Bassetts Scrap Book, Vol 10, No 12
Articles in this issue
- p. 1
Seasonal reflections for February 1913 noting notable birthdays, the velocipede as a forerunner to the bicycle, and a warm greeting to members who have put their cycles away for winter.
- p. 6
A spirited rebuttal to an English critic who claimed American bicycle racing predated 1876, with Bassett defending the distinction between velocipede races in rinks and genuine amateur bicycle racing on outdoor tracks.
- p. 3
H. H. Griffin's contribution tracing the first American bicycle race to the Empire City Rink in November 1868, and Bassett's counter-argument that velocipede races should not count as bicycle races.
- p. 5
An account of how Alfred Chandler imported a French velocipede in 1868 and later ordered one of the first English bicycles to arrive in Boston, along with details of his unique scrapbook documenting cycling history.
- p. 3
A brief historical note establishing that the word 'bicycle' first appeared in an English patent of April 1869, and tracing early exhibitions of the machine in Boston theatres.
- p. 7
The story of an 87-year-old Wakefield man who began bicycle riding at 70, completed some 20,000 miles in 17 years, ate a gallon of molasses a week, and credited cycling and fresh air with prolonging his life.
- p. 7
A comic Valentine's Day verse in which a suitor's romantic declarations win over a mercenary young woman only after he reveals he has half a million dollars.