Middlesex Cycle Club, circa 1890

Title: Middlesex Cycle Club, circa 1890
Description: "Cycling was a popular sport in the late 1800's, as seen by this photograph taken at 617 Main Street. It appears that most of the members of the Middlesex Cycle Club rode three-wheel cycles and tandems (a bicycle built for two). Through the 1890's, bicycles sold for an average of $100 to $125, causing many people throughout the country to save their money to buy one. This prompted one desperate hat maker to try to persuade Congress to pass a law requiring every bicycle owner to buy at least two felt hats a year. The bicyle provided a form of recreation that men and women could enjoy together." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.; Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 1992; Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Historical Society.
Contributor: Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library; Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.); D'Onofrio, Jayne M.
Coverage: Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield
Date: ca. 1890
Format: image/jpeg
Publisher: [Wakefield, Mass.] : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department
Subject: Bicycles and bicycling; Middlesex Cycle Club (Wakefield, Mass.)
Type: still image; Photographs
Original Format: 1 picture : b&w
Extent: 19 x 32 cm.