will begin at the historical marker on the New Haven Green commemorating the birth of the bike in the America, at the corner of Chapel and College streets, across from Claire's Corner Copia.
A party and book signing by Herlihy will follow at the Devil's Gear bike shop, 433 Chapel St.
All events are free and open to the public.
T H I S
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