2 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 04 



what he claimed, as the records were destroyed in the Patent Office 

 fire of 1836. 



In 1821, Gompertz in England designed a machine to be propelled 

 by the motion of the rider's arms, which, by means of gearing, applied 

 power to the front wheel (see pi. 2, 6). About 1840, Kirkpatrick 

 MacMillan, a Scottish blacksmith, fitted cranks to the rear-wheel 

 axle of a velocipede, but did not carry the improvement any further. 



In Paris shortly after 1860, either Pierre Michaux or his employee 

 Pierre Lallement fitted pedals to the front- wheel axle of a velocipede, 

 creating what became known in America and England as the "bone- 

 shaker." Later, Lallement took up residence in New Haven, Conn., 

 and on November 20, 1866, obtained a patent (No. 59915) covering 

 a similar machine, entitled "improvement in velocipedes." The patent 

 drawing reveals a saddle attached to a spring mounted above the 

 frame of the machine, as well as weighted, pivoting pedals. 



The Hanlon brotliers of New York City obtained a patent (No. 

 79654) on July 7, 1868, for an improved version of the Lallement 

 vehicle, their patent covering adjustable pedals and seat. In addi- 

 tion, they suggested that rubber rings could be used on the wheels to 

 make them noiseless and to prevent their slipping. Here was an 

 early use, suggested at least, of the rubber tire. Another Hanlon 

 patent (No. 86834) granted February 9, 1869, covered a mudguard over 

 the front wheel, and a brake shoe operating against a wheel and con- 

 trolled by twisting tlie handle bars. Although these machines 

 achieved temporary popularity both in America and abroad, this 

 popularity soon waned because they were cumbersome, extremely 

 heavy, and required an awkward angle of thrust on the pedals, as the 

 rider sat far behind them. 



At least one early inventor, S. H. Roper, of Roxbury, Mass., con- 

 structed a steam-operated velocipede, and his machine (pi. 4, a) ap- 

 peared in the late 1860's at fairs and circuses in New England. 

 Resembling a Hanlon-type velocipede, with wooden wheels and iron- 

 band tires, the machine was propelled through the rear wheel, the 

 axle of which w^as fitted with cranks connected to two small steam 

 cylinders, one on each side of the I'ear section of the frame. 



In the early 1870's, bicycles and tricycles using wire wheels made 

 their appearance, notably in England. James Starley of Coventry 

 Avas one of the pioneers in this field, and, until his death in 1881, 

 fathered many new and ingenious features pertaining to cycling. 

 Another English pioneer was H. J. Lawson, who built an experimental 

 rear-chain-driven safety bicycle during this period. 



The high-wheeled bicycle, with the saddle well forward over the 

 large front wheel, was first produced in England and was introduced 

 to America by English firms exhibiting at the Centennial Exposition 

 at Philadelphia in 1876. This type, which became known as the ordi- 



