Bicycles on stamps

History of the bicycle

The earliest two-wheel machine, a ‘Laufmauschine’ (in English, Walking Machine), was patented by Karl von Drais, owner of a German Forestry Estate, in 1817. It was propelled along by the rider’s feet and known as the ‘Draissienne’, after its inventor.

Denis Johnson, Coachmaker, London, patented a lighter machine in 1818, called the Pedestrian Curricle but it soon became known as a ‘Hobby Horse’.

Kirkpatrick Macmillan built a machine c.1840 with treadles linked to the rear wheel, enabling riders to lift their feet off the ground. The invention received minimal publicity for many years.

The Frenchman, Pierre Michaux, (1813-83) was a manufacturer of perambulators and invalid carriages in Paris, assisted by two sons, Ernest and Henri. He was asked to repair a Draissienne and hit on the idea of adding cranks and pedals to the front wheel. In 1861 there were many sceptics who did not believe a person could balance on two wheels and to overcome this fear Michaux opened a successful riding school, to teach his clients to ride the new machine.

In the quest for greater speed, the front wheel was enlarged, creating the Ordinary or High Bicycle, nicknamed ‘Penny-farthing’, but it was dangerous to mount and dismount.

In the late 1860s experiments by several manufacturers led to the addition of a chain drive to the rear wheel, allowing the rider to sit in the saddle with one foot on the ground and to push off to begin a ride. The ‘Safety bicycle’ had arrived.

Early bicycle stamps

Bochum’s German Local postal service, 1887, issued a set of six stamps with a postman