Wednesday 30 January 2013

Sepia Saturday 162: Decorating Bicycles


Sepia Saturday 162 - Courtesy of Alan Bennett and Kat Mortensen

Sepia Saturday provides bloggers with an opportunity to share their history through the medium of photographs ... the launch pad for explorations of family history, local history and social history in fact or fiction, poetry or prose, words or further images
I use the weekly image prompts provided by Alan Bennett and his occasional helpers as an inspiration for writing about photohistory, mostly centred around images from my own collection, but also in response to correspondence with like-minded folk from around the world who've been in touch via this blog or my Derbyshire Photographers web site. The regular deadline suits me as I have to focus on a specific image or topic and get down to it, rather than researching until the cows come home and never actually writing anything.

Another important aspect is the regular feedback received from fellow Sepians, for which I'm very grateful. As I stated in my first ever posting on Photo-Sleuth almost six years ago:

"... the best way to stimulate me into posting more photos is to provide some feedback. It's always nice to hear from like-minded folk."
Over the last year - during which time my blogging as been, shall we say, sporadic - almost half of the articles that I've posted on Photo-Sleuth have been contributions to Sepia Saturday, but they have generated over 80% of the comments received during that time. Using my Google Analytics tool I'm also able to determine that more than half of all Sepia Saturday visitors leave feedback. I take that as a measure of readers' appreciation. Thank you.

Image © & courtesy of Diane Alton-Kaighin
Unidentified boy with flag on bicycle, undated
Cabinet card by Norman McAuslan, of New Road, Belper, Derbyshire
Image © & courtesy of Diane Alton-Kaighin

This week's image reminded me of a couple of curious photographs by Derbyshire studios of decorated bicycles. The first is a cabinet card by the Belper photographer Norman McAuslan, in which a boy on a bicycle brandishes a large flag or banner, the pole of which carries a pointed finial. After some research, I believe I've identified the banner as an early version of the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom in use prior to 1907.

Image © & courtesy of Robert Silverwood
N.J. McAuslan's studio in Belper, undated
Paper print by unidentified photographer
Image © & courtesy of Robert Silverwood

According to his great-grandson Robert Silverwood, McAuslan worked as a photographer from the mid-1880s until ill health forced him to quit in April 1902. This unusual studio portrait was probably taken towards the end of this period, and I believe it may have been taken to mark the death of Queen Victoria and accession of King Edward VII in January 1901.

Image © and courtesy of WW Winter Ltd
Man dressed as a clown with decorated bicycle, undated
Glass plate negative by W.W. Winter of Midland Road, Derby
Image © and courtesy of WW Winter Ltd

This image produced from one of W.W. Winter's glass plate negatives is presumed - from the caption in Angela Leeson's "The Winter's Collection of Derby" - to depict a participant in a Hospital Day parade, and it is my guess from the photographic style that it was taken in the 1910s. This time the decoration is far more elaborate, including masses of flowers, paper Chinese lanterns and an umbrella. The man standing next to the bicycle is dressed as a clown, complete with battered topper and bulbous nose.

Image © and courtesy of Windows on Warwickshire
Group with decorated bicycles, Alcester, c.1890s
Image © and courtesy of Windows on Warwickshire

From what I can tell, the tradition of decorating bicycles first developed during the 1890s' Golden Age of Bicycles, resulting from the introduction of the first practical pneumatic tyres which undoubtedly made cycling a far more pleasant and comfortable pastime. Like cycling, it quickly became a craze which spread rapidly around the world, so that by the late 1890s they were even indulging in the Antipodes.

Image © lovedaylemon and courtesy of Flickr
Decorated bicycles, probably c.1918
Postcard by unidentified photographer
Image © lovedaylemon and courtesy of Flickr

The following account of a spring carnival which took place in Dunedin, New Zealand in September 1897 describes a variety of decorated people and contraptions:
FLORAL FETE AND BICYCLE GYMKHANA.
At the conclusion of the mayor's remarks a dozen ladies mounted on bicycles went through a number of evolutions to the strains of music supplied by a band of four musicians ... The ladies were all dressed in white, and wore straw hats trimmed with yellow flowers. Their bicycles were also nicely decorated with flowers, daffodils being largely brought into requisition for decorative purposes ...

Image © lovedaylemon and courtesy of Flickr
Decorated bicycles, tricycles, scooters, wheelbrarrows & prams
Postcard by unidentified photographer, May Day 1921
Image © lovedaylemon and courtesy of Flickr

At the conclusion of the bicycle ride there was a procession of children with exhibits, consisting of bicycles, tricycles, go-carts, perambulators, &c, all of which were decorated with spring flowers and evergreens. The procession was headed by four children dressed in white, drawing a go-cart nicely decorated with flowers. Then came various kinds of vehicles, some of which looked very pretty with their floral decorations ...

Image © Marjorie Ruddy & courtesy of Whitby Online Historic Photographs Collection, Whitby Archives & Whitby Public Library
Decorated bicycles in Lions Club Parade, Whitby, Ontario, 1937
Black and white negative by Marjorie Ruddy
Image courtesy of Whitby Online Historic Photographs Collection, Whitby Archives & Whitby Public Library, Ref. 30-023-032.

