Birth of the Bicycle: A Bumpy History of the Bicycle in America 1819-1900

Three cheers for the birth of the bicycle! Hop on for a jaunty, rhythmic ride through a playfully illustrated history.


From the pedal-less, brakeless wooden velocipedes of the 1800s to the sleek racing machines of today, from a luxury for the wealthy to a lifeline for the working class, the bicycle’s journey is a study in invention, innovation, and ingenuity. Sarah Nelson’s affectionate and poetic tribute covers almost a century of the two-wheeler’s development, while Iacopo Bruno’s bold, b...