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About the Photos
Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.
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- Incognito: 1890
- ... (the penny) and the little wheel (the farthing).
The bikes were mounted via a little step just above the small wheel -- partially ... - the pedals ratchet while coasting, just as most modern bikes do. The small "finger" looking device at the top of the wheel is the ... Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 2:02pm -
- On the Street Where You Live: 1900
- ... park's fountain is sadly no more.
Nice rack For bikes!
Fast Shade Any idea of the address? I'd like to find out when ... Posted by Dave - 08/15/2012 - 4:39pm -
- Inflationary Pressure: 1936
- ... than this kid. I have lived in the far east and have seen bikes like this carry 3-4 people and very, very other heavy cumbersome loads ... Posted by Dave - 08/09/2012 - 8:33am -
- The Rat Patrol: 1973
- ... they managed to keep upright!
As for helmets, we rode bikes, skateboards and mini-bikes without helmets because nobody did. I don't remember when the helmet ... Posted by AmericanJarhead - 09/12/2011 - 7:55pm -
- Burro Drawer: 1912
- ... in places like Africa and Mexico. The Tote Goat trail bikes got their name from these sure-footed ancestors.
Leggings! The ... Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 1:49pm -
- The New Olds: 1919
- ... cookie sheet under it to catch the oil drips. Old British bikes had the endearing habit of leaving puddles of oil wherever they were ... a Commando and an Atlas, and the comment "Old British bikes had the endearing habit of leaving puddles of oil" reminds me of the old ... Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 9:24pm -
- The End of the Innocence: 1941
- ... spring fork setup used on millions of Schwinns and other bikes over the past hundred-plus years. Still in use. Not unusual.
... least 100 different badges, as Schwinn made private label bikes for hardware stores, tires stores and many other outlets. The model is ... Posted by Dave - 01/08/2008 - 3:10am -
- Raymond Bykes: 1911
- ... thing now with the pedals on the curb. For utilitarian bikes kickstands are also back in favor.
Bykes? Why do I get the ... to the top tube.
Deux Fixies I think both the bikes are fixed gears. Note the lack of rim brakes or a reaction arm for a ... Posted by Ken - 09/08/2011 - 12:02am -
- On the Grid: 1939
- ... looked like as a baby!
D.C. Traffic There are bikes in the middle of the street. And a traffic cop, remember those?
... Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 1:06pm -
- Momma: 1964
- ... on the iron range of northern Minnesota. We kids rode our bikes through the ore residue, and ran races through the dust, and thought ... Posted by Dave - 10/05/2010 - 8:28pm -
- Look, Ma: 1921
- ... how pedaling energy and speed is affected. Most modern bikes now have a drive sprocket that is several times as big as the driven one. ... for trick riding). Modern "trials" and other trick bikes have the same kind of gearing.
About the saddle, which looks rather ... Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 1:31pm -
- TTerrace Terraces: 1979
- ... in our back yard and we made little trails to ride our bikes to and from the "house." It was nowhere near as big as this, though. It ... Posted by tterrace - 10/01/2011 - 5:18pm -
- Washington Flyer: 1921
- ... "Hell, give us two legs (each) and a couple of those Tarty bikes, we could do that! And what's with that sissy helmet? And why didn't he ... Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 1:35pm -
- Cruisin' 1968
- ... kill before my parents were ready to leave. We'd ride our bikes in the street in front of our house, play catch (either baseball or ... Posted by bhappel - 09/13/2011 - 3:38pm -
- Cool bike
- ... lawns in the neighborhood so we could 'customize' our bikes with sissy bars, bananna seats, battery operated headlamps and horns, ... Posted by Gman77 - 05/05/2009 - 8:07pm -
- Sk8r Dude: 1921
- ... View full size.
Cool I like the look of those rad bikes.
The Herb and Joe Show I keep coming back to these photos of Herb ... Posted by Dave - 09/13/2011 - 1:30pm -
- Garage X: 1946
- ... the little cubbyholes for outdoor toys, sports equipment, bikes, etc. that can be reached without having to go into the garage. That is a ... Posted by Dave - 12/03/2008 - 11:40pm -
- Instant Messenger: 1913
- ... the shadow you can see that it is a skip-link. On modern bikes the teeth on the sprockets are right next to each other. But on this ... hole for the gear tooth, hinge (ASCII art: *-*-*-). On old bikes the pattern was hinge, hinge, hole for the gear tooth, hinge, hinge ... Posted by Dave - 10/02/2008 - 1:32am -
- Percy Neville: 1913
- ... angle.
When you see bars dropped down really low, the bikes were called "scorchers" -- really popular before WWI (possibly later ... Posted by Dave - 12/10/2007 - 5:23pm -
- Speed Demon: 1938
- ... motorcycle show two weeks ago in Phoenix. One of the bikes on display was an old Indian that was well decorated over the years by ... Posted by Dave - 03/28/2008 - 3:08pm -
- The Sidney Ohio Cycling Club circa 1900
- ... to get into the picture. Also there are 19 riders and 20 bikes which suggests the photographer was one of the group.
The original ... Posted by Karlheck - 07/09/2009 - 7:38pm -
- Hudson Ohio 30's
- Known as the Velocipede, these bikes were used on the railroad for track inspectors and many other employees. ... Posted by Agent 47 - 05/17/2007 - 1:07am -
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Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.
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