Conspicuous in the procession was a pug poodle drawing a small cart ... Several children, dressed so as to represent different kinds of flowers, and carrying parasols florally decorated, brought up the rear of the procession ...

Image © and courtesy of Copenhagenize.com
Commercial High School Fiesta Floral Parade with maypole/bicycle float
Photograph by unidentified photographer, Los Angeles, 1902
Image © and courtesy of Copenhagenize.com

The whole display was very effective, and greatly enjoyed by the spectators, who showed their appreciation of it by loud applause. After the procession about 20 little girls, dressed in white and decked with flowers, danced a maypole dance very gracefully.

Image © lovedaylemon and courtesy of Flickr
Decorated bicycle, Battle of the Flowers, Ramsgate, undated
Postcard by unidentified photographer
Image © lovedaylemon and courtesy of Flickr

The cycle carnival became a popular fundraiser, always guaranteed to produce a wide variety of interpretations on the theme as well as draw a good crowd.
In 1907 the Molesey Wheelers Cycle Club introduced a cycle carnival to boost the hospital funds. The spectacle of a cavalcade of gaily decorated bicycles and tricycles parading through the streets was something Molesey villagers had never before beheld. The ingenuity displayed by the riders in embellishing their machines was said to have been "much admired by the spectators", and demands were made to repeat the exhibition the following year. Which indeed it was, and for several following years. (Baker, 1981)

Image © lovedaylemon and courtesy of Flickr
Floral decorated bicycle with dog platform, undated
Hand-coloured postcard by unidentified photographer
Image © lovedaylemon and courtesy of Flickr

The Northamptonshire Film Archive Trust has film archive footage of the Wellingborough Hospital Day "carnival (in 1925 which) shows a lady pushing her highly decorated bicycle which also carried her little dog," possibly much as shown in the postcard above.

Image © and courtesy of MACE Media Archive for Central England
Decorated bicycles in Shrewsbury Carnival, 1938
Still image from silent film compilation
Image © and courtesy of MACE Media Archive for Central England

The final image in this series is a still taken from a silent film of floats in the Shrewsbury Carnival of 1938, illustrating the continuing popularity of decorated bicycles, some embellished with the same old Japanese lanterns.

I'm very grateful to Gail Durbin, whose Flickr photostream (lovedaylemon) includes a superlative collection of old photographs on various topics, providing several images for this week's topic. If you fancy being entertained in good "sepian" fashion for a couple of hours, I'd thoroughly recommend a wander over there - you won't be disappointed.

References

Bicycle, from Wikipedia.

History of Carnival, The Official Wellingborough Carnival web site.

Anon (1897) Floral Fete and Bicycle Gymkhana, Otago Witness, Issue 2274, 30 September 1897, p30, Courtesy of Papers Past.

Baker, Rowland G.M. (1981) The Story of Molesey Hospital.

Leeson, Angela (1992) The Winter's Collection of Derby, Breeedon Books, p123.

27 comments:

  1. Amazing Brett. It's only Tuesday and you have next week's contribution posted! I like the way you took this down the decorated/carnival route. I'm not sure about that hand-coloured one though - I think I'd prefer it in sepia.

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  2. Well I had it ready so I thought I might as well publish it, but am hanging on for a day or so before doing the Linky thing on SS. Thanks Marilyn, and I agree, the colouring kind of ruins it, much along the lines of a "Fred Rembrandt," as Peter Sellers would say (or was that a Milliganism?).

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  3. Interesting take - I'd never have thought of decorated bikes, but I'm glad you did

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  4. I hadn't seen a decorated bicycle before. Really interesting post and some lovely images, particularly the boy with the flag.

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  5. I remember when my kids were little and the local town would have asmall parade, the kids would decorate the bikes and wagons...and the dogs too!

    Great post,

    Jan

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  6. Amazing post.. what a lot of work! I've seen pictures of decorated bikes in India.

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  7. Excellent collection of photos Brett. Sepians continue to amaze me with their ingenuity.

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  8. Great post!!
    I think my favorite is that 1921 photo with those kids with their bikes, tricycles, prams and wheelbarrows.
    I certainly didn't expect to go see a parade this morning, but I did!!
    Like your intro...
    ;)~
    HUGZ

    PS: the only decorating I did as a child on my bike was clothespins holding playing cards placed on the wheels to make some noise!!
    :D~

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  9. I must know - how did the kid with the flag remain balanced? There's no kickstand, even.

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  10. That was the funnest post ever. I loved all the photos, but the best was the film of that fabulous parade.

    I was wondering on that color photo - why the guitar on the wheel. Weird.
    Nancy

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  11. Where have I been? I always thought British parades were sort of stuffy affairs.. mostly military. And that WE Americans morphed them into more relaxed fun events. Wrong again. These parades are colorful, creative - just great. The film is priceless. As usual, I learned a lot from this great post.

