By Robert Whitworth

Washington Sq., Philadelphia, May 1819: The velocipede shot past the reporter, almost knocking him down. Then another flashed by in hot pursuit and circled the square at an astonishing speed. The startled journalist later wrote, "My ears were assailed by the cry of 'Here comes another!' And before I had time to look round it passed like lightning." He further noted, "The rider seemed to sit with as much ease as if in an elbow chair." This was not an uncommon occurrence in Philadelphia that year - and the men causing a stir on their foot-powered velocipedes were well-known figures - Rubens and Franklin Peale, sons of Charles Willson Peale. Rubens was mounted on his father's iron beast, while Franklin rode a much lighter wooden model.


Rubens Peale and Charles Wilson' Peale's sketch of his own velocipede.

Charles Willson Peale, America's foremost artist of the period, was the first man in Philadelphia to own and ride a velocipede, the forerunner of the bicycle. In his enthusiastic words, it went with a "swiftness that dazzles the sight." While in Baltimore in late 1818, Peale had viewed the first of these 2-wheeled horseless vehicles built in America by James Stewart, a talented musical instrument maker. Stewart made his velocipede based on a European technical drawing, and called it a Tracena. In February of 1819 he displayed it at Concert Hall in Baltimore and received a number of orders from young gentlemen who were ready to roll with the latest mode of personal transport. Price: $8.00.


Stewart's "Tracena" was based on this type of Draisine.
(Image courtesy of the Bicycle Museum of America.)

Stewart's ad in the American and Commercial Daily Advertiser for February 5th, 1819 shows some wonderful sales positioning against the horse.

TRACENA. A new mode of traveling, combining the advantages of carriage, horse, and foot. It has a saddle as a horse; it has wheels as a carriage, yet the rider derives his progress from his own feet. It exhibits the principle of skaiting on land.

This curious, useful and simple machine was invented in Germany by TRACE. J. Stewart claims the merit of constructing and introducing them here, with improvements, which he has patented, and is ready to execute them to order. These horses are cheap, they are safe, and do not fall without the rider's consent.
In that part of Germany where they are introduced, they are not only possessed by numbers, but hired out as horses are.

The public are informed that the above TRACENA will be exhibited to morrow and Saturday at Concert Hall, South Charles st. from 9 AM. Till 5 PM. Admittance 25 cents.

Charles Wilson Peale

Back in Philadelphia, Peale, nearly 80, quickly set about having a velocipede made. He provided a Germantown blacksmith with a drawing from a London journal and scrap iron from an old threshing machine. When completed early in May 1819, Peale's velocipede weighed 55 lbs. - slightly heavier than the vehicle in the drawing. Peale had the machine lightened and modified to alleviate his complaint that it "can not go without labor up hill." Shortly after, it went on display at his museum of curiosities in Philadelphia, where it drew great interest and many paying customers. According to Peale it "gratified many young men to show their skills at fast walking."

The Fast-foot follies begin.

Soon, the "pitter-pat-whoosh," originally heard in Washington Sq., was all over town. Velocipedes were exhibited in public squares and gardens, where anyone could ride them. Mr. Chambers hired them out at his Vauxhall Gardens. And Mr. Stewart, Peale's old friend and inspiration from Baltimore, came to ply his trade in Philadelphia, where he exhibited at Federal Hall. An unknown promoter also held a "Draisena Exhibition" at the Grand Saloon of Washington Hall.

Peale's sons found great delight in riding their velocipedes through the city. Members of Philadelphia's beau monde also became keen enthusiasts, joyously careening about, wearing out their shoes - and the patience of many residents.

On June 29, 1819, William A. Robinson, a student in Philadelphia, described the velocipede in a letter to his Rhode Island cousin, Rowland Hazard. He also included a drawing and gave a brief description of it, stating his preference for a velocipede with 3 wheels instead of 2: "I think those with 3 wheels preferable - for good roads, as they require no care to keep them upright which those with two only do -- & on descending ground no exertion is requisite but to steer them properly, which is necessary with the others, and also requires care to keep them from falling when force is not necessary to propel them forward. I have never had an opportunity of trying a 3- wheeled one. Of course what I have said is mere speculation -- the other kind I have tried several times."


