The bicycle : towards a global history

208 Pages·2015·3.02 MB·English

by  Smethurst, Paul

THE BICYCLE – TOWARDS A GLOBAL HISTORY
Also by Paul Smethurst
THE POSTMODERN CHRONOTOPE: Reading Space and Time in Contemporary
Fiction
ASIAN CROSSINGS: Travel Writing on China, Japan and Southeast Asia (edited with
Steve Clark)
TRAVEL WRITING, FORM, AND EMPIRE (edited with Julia Kuehn)
TRAVEL WRITING AND THE NATURAL WORLD, 1768–1840
NEW DIRECTIONS IN TRAVEL WRITING STUDIES (edited with Julia Kuehn)
THE BICYCLE – TOWARDS
A GLOBAL HISTORY
PAUL SMETHURST
© Paul Smethurst 2015
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-49949-3
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
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accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2015 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Palgrave is a global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies
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Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-50530-2 ISBN 978-1-137-49951-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137499516
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.
To all for whom the bicycle means rediscovering lost realms of
childhood, feeling intimate relations with the landscape and
enjoying a lightness of being in all senses.
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C O N T E N T S
List of Figures ix
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction 1
1 Invention: The Technical Evolution of the Modern Bicycle 9
2 Mobility: The Practical and Cultural Impact of Bicycling in the West 67
3 Crossings: The Diffusion of Bicycle Culture across Asia and Africa 105
4 Trends and Trajectories: The Global Future of the Bicycle 141
Notes 156
Bibliography 179
Index 187
vii
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L I S T O F F I G U R E S
1.1 Hobby horse (c. 1818) 16
Source: This model came from Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire,
and belonged to the 5th Duke of Marlborough (1766–1840).
© Science and Society Picture Library
1.2 Michaux-type velocipede (1869) 17
Source: Science Museum, London. English-built boneshaker
bicycle. © Science and Society Picture Library
1.3 Ariel bicycle (1870) 18
Source: Science Museum, London. Ariel model without
pedals, tyres or saddle. © Science and Society Picture Library
1.4 Lawson’s ‘Bicyclette’ (1879) 19
Source: Science Museum, London. © Science and Society
Picture Library
1.5 Kangaroo bicycle (1884) 20
Source: Science Museum London [incorrectly dated – c. 1878
and attributed to E. C. F. Otto and J. Wallis]. © Science and
Society Picture Library
1.6 Rover ‘safety’ bicycle (1885) 21
Source: Science Museum, London. © Science and Society
Picture Library
1.7 ‘Dandy Hobbies in full speed’, William Heath (1819) 26
Source: From satirical print by William Heath, ‘Modern
Pegasus or Dandy Hobbies in full speed’, British Museum,
London. © The British Museum Images
ix