Bicycles

NEW YORK CITY -- The excitement that accompanied the invention and development of the bicycle is examined this summer at the PaineWebber Art Gallery with "Bicycles: History, Beauty, Fantasy."

This show traces the evolution of the bicycle from 1817-1920 and explores the advances in design and the resulting cultural impact this technology had on Victorian society. Over 400 antique bicycles, prints, posters and bicycle related objects from Europe and the United States remain on display through October 4.

The exhibition is presented by The Morris Museum in Morristown, N.J., where it will travel following its close in New York.

Considered the "first democratic means of transportation," the bicycle initially symbolized the notion of adventure for all classes of people. Eventually the bicycle greatly affected social, economic and moral aspects of society and was recognized for its liberating influence on women. The exhibition reveals the fantasies of romance, speed, grace and freedom which the bicycle inspired in the Victorian imagination.

Highlights of the exhibition include a magnificent Michaux velocipede tricycle with a carved griffon's head (1868), a Phantom velocipede (1869), the first bicycle to have a rubber tire, an Ariel (1872), the first manufactured high-wheeler, and a BSA safety (1884), one of the earliest manufactured chain-drive bicycles. Bicycles made of novel materials, such as bentwood hickory and bamboo (circa 1895), are included, as well as a shaft-drive (chainless) bicycle that originally belonged to John D. Rockefeller, Sr, and a Terrot Levocyclette (circa 1905), the earliest manufactured bicycle with ten speeds.

The exhibition is divided into four sections that chronologically trace the technological evolution of the bicycle. The first section is devoted to the introduction of the Running Machine, and includes a model from this period.

The second section presents the first version of a bicycle, the Velocipede (circa 1863), which added cranks and pedals to the front wheel. The High-wheeler (1871), which had a front wheel at least twice the size of its rear wheel, is the subject of the third section. The exhibition concludes with the Safety Bicycle (1884), the one closest to the one used today.

Additional sections focus on the era between 1890-1900, often called "The Golden Age of the Bicycle," when posters became the main marketing tool for the growing bicycle industry in Europe. Prints and posters representing each period and version of the bicycle are included.

Early animation devices show bicyclists in motion and bicycle memorabilia, including cards, games, toys, lamps, stamps, chinaware and glass, books, catalogues, and Nineteenth Century stereoscopic (3-D) viewers illustrate the late Victorian fascination with the bicycle.

In addition, the exhibition devotes sections to the Pope Manufacturing Co. (1877), the first American bicycle company, and the League of American Wheelmen (1880), the national organization which was influenced in promoting the bicycle and improving road conditions. The exhibition concludes with the Wright Brothers, who began in the bicycle trade, and with an analysis of the bicycle's contribution to the development of the automobile.

The works in the exhibition are drawn from the private collection of Pryor Dodge, a 46-year-old classical flutist who began collecting 25 years ago. He has assembled over 1,000 works, which comprise the largest collection of Nineteenth Century bicycle posters and memorabilia in America. "It is my hope that upon seeing the exhibition, the viewer will develop a renewed love for this machine with two wheels that bestows upon its rider the thrill of self-propelled mobility and contributes to a pollution-free environment," said Dodge.

The Bicycle by Pryor Dodge has been published by Flammarion and is distributed by Abbeville, Inc.

The PaineWebber Art Gallery is at the company's headquarters, 1285 Avenue of the Americas (between 51st and 52nd Streets) in New York City. The gallery is on the ground floor of the building and exhibition hours are: Monday through Friday, from 8 am until 6 pm.