{"product_id":"velocipedomania-a-cultural-history-of-the-velocipede-in-france-paperback-softback-9781684484331","title":"Velocipedomania; A Cultural History of the Velocipede in France (Paperback \/ softback) 9781684484331","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eVelocipedomania\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA Cultural History of the Velocipede in France\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eCorry Cropper (Author), Seth Whidden (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781684484331\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 9 December 2022\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e266 pages, 42 b-w illus., 6 color illus.\u003cbr\u003e21.6 x 14 x 1.8 cm, 0.045 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\"Engaging, well-researched, and expertly translated, \u003ci\u003eVelocipedomania\u003c\/i\u003e gives insight into the craze this two-wheeled machine inspired in the late 1860s and, more generally, into the rich popular culture of the period.\"\u003c\/div\u003e— Anne O'Neil-Henry, author of Mastering the Marketplace: Popular Literature in Nineteenth-Century France\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"In this immensely enjoyable and highly original volume brimming with illustrations, helpful notes, short texts, and links to online musical recordings, Cropper and Whidden study responses to the development of this prototype vélo, thus bringing much-deserved attention to the optimistic Zeitgeist of a period now haunted by the specter of the Paris Commune.\"\u003c\/p\u003e — Nineteenth Century French Studies\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\"Careening across the stage, lifted into song, championed in story—velocipedes take France by storm in 1869-70. The machine of speed touches on gender, politics, class, and more. Never has cultural history been more informative or more fun than in the rollicking translations and commentary of \u003ci\u003eVelocipedomania\u003c\/i\u003e.\"\u003c\/div\u003e— Scott Carpenter, author of Aesthetics of Fraudulence in Nineteenth-Century France\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\"This book is a fabulous exploration of the social and cultural importance of the velocipede—a short-lived but consequential predecessor to the modern bicycle—in France during the late 1860s.\"\u003c\/div\u003e— Robert Lewis, author of The Stadium Century: Sport, Spectatorship and Mass Society in Modern France\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\"In this engaging and informative book, Corry Cropper and Seth Whidden explore how, in late 1860s France, the forerunner of the bicycle came to be seen as a marker of modernity, freedom and even of national identity . . . A large number of contemporary cartoons and illustrations add to the rich source material—and to the reader's enjoyment.\"— French History\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\"In \u003ci\u003eVelocipedomania\u003c\/i\u003e, Cropper and Whidden bring to light an unexamined page of French cultural history—France's obsession and cultural identification with the bicycle that began in the 1860s and that persists to this day. This lively compilation of texts about the velocipede, the iconic two-wheel wood and iron vehicle, will delight readers.\"\u003c\/div\u003e— Masha Belenky, author of Engine of Modernity: The Omnibus and Urban Culture in Nineteenth-Century Paris\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen blacksmith Pierre Michaux affixed pedals to the front axle of a two-wheeled scooter with a seat, he helped kick off a craze known as \u003ci\u003evelocipedomania\u003c\/i\u003e, which swept France in the late 1860s. The immediate forerunner of the bicycle, the velocipede similarly reflected changing cultural attitudes and challenged gender norms. \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003eVelocipedomania \u003c\/i\u003eis the first in-depth study of the velocipede fad and the popular culture it inspired. It explores how the device was hailed as a symbol of France's cutting-edge technological advancements, yet also marketed as an invention with a noble pedigree, born from the nation's cultural and literary heritage. Giving readers a window into the material culture and enthusiasms of Second Empire France, it provides the first English translations of 1869's \u003ci\u003eManual of the Velocipede\u003c\/i\u003e, 1868's \u003ci\u003eNote on Monsieur Michaux's Velocipede\u003c\/i\u003e, and the 1869 operetta \u003ci\u003eDagobert and his Velocipede\u003c\/i\u003e. It also reprints scores of rare images from newspapers and advertisements, analyzing how these magnificent machines captured the era's visual imagination. By looking at how it influenced French attitudes towards politics, national identity, technology, fashion, fitness, and gender roles, this book shows how the short-lived craze of \u003ci\u003evelocipedomania\u003c\/i\u003e had a big impact. \u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eVelocipedomania\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCHAPTER ONE\u003cbr\u003e The Utilitarian Velocipede\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eNote on Monsieur Michaux's Velocipede\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCHAPTER TWO\u003cbr\u003e The Velocipede on Stage\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eDagobert and His Velocipede\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCHAPTER THREE\u003cbr\u003e Narrating Velocipedomania\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eManual of the Velocipede\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCHAPTER FOUR\u003cbr\u003e Velocipedomania in Verse\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCONCLUSION\u003cbr\u003e \"We Thought the Velocipede Was Dead\"\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Illustration Credits\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Bucknell University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52685388808472,"sku":"9781684484331","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/velocipedomania-a-cultural-history-of-the-velocipede-in-france-paperback-softback-9781684484331","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}