Magic lantern - Bicycle Ride part 1.

Part 1.

ON YOUR BIKE !!

bicycle:
a vehicle consisting of two wheels held in a frame one behind the other, propelled by pedals and steered with handlebars attached to the front wheel.

Advertising slide, c.1880s.
'NO STIFFNESS HERE, Thanks to ELLIMAN (for sprains and bruises).

High Wheel Bicycles.
This 2 3/8 x 8" glass magic lantern slide shows a small group of cyclists and their penny-farthing bicycles. Three, actually four and a baby, are riding and another one has just taken a header. A nice bit of Victorian humour.

(penny-farthing: an early type of bicycle, made in Britain, with a very large front wheel and a small rear wheel; two cranks directly attached to the front wheel. The cyclist sat above the front wheel. This model was very popular until the 1880s.)

Simple lantern slide for a toy magic lantern. One of a set of twelve children's slides produced by Gebrüder Bing, Nuremberg (GBN trademark in corner). Lady Pig on a bicycle at the shore.

	Belle Belton and her Bicycle Adventure...... Amusing slide set made by Theobald & Co, England, c. 1910, in their 'All Britisch T-Series' as set number 117.	The slides measure 3.25 inches square and are numbered from 1 to 12. The images are drawn after a life model set, which is assumed to be by W. Rider because of the presence of the identified 'short man with sideburns' model in the role of the cycling tutor . The slide titles are adapted from the text of the reading.

1. All her friends had bicycles.	2. The following morning saw her busily engaged pumping up.	3. It is marvellous what a lot of holding up a girl requires on a bicycle.

4. Directly he let go her foot immediately left the pedal.	5. She threw her whole weight upon him.	6. Miss Belton found the roadside harder than the saddle.

7. She showed to the shocked tutor a nasty jagged hole in her skirt.	8. After a fortnight had elapsed Belle could ride with the average ability and confidence.	9. She suddenly felt her machine go flat and thin.

10. But presently there came along a knight errant.	11. The gentleman asked the lady's permission to see her at least part of the way home.	12. All's well that ends well.
		One half of a set of twelve glass strip slides. Each strip contains four pictures, in twos forming a funny story. The other two pictures on this slide have nothing to do with bicycling (man tending some pigs) Size: 10 x 3 inches, 25 x 7 cm.

Almost the same scene, this time however as a moving magic lantern slide. Again the fat man in a flowered cardigan riding his penny-farthing bicycle in the first picture and having a bike wreck in the next one. This pair of slides was available in a metal protective frame as well as a wooden frame (2 x 6 inches, 5 x 15 cm).


Bicycle Ride Panorama slide. This 2¼ x 7¾" glass magic lantern slide shows a group of six cyclists riding safety bicycles down a country lane while equestrians ride horses in the nearby field and other people look on. A pleasant little Victorian scene.

Of course you may borrow my bike. But be careful!	Oops, I'm afraid some eggs are cracked.	I never knew there was a ditch over here....	Perhaps I'd better walk in future.
		(Four 3,25" square magic lantern slides. Decalcomania.)
Also published as a long glass strip.
		Combined single pulley and simple lever slide of a high wheeled bicycle rider. Stamped twice by the maker "W.C. HUGHES, 161 HOXTON STREET, LONDON, N." Off to one side is a glass thumb lever that makes the bike rider's legs move in an up and down motion, while the brass crank assembly and wooden pulley wheel allow the wheel of the bicycle to turn around. The dogs do not move. Wooden frame measures 9" x 4.5" x 0.75" (23 x 11,5 x 1,9 cm).

This set of four magic lantern glass slides depicts the tribulations of a heavily caricatured black man riding a penny farthing bicycle. The first slide is labelled "Mounting Beautifully" and the events progress through "Awfully rough - oh dear!", "Disaster" and "Results". Each slide has been delicately hand-painted and measures 8.2 x 8.2 cm.

Sometimes some trouble goes with a cycling-tour.	Mahogany framed hand-painted magic lantern slipping slide. Size 6 7/8" x 3 3/4" (c. 17.5 cm x 9.5 cm).	Real live. This emancipated woman fixes the job herself.


An amusing magic lantern slide showing different bicycles from the old days. It is 7 7/8 x 2 3/8 inches roughly in size.

Stunning stunts on old-fashioned bikes. Manufacturer unknown.
	"Wot's the matter with Jimmie ?" "Aw, he's going round with a bicycle face on, to make folks think he's got a wheel."
Coloured glass magic lantern slide with a joke theme. You have to know the meaning of "Bicycle Face" to see the clue of the joke. In the nineteenth century the assumption was that people who biked too much would develop a chronic look of exhaustion and strain. This could include tight lips, a flushed face, harsh wrinkles, and bulging eyes with dark circles underneath. So the joke is that Jimmie did not have a bicycle, but by putting on a "bicycle face" he hoped people would think he did.
	Long magic lantern slide made by Johan Falk (J.F.) depicting a boy who holds on to a tree to prevent riding down from the mountain. Size: 5 x 18 cm.

This American format, 3 1/4" x 4" live model slide entitled Come to Grief features two women of which one has fallen over from her bike (showing some leg !). From the studio of T.W. Ingersoll, St. Paul, Minnesota. These humorous scenes were guaranteed to elect a laugh from 19th century audiences.... and will probably do so even today.
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