CATALOG OF THE CYCLE COLLECTION 13 



Shire, of Detroit, Mich., was granted patent No. 216231 on June 3, 

 1879, covering "improvement in velocipedes."' The Shire velocipede 

 in the collection is similar to the drawing accompanying the patent 

 application. No patents were granted to Shire on the date appearing 

 on the jilate attached to the machine. The high, wire-wheeled ordi- 

 nary was already on the market by 1879, and for such a specimen as 

 this crude machine to have been built at the same time seems anach- 

 ronistic. It is interesting to note that it was built in the future 

 capital of the automotive world. 



The forked frame and the front-wheel fork are both made of wood 

 with iron reinforcements. The front-wheel fork pivots at the front 

 of the frame, straight wooden handle bars surmounting it. The upper 

 end of a nearly vertical wooden brace also serves as a pivot point for 

 the front fork. The lower end of the brace is connected by iron 

 bars to the lower extremity of the frame. 



Both of the wheels have wooden hubs, spokes, and felloes, with 

 thin metal tires. Each wheel has IJ: spokes staggered in the hub. 

 The diameter of the front wheel is 38 inches and of the rear, 28% 

 inches. Wooden crank arms, having a 5-inch throw but not adjustable 

 for their working length, are attached to the front axle. Spool- 

 shaped wooden pedals are mounted at the ends of the arms. 



Oil cups are mounted at each end of the two axles. A wide wooden 

 mudguard is affixed above the rear wheel. The saddle is made of 

 wood, canvas, and leather. There is no brake on the machine. In 

 a few places gold and red ornamental striping is still visible. 



FOWLER TRICYCLE, 1880 



r. S. X. M. No. 3092.j7 ; original Patent Office model; transfer red from the 

 U. S. Patent Office ; photograiili \o. 78-1-D ; plate 11, h. 



Patent No. 224165 was issued on February 3, 1880, to Francis Fowler, 

 of New Haven, Conn., for a tricycle equipped with a ratchet connection 

 in the hub of each driving wheel. The purpose was to enable tlie 

 outer of the two driving wheels to rotate freely on the crankshaft when 

 tlie machine was making a shar]i turn, thus performing tlie function 

 of a modern automotive diUVrential unit. 



This model, measuring 11 inclies long, 10 inches high, and 11 inches 

 wide, is constructed of metal with the excejitiou of wooden grips 

 on tlie liandle ])ars and leather straps on the pedals of the cranks on 

 tlie front axle. The frame consists of a curved bar at tlie rear. u[)oii 

 which a saddle is located, and a vertical forked frame at the front 

 pivoting in the steering head of the bar. At the top of the fork is a 

 horizontal bracket supporting a rod which serves as the handle bars. 

 This rod is free to be rotated within its supports in the bracket. 



