vintage postcards
I just read why this type of bike is called a penny farthing! The two British coins side by side certainly resemble the now nostalgic mode of transportation. How pictoral! 
Now where are the brakes on this thing? vintage postcards
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Penny Farthing
Posted by Marie Reed at 9:12 AM
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20 cool cats commented:
Bonjour Marie, et merci de cette précision historique... Est-elle vraie ?
Cela me fait penser aux Beatles : Penny Lane... 1967, je crois ! C'est si loin...
I never tire of your blog and its wealth of info.... I've always wanted to try and ride one of these...
Ha, now I've got it: big wheel, small wheel, big coin, small coin!
Thanks, I did not know the English name of the Hochrad :)
Cool, Marie!
If you pop across to my mum's blog you'll see she found a guy actually riding one of those things last weekend!
http://cakesandal.blogspot.com
/2008/09/henham-steam-rally.html
And how do you mount that contraption? That looks like quite a balancing act.
Well, how about that! I learned something new today! They look a little scary to ride!...and no banana seat!
Marie, these velocipedes were all the rage in the late 1800's costing about $100 - a small fortune for most people. Another great post. David
Falling off those bikes would really, really hurt!
I wonder how many are still around if on ewas in the contest last weekend, Thanks for the smiles, today!
Cyndi/ByLightOfMoon
I just love your post's Marie! They are as educational as they are delightful. Now I get the penny farthing thing!
I don't know if they had brakes either - I'll bet the riders had a lot of breaks though!
I don't think I've ever seen a farthing before. What's that bird on it?
To brake or not to brake...that is the question. I understand that when these bikes first came out they came with brakes as standard equipment - however after a few too many people went free-flying over their handlebars - brakes became optional. Oh my!
clever comparison!
Clever comparison!
:-Daryl
Hi Marie - you've won an award on my blog - come see :)
Où trouves tu toutes ces idées?
Vraiment inattendu, anecdotique, amusant et interessant.
I've always wondered how they get on the bike in the first place. I wonder if they used a step-stool or something?
aha i knew this...yippeee. i knew this! imagine trying to ride one of these?
I wonder how many broken bones were the result of these velocipedes??
LOL
Such a big wheel ...just wonder how to climb up there.
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