Our series examining an Image of the Week from the photographic files, by Kevin Warstadt, Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow.

A Dartmouth cycling club ca 1888

Above are the members of a Dartmouth bicycle club, pictured with penny-farthings. The image comes from a folder titled “Bicycle Club and Bicycling 2.”The numbers on the image correspond to an accompanying list of names, which can be seen in the Dartmouth photographic files here. This photo was likely taken sometime in the spring of 1888.

The penny-farthing was invented in 1869 and remained in common use till the 1880s, when it fell out of favor for the safety bicycle. Variants of the safety bicycle remain in use today.

See more images of cycling at Dartmouth here.