Willam A. Robinson's drawing in a letter to his cousin.

The velocipede was a delight for some people, but hell on wheels for others. Local officials, prodded by disgruntled residents, launched into action. One rider who strayed onto the sidewalks was fined three dollars. The elder Peale commented on the affair saying, "This meant offence to some ill-natured person, who rummaged up an old Law of the Corporation which to prevent damage to the pavements had a penalty of 3 dollars for each time. Since this spiteful process, the velocipede has not been in the streets of Philadelphia."

The Peales then confined velocipede riding to the area of their family farm in Belfield. From there, Franklin Peale used his velocipede to visit friends some distance away in the country. The elder Peale enjoyed riding around in the "salubrious air," of his garden: "It was my custom to rise at day breaking, prepare my colours and paint before breakfast, and when my back began to complain by my close application, I then would mount my velosipede and make half a dozen turns round some squares of the Garden, which is excellent exercise & soon restored me with powers to go on with my labours." Peale even encouraged his daughters Sybil and Elizabeth to partake in velocipede exercise.


Gardens at the family farm,where the Peales
rode their "velocipedes."

The Peale, Stewart and Chambers velocipedes were not the only ones causing a stir in America. In late April 1819, another maker had rolled onto the scene - this time in Boston. Ambrose Salisbury was an enterprising wheel-right and chaise maker who quickly latched onto the idea. He exhibited his first velocipede on the city's main streets and the mall, displaying, according to one newspaper account, "the rapidity of its motion and the singularity of its shape." In May, Salisbury invited the public to inspect his first two velocipedes at his workshop, and for a while after, the novelty caught on among Bostonians - proper, or not! It quickly captivated the college crowd, and numerous Harvard students, including Charles Sumner, would ride velocipedes over the long bridge between Boston and Cambridge at moonlight.

THE DRAISENA.
AMBROSE SALISBURY, Weelright and Chaise Maker, first introduced into this town, Machines similar to the one described below; and of which the plate will convey some idea; he has manufactured two, which may be examined at his Shop in Water-street, where the manner of using them will be explained. It is called Draisena, from the name of the inventor. May 7.

Velocipede mania was on a roll in America. But before sprinting ahead, let's visit its origin.

The 'big bang' of personal mobility.

Karl von Drais

Contrary to popular belief, Leonardo Da Vinci did not invent the bicycle, ca. 1490 -- nor did Comte de Sivrac create a similar vehicle in France, ca. 1790. Both origins were proven to be false. In truth, the man responsible for the first human-propelled machine, with 2 in-line wheels, was Karl Friedrich Christian Louis Baron Drais von Sauerbronn. Karl von Drais, as he called himself, was chief forester of the duchy of Baden in Germany.

Inspecting the forests was a long and arduous task, and in 1816, Drais was yearning for a way to make faster tours. The same year, freak weather conditions resulted in a bad harvest and widespread famine. To Drais it made no sense to feed horses for transport while people were starving. Nature and need came together, creating an epiphany for him -- and a unique idea was born. Its principle was taken from the art of skating and, based on this, Drais created what he called a Laufmaschine (running machine).

This running machine consisted of 2 in-line wheels connected by a perch with a cushioned seat, a balance board for resting the arms, and a fixed handle bar attached to the front wheel. It was made entirely of wood, with the exception of iron tires, brass wheel bearings and a padded seat. The rider sat on the seat and, with a 'heels-first' gait, achieved forward motion. Drais's second model incorporated a steering mechanism attached to the front wheel, which gave the machine directional abilities. Further testing revealed the need for brakes, and Drais created a device for them.

Faster than a speeding knackwurst.

At the first demonstration of the Laufmaschine at Mannheim on June 12th, 1817, Drais showed a fleetness of foot that amazed the crowd. He covered a distance of 9 miles in one hour - three times faster than the normal walking gait - and faster than a mail coach could travel. In October of 1817, Drais produced a leaflet promoting his invention. In it, he stated, "On a hard road, the rapidity of the Velocipede resembles that of an expert skaiter; and the principles of the two motions are the same. In truth, it runs a considerable distance while the rider is inactive, and with the same rapidity as when his feet are in motion."


