The Velocipede; Its History, Varieties, and Practice. With Illustrations.
New York: Hurd and Houghton: (Cambridge: Riverside Press), 1869. First edition. In later half leather, publisher’s illustrated paper wrappers bound into. With an illustrated plate, and 12 text illustrations. [5] iv-v [2] 8–107 [5] p., and 1 plate. Front and read cover restored, title page torn at the gutter, some pages lightly spotted, paper brittle, otherwise in fine condition.
Pioneering book in English written on bicycles, and the first American book to be published on the subject.
Prefaced as early as March 20, 1869, and claims to be the first book on this machine: “So far as we can learn, there has been no book written upon the Velocipede, either abroad or in this country” (p. iv).
The velocipede, the pedaled bicycle was invented by Pierre Lallement in the 1860s in France. This was the first of such machines to be mass-produced, and it immediately created the first bicycle craze which spread to the rest of Europe and soon reached the United States. The first books on velocipedes were published in 1868 such as Favre’s Le Vélocipède (published in Marseille, appeared also in Italian), or A. Davis’ The Velocipede (London).
Goddard’s The Velocipede is a scarce work on the market, and WorldCat locates only 3 copies in institutional holdings.
Price: €8,000.00