Early Bicycles, Philip Sumner ill. Alan Osbahr (1966)

An enormously attractive large format book of detailed plates showing a dozen early bicycles, accompanied by a good, short history of cycles up to the early years of the twentieth century

Hugh Evelyn 45 UK shillings

This was possibly published for educational use. Indeed, the images from the book are still serving just that purpose in this rather good classroom aid. Osbahr’s draftsmanship is exceptional. He achieves a extraordinary level of detail – so much so, that it would almost be possible to rebuild one of these machines from blueprints.

Sumner’s potted history is also very strong. He avoids the obviously potholes that lie between Dumfriesshire, Coventry and Paris, as well as providing some fantastic specks of detail. The Golden Sunbeam of 1907 retailed for £20 – but could cost as much as £30 with extras. Baylis-Thomas’ Ordinary of 1879 weighed in at 49lbs, while the frame of a Dursley-Pedersen weighed just 14lbs.
Copies of the book a few and far between – although it appears to have been in print in to the mid 1980s. If you come across one, however, its worth snapping it up.

PS Dec 09