1817 military Draisine pictured in von Drais's leaflet.

The leaflet also mentions a tandem version of the machine and another with a Bath type (wicker) chair attached to the front. The Laufmaschine could also be fitted with a silk umbrella to protect against sun and rain. A sail could be fitted "to make use of prevailing winds," and a lantern could be supplied on request, for use at night.


Laufmaschine fitted with wicker chair and umbrella.

In January of 1818 Drais was granted a patent by the state of Baden. Other patents soon followed in France and Austria, and examples of the machine also showed up in Italy the same year. The Laufmaschine, which the newspapers called a Draisine, quickly became popular among the European elite, appearing in parks and on stage. Drais was admitted to several learned societies, and he frequently lectured on the merits of his latest invention. Many people were intrigued with the potential of the Draisine, but one sarcastic wag commented, "Mr. Drais deserves the gratitude of cobblers, for he has found an optimal way to wear out shoes."

A 'Draisine' riding school in Vienna, Austria.

In late 1818, one of Drais's running machines was brought to England, but it met with little enthusiasm. Even so, his invention set the wheels turning in the mind of an enterprising London coach and harness maker.

Walk this way, please!

Denis Johnson was nearly 60 years old when he first saw the Draisine demonstrated in London. It was love at first roll, and Johnson announced in late 1818 that he would soon market an improved model. In his coach and harness workshop he streamlined the construction, using a perch that curved in the center to allow for larger wheels, which would give the velocipede faster speed. He also made the seat adjustable and replaced von Drais's bulky wooden braces with an iron fork in front and two iron stays in the rear. The steering bar was also simplified by making it perpendicular to the frame.

Dennis Johnson's patent drawings (Johnson's early velocipedes used a curved fork for the front wheel).

Denis Johnson on his revised velocipede, 1819.

On December 22, 1818, Johnson was granted Royal Letters Patent for a "Machine for the purpose of diminishing the labour and fatigue of persons in walking and enabling them at the same time to use greater speed which said Machine he intends calling the Pedestrian Curricle…" This name was short-lived, and soon after its unveiling Johnson's velocipede became known by sundry others including: dandy-charger, dandy horse, hobby-horse, swift walker, and walking accelerator.

Photo of Denis Johnson hobbyhorse #100.
It was painted canary yellow with black coach
striping. Note the adjustable seat.

In January/February of 1819 Johnson began building and selling pedestrian hobby-horses at his workshop at 75 Long Acre in London. In March, he opened riding schools at 377 Strand and 40 Brewer-street, charging a shilling for admission. London's beau and belle monde flocked to Johnson's riding schools to take lessons and happily ordered hobby-horses for the princely sum of £8 to £10 Sterling. Each machine was custom built according to the rider's weight and height, and painted according to their tastes. The average hobby-horse weighed 45 to 50 pounds, but some surviving examples are considerably lighter.


Dennis Johnson's hobbyhorse riding school

What a Dandy idea!

The hobby-horse quickly became the darling of the Dandy set. Ladies or, Dandizettes as they were called, were encouraged to borrow their beau's leather breeches in order to ride. Many of them opted for short dresses and pantaloons, instead. Seeing the desire that proper London ladies had for this type of recreation, Johnson designed an anti-straddling hobby-horse specifically to accommodate long dresses. The Liverpool Mercury for July 2nd, 1819 describes this new design: "The principal difference consists in the horizontal bar which unites the two wheels below instead of above; the drapery flows loosely and elegantly to the ground." In addition to this new design for ladies, children's models were also available so families could ride together.

Dandizettes on their "anti-straddling" hobby-horses.	Photo of an original 1819 ladies 'anti-straddling' hobby-horse.

