How the penny-farthing outlived its age

It enjoyed only a short window of popularity but the unusual shape of the penny-farthing made it an emblem of Victorian innovation – and as these archive pictures bear witness, it could be still seen long after it was supplanted by designs more recognisable as bikes.
circa 1932:  Three men on various styles of bicycle, including a Penny Farthing (centre), riding down the newly opened Belisha cycling path between Hanger Lane and Greenford, Middlesex.  (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)circa 1932:  Three men on various styles of bicycle, including a Penny Farthing (centre), riding down the newly opened Belisha cycling path between Hanger Lane and Greenford, Middlesex.  (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
circa 1932: Three men on various styles of bicycle, including a Penny Farthing (centre), riding down the newly opened Belisha cycling path between Hanger Lane and Greenford, Middlesex. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

It was the penny-farthing that helped establish cycling as a recreational pastime, despite the obvious problems in getting on and off one. Filey had a particular love affair with them; in 1882, Herbert Liddell Cortis, son of the local doctor, set a world speed record on one, clocking 20mph.

But by the end of that decade the design had been rendered obsolete by the safety bicycle, whose wheels were of equal size, and by the Dunlop pneumatic tyre. Nevertheless, official penny-farthing racing continued until well after the First World War.

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17th October 1932:  Edwin Davey, riding a penny farthing bicycle over Lambeth bridge in London, and blowing a bugle to warn of his approach.  (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)17th October 1932:  Edwin Davey, riding a penny farthing bicycle over Lambeth bridge in London, and blowing a bugle to warn of his approach.  (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
17th October 1932: Edwin Davey, riding a penny farthing bicycle over Lambeth bridge in London, and blowing a bugle to warn of his approach. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
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