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  12. A great collection of photos, I love the one with the dog platform. Thank you for sharing.

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  13. I was delighted with the first photo of the boy and the flag --- but the real delight was the progression of decorated bicycles. Thanks for the tour of decorated bicycles.

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  14. A super collection of photos and a topic I heve never come across before. I don't think I've ever seen a decorated bike.

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  15. A fascinatng set of photographs with decorated bicycles an unusual sight. My favourite the smartly dressed boy carrying a flag. If he lived here in the Scottish Borders he would have been riding a horse in our Common Riding Festivals!

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  16. A marvelous mix of photos, Brett. There is a sincerity about these decorated bicycles that makes for real folk art. The parade was terrific and now I have another archive to add to my list. The old films are fascinating to watch but they lack the clarity of photos.

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  17. A cycle carnival must be so much fun to watch. I hope they're having that or something similar nowadays. There was pneumatic tubes and here I read pneumatic tyres. Love all this learning from Sepia.

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  18. Lovely pics! That second bike was well and truly decorated! Such a fun idea - a parade of bikes.

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  19. The 'dog, photo and the 'clown' photos are both priceless!Somewhere,somewhere there is a photo of "Morris Dancing on Bicycles" !{your mission:should you chose the accept!}

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  21. Hi Brett, wow! What a grand selection of parade bicycles. I remember the crepe-paper in between the spokes, but I haven't seen that so much in recent years.

    I had to laugh about your point of researching for hours and never writing anything. I do that sometimes too, but print off the info that I find just in case I ever do settle down to actually write my family history.

    It is so true about Sepians being the most attentive readers and leaving regular comments. That makes it all worth it, doesn't it?

    Thank you for the hard work that you put into this post!

    Kathy M.

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  22. It is always a pleasure to visit your Blog, Brett - and if anyone needs an explanation of that all they need do is to read this week's post. Over the years you have helped define Sepia Saturday : it is always a pleasure when I scroll down the list of contributors and find your name there.

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  23. I vaguely remember decorated bikes but mostly of the make some noise by putting something in the wheels variety. I think hand colorists who do a job like the one of the ladies and the dog should be kept away from coloring materials. I hope there was another copy.

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  24. wow Brett, you really have gone with the bicycle theme big time, some great photos there.
    thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog

    Gill

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  25. Mike B - Well I have to say that my mind was already primed from browsing Gail's incredible Flickr collection.

    Wibbo, Joan & ScotSue - Yes, I thought that one was particularly charming too.

    Jan - Judging by my Google image search, I think the tradition lives on.

    Lovely - India, well I guess the British took it with them wherever they colonised.

    Boobook - Thank you. None of them my own, but it wasn't hard to find them.

    Bruno - Yes, it is charming - a pity that there are no marks identifying where it was, but perhaps children and decorated contraptions are universal. I remember friends doing that to their bikes at school too.

    Wendy - It's very odd, isn't it. I can't work it out either.

    Nancy - I noticed that guitar, wondered about it, and then thought that possibly I was wrong about it being a guitar. I suppose when decorating a bike, and you run out of ideas, or materials, anything goes.

    Helen & Bob - I don't think I've ever seen a decorated bicycle in a parade either, Helen, but perhaps it's my memory that's lacking, not my cultural upbringing.

    Karen - I was very lucky to find that example in Gail's collection shortly after reading the description of the film archive footage. That particular postcard is pretty bizarre.

    Mike - I have seen a few tremendous old films, and some of them are remarkably clear, but they don't appear to translate well to the web, quality-wise.

    Hazel - It's nice to have you on board at Sepia Saturday, and thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.

    Eugenia - Yes, I suspect that the clown pushed it, rather than trying to ride it in the parade.

    Tony - Nothing like a challenge to get the creative juices flowing on a Sunday morning. Ask and you shall receive, although I have a sneaking suspicion you knew about that parade already and are winding me up ;-)

    Kathy M - Well I'm glad it's not only me who gets carried away, and I'm glad so many appreciate the work involved. Yes, to the great worth of fellow Sepians, wherever they may be.

    Alan - Thank you again for your very kind comments. Of course it works both ways: Sepia Saturday and Sepians have helped shape how Photo-Sleuth ends up.

    Kristin - If you visit lovedaylemon's Flickr photo stream and click on "Sets," you'll find a whole section devoted to hand colouring. There are some real shockers in there. I believe that one could buy special sets of watercolours at the studio that produced the postcard portraits specifically for the task of embellishing them.

    Gill - I look forward to seeing more of your contributions.

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  26. These have got to be the best grouping of amazing and delightful bicycles ever! I used to decorate my bike as a young girl, but I never had the chance of joining in any parade! I enjoyed your description of feedback by those who view your blog, and you do have a great amount of photos and prose to comment on. Also, I just can't understand how anyone would stop by and read without leaving a comment! But I guess it happens.

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  27. What a wonderful collection of photos! It's obvious you put a lot of time into your Sepia Saturday posts. Thank you for sharing.

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