The hobby-horse craze spread throughout England, and supply had trouble meeting demand. In full production swing, Johnson's workshop could only make 25 pedestrian hobby-horses a week. Other makers soon began creating adaptations based on Denis Johnson's patent, and many versions emerged in a 'different spokes for different folks' trend. These included 3-wheeled configurations with 2 wheels in front or in back. Another unique form was the Pilentum, which had the 2 rear wheels powered by foot treadles connected to them. An innovative 3-passenger version, called the Veloci-Manipede, incorporated hand-powered crankshafts to turn the rear wheels.


The Veloci-Manipede in action

As much fun as the hobby-horse was, - it also had serious drawbacks. It was useless in mud or snow. It was difficult to ride up hill -- and it was an accident waiting to happen when riding down hill. Many riders injured themselves by falling over or hitting objects along the way - including pedestrians. One eyewitness commented that more people were struck down by hobby-horses than by disease. Almost everywhere they went, Dandies on hobby-horses became a public nuisance. Fines were levied for riding on the foot pavement instead of the street, and the Royal College of Surgeons denounced the vehicles as a safety hazard.


Accidents waiting to happen.

With all the inherent dangers, and laws confining its use, the hobby-horse still flourished. London's Hyde Park was frequently swarming with Dandies on their "hobbies." Contemporary author John Fairburn wrote, "If we are literally to shoot folly as it flies, Hyde-park, on a Sunday would be strewed with dead, and not a Dandy left to tell the tale."


Hyde Park swarming with Dandies on their "hobbies".

Meanwhile, back in America…

After creating thrills and spills in three of America's largest cities, the velocipede began popping up in the most unexpected places. Davis and Rogers, mechanics in Troy, New York, were known to have completed three of them. Another was exhibited at a pub in Georgetown, near Washington, D.C. - and yet another at a hotel in Norwalk, Connecticut. Velocipedes were also seen in remote places like Hudson and Saratoga, New York. They appeared as far west as Kentucky and Ohio, and as far south as Georgia.

Ohio can lay claim to the most unique introduction of the velocipede, thanks to Mr. Westervelt, a Cincinnati coach-maker. He fitted up several "animal machines," as he called them, and had the first one demonstrated by a rider dressed as a clown. The outrageous costume, coupled with the clown's antics on the velocipede, produced a humorous and cheerful effect on the crowd.

In Savannah, Georgia, however, the velocipede's introduction was just the opposite. It fell flat. Literally. An 1819 Savannah newspaper reports: A Velocipede made its appearance in Broad-street on Friday last. We understand it was not finished, but it attracted a reasonable portion of public attention - workmen left their employment to behold it, and merchants deserted their counters and desks to witness its movement. It progressed with considerable speed when the propelling power was properly applied. The art of balancing was not in all cases understood by the riders [however,] and the Velocipede was occasionally overturned - and now and then the rider, from an erect position, was found in a horizontal situation. We understand it is to receive some additional touches, when it will again, we presume, move through our streets with a gravity and speed proportional to its utility.

Now playing on Broadway.

On May 21st, 1819, the velocipede made its first appearance in New York City. A local newspaper reported that a velocipede "was exhibited for the first time in this city, by an unidentified English gentleman…" He promptly made several more public appearances with his mount, and according to one witness, "…immediately collected a crowd, which [he] immediately outran." Another newspaper reported, "This whimsical new hobby has furnished much conversation in every circle." Shortly after being introduced in New York, the velocipede made its first theatrical appearance in America. Mr. Parker, from the touring Liverpool Theatre Company, rode a velocipede on stage, "and kept the house in continual roar."

In June of 1819, the unidentified Englishman opened a velocipede rink near Bowling Green in the lower part of Manhattan. It was "fitted up at considerable expense," and operated every day but Sunday. Hours were from 6 a.m. to 12 Noon and from 6 p.m. to 10.p.m. -- at which time the room was gas lit. A single day admission was 25 cents, and a monthly subscription cost 5 dollars. An entire fleet of velocipedes was available for rental, which would allow patrons to propel themselves, "between six and 12 miles an hour, free of any molestation or danger, on a circumference of nearly 200 feet." Advertisements for the velocipede also claimed that it could "promote digestion, invigorate the corporate system, and ensure health to those that are indisposed."

