Dandy Horse Fair, 1819

Dandy-horse fair. Men and women riding bicycles and tricycles to a fair. The dandy horse (draisine, draisienne, velocipede) is a human-powered vehicle that, being the first means of transport to make use of the two-wheeler principle, is regarded as the forerunner of the bicycle. Powered by the rider's feet on the ground in lieu of the pedals of later bicycles, it was invented by Karl Drais, who called it a Laufmaschine (running machine), in Germany, and patented in France in 1818. The dandy horse has been adapted as a starter bicycle for children, and is variously called a balance bike or push bike. Etching by Isaac Cruickshank, 1819

Picture No

12695862

Media ID

47666445

Size

4575px x 3048px (5.6MB)

Credit

LOC/Science Source/Mary Evans