Tricycle
Datec. 1880
Dimensions61 x 55.9 x 55.9 x 29 cm (24 x 22 x 22 in., 29 cm)
Credit LineGift of Wayne Cherry, London, Ontario, 2018.
Object number2018.010.001
Label TextThis tricycle came from England to London at some unknown time. After the invention of the front-wheel driven velocipede captured the public imagination in 1869, the cycle industry was created. Design evolved and, by 1880, the ordinary (‘penny farthing’) and the high wheel tricycle ruled the roads. Treadle-controlled velocipede tricycles for children were made by a variety of manufacturers. They were expensive items in their day, purchased by rich families for their children. The earliest examples used wooden hubs and parts but, by the 1880s, wheels were made of steel, with cast iron fittings. Although rubber tires were already available, the earliest models had metal wheel rims that did not take a tire; by the 1880s, steel wheels with solid rubber tires were offered as an option.
NameTricycle