On June 26, 1819, a U.S. patent for the velocipede was granted to W. K. Clarkson Jr., of New York. He may have been the same Englishman who ran the rink; but a fire at the U.S. patent office in 1836 destroyed all evidence that might shed any light on this.


Clarkson's American patented velocipede
was similar, if not identical, to this one.

A number of 3-wheeled velocipedes were also built in America. In the summer of 1819, a young man in New York City flew around Battery Park at the amazing speed of 15 miles per hour. He was mounted on a self-made 3-wheeler "propelled by the feet working two paddles, which are connected with the after wheels." This design was based on an English model known as a Pilentum.


3-wheeled velocipede, or pilentum.

A gentleman in New Jersey also made one in this style, as reported in the Trenton Federalist of July 12, 1819.

VELOCIPEDES. We hear that one upon a new plan has been got up by a gentleman of this town. It goes on three wheels, and may be worked by persons of all ages, without previous practice or instruction, on a road with the least declivity; even a lady may ride and guide it with perfect safety. The bushes are so adapted as to reduce the friction very considerably. A model is left at Mr. W. White, jun¹s auction room, in Tabley street, for the inspection of the public, the proprietor having secured the patent right.

The velocipede was becoming a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and before long, rumors began to fly that it would soon replace the horse. The New York Evening Post wryly commented: "Horses in England, have fallen 40 percent in consequence of the sudden appearance of these velocipedes. This price decrease occurred because these animals eat neither hay nor grain, require no currying, and were never known to kick or bite, qualifications which never met together in a prancing nag; therefore sell your vulgar old-fashioned quadrupeds before they are entirely out of date, and bestride a DANDY hobby-horse."

The rink in Bowling Green prospered with a healthy patronage in the summer of 1819. A fair number of its "path putters" grew proficient and emboldened enough to venture out onto city streets. Soon they were cavorting up and down Broadway and on the sidewalks in front of City Hall, causing commotion there and elsewhere. They became a general nuisance to the majority of city residents, and. this led to the banning of velocipedes from public ways, echoing their fate in London and Philadelphia. On August 19th, the Common Council passed a law to "prevent the use of velocipedes in the public places and on the sidewalks of the city of New York." The rink closed at the end of the season and never reopened. But, the velocipede craze was far from over. It was already heating up nicely, to the eastward.

A hotbed of velocipede mania.

While velocipeders were having their toes stepped on by magistrates in America's major cities, a real hotbed of activity was firing up in New Haven, Connecticut. An energetic body of clientele was to be found among Yale students, and enterprising promoter John Mix quickly tapped into it. He commissioned several velocipedes to be built by local carriage makers and began renting them out in June of 1819, "from sunrise to sunset," in the adjacent Columbian Gardens.


John Mix's newspaper ad.

Like others before him, Mix promoted the healthy benefits of velocipede exercise. An ad in the Connecticut Herald of June 15, 1819, stated, "The agreeable and moderate exercise they afford, helps to promote digestion, invigorate the corporeal system, insure health to those who are indisposed; and thus save the doctor's druggist's and horse-keeper's bills." John Mix's ads were quite successful at drawing in customers, and before long, the number of velocipedes in New Haven outpaced those of any other American city. During this run of good fortune, Mix needed extra help to keep up with the demand and advertised for "a sprightly, active young MAN, to attend on the Velocipede, Baths, Gardens, and occasionally attend at the Bar."

Yale students scurried about on their velocipedes with untamed joie de vivre, and soon acquired a reputation as "sundry and wild riders." Their "heedlessness and impetuosity" annoyed local pedestrians who did not have "the good fortune to be mounted on wooden horses." Unphased by criticism, they continued to hotfoot their wooden steeds across the city pavements, ignoring the public outcry. Numerous accidents occurred, due either to faulty construction of the velocipedes or the ineptitude of the riders - or perhaps both. One local newspaper implored velocipede riders to "keep in the middle of the streets, and leave the pavements to those who are willing to walk without wheels." Another openly questioned why "these machines, with certain animals attached to them, should be allowed to run on the sidewalks of our cities, to the great annoyance of infirm persons, women, children, &c…"


