Bicyclist Thomas Stevens Around World Penny Farthing, 1884 Antique

Huge original antique print from an 1880s illustrated journal. It depicts a picture of Thomas Stevens, the great bicyclist of the 1880s. Above the picture is an article on his planned around the world trip on his penny farthing. Thomas Stevens (1854- 1935) was the first person to circle the globe by bicycle. He rode a large-wheeled Ordinary, also known as a penny-farthing, from April 1884 to December 1886. In 1884 he acquired a black-enameled Columbia 50-inch 'Standard' penny-farthing with nickel-plated wheels, built by the Pope Manufacturing Company of Chicago. He packed his handlebar bag with socks, a spare shirt, a raincoat that doubled as tent and bedroll, and a pocket revolver (described as a "bull-dog revolver", perhaps a British Bull Dog revolver) and left San Francisco at 8 o'clock on 22 April 1884. From Sacramento, Stevens travelled through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. En route, he was greeted by members of local bicycle clubs, most prominently the president of a chapter of the League of American Wheelmen in Laramie, Wyoming. He had never seen North America east of the Mississippi.He reached Boston after 3,700 miles on wagon trails, railways, canal towpaths and public roads, to complete the first transcontinental bicycle ride on 4 August 1884. After that, he took a steamship to London and began the rest of his around the globe trip. The print is very large (folio size), measuring approximately 11 x 16 inches (28 x 40.5 cm). The picture fills about one third of the page, with a caption below. The page is in excellent condition for its age. There is unrelated text/photos on the back of the print. See scan for an accurate view of the condition. This print will come with a Certificate of Authenticity. This print will come with a Certificate of Authenticity.
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