Object Image

Velocipede Patent Model

Charles Hammelmann, of Buffalo, New York, was issued Patent 225,010 for a velocipede on March 2, 1880. Hammelmann submitted this model to the Patent office with his patent application. The model depicts a tricycle propelled by two foot-operated, spring-returned levers that rock sector-racks meshed with ratchet gears on the front-wheel axle. The model was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1926. It is not known whether a full-scale version of this tricycle was ever manufactured....
1800
TR.309258
Image and text © National Museum of American History, 2021

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