Collegians at their Exercise!
Scenes like this at Oxford, were mirrored
by the "sundry and wild" riders at Yale.
(Image courtesy of Roger Street)

Since no formal law was in place restricting the use of velocipedes in New Haven, one newspaper asked citizens to "put common law into practice," and "seize, break, destroy, or convert to their own use as good prize, all such machines found running on the sidewalks - taking care not to beat or in any wise injure the poor innocent jack-asses." Public protest, with the help of newspapers, thwarted the velocipede enthusiasts once again. By the close of 1819, the velocipede had come to the end of the road in America - outlawed and harassed out of existence, with the exception of a few 'hangers on' in isolated areas.


A New Haven, Connecticut newspaper encouraged
citizens to deal with velocipede riders in ways similar to this.

See you later, alligator.

The velocipede had one last hurrah before departing - and in the oddest fashion - thanks to a creative Kentucky tradesman. The National Intelligencer for December 25, 1819 reported on:
THE KENTUCKY VELOCIPEDE - In Kentucky a great improvement has been made in the Velocipede-machine which, by the mere impulse of the body, enables a person, with all possible ease, to travel at the rate of nine miles an hour. The improvement consists in having changed the body of the machine into the form of a fish, with the head of a horse, and made completely water proof; so that it not only floats, but enables the traveller to cross the rivers and lakes with which this continent abounds: at the same time, he has the advantage of carrying along with him, in the body of the animal, his provisions and baggage. This wonderful creature has been named the ALLIGATOR-HORSE.

The velocipede craze lasted only a year in America. With its activities confined, Americans never found a practical niche for its use - or the desire to further its development. The velocipede quickly sank into disfavor and quietly faded into the background. Those who had opposed it breathed a great sigh of relief. Those who had a freewheeling passion for it enjoyed the wild ride, while it lasted!

The velocipede did not completely disappear from the American landscape in 1819. An 1844 political cartoon depicts presidential hopeful John C. Calhoun astride a velocipede, heading back to his home in South Carolina.


John C. Calhoun astride a velocipede.

Although further development of the velocipede is attributed to Kirkpatrick MacMillan in Scotland, ca. 1839, his treadle device seems only to be a variation of the Pilentum of 1819. The next real development of the velocipede begins with the invention of the rotary crank attached to the front wheel. This is attributed to Pierre Michaux and his son in Paris in 1861; the same year the term 'bicycle' first appeared. In New Haven Connecticut in 1866, Pierre Lallement, with financial help from James Carroll, received the American patent for the pedal velocipede

[Sidebar for inclusion in the article]
"A Velocipeder presented himself at a turnpike, and demanded, "What's to pay?" - That (said the waggish gate-keeper) depends upon whether you ride upon your hobby or pull it through; in the latter case, you know, a two-wheel carriage, drawn by any horse, mule or ass, is liable to a toll; and you will, I suspect come within the meaning of the Act." -- Sporting Magazine, March 1819.

[Sidebar for inclusion in the article]
"…running at the rate of ten knots an hour, he capsized a Dandy, a Member of Parliament, a Pig, an Apple-woman, a Cabinet Minister, a Prince, a Newfoundland Dog, and a Bishop. The rapidity with which all this was executed, proves that, under the guidance of discretion, these Hobby-Horses may be made very useful in accelerating every wise and nobler art of man." -- The New Pedestrian Carriage, by John Fairburn, 1819.

[Humorous poem for inclusion in the article]
"A dandy youth he was, whose mein
Could scarcely for shirt neck be seen;
With copper soles, and spurs of steel,
Each boot a plate upon the heel;
That he might faster on proceed,
He rode on a velocipede."
-- John Atkin, 1823.

[Humorous poem for inclusion in the article]
"There once was a Baron von Drais [pronounced "Drice"]
Who observed some swift skaters on ice;
"If they balance on steels
Then why not two wheels -
Yes, a Laufmaschine, that would be nice!" -- Roger Street