The Ride to Modernity

by Norcliffe, Glen

• ISBN13: 9780802082053
• ISBN10: 080208205X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Univ of Toronto Pr

Summary

This is the story of Canada's encounter with the bicycle in the late nineteenth century, set in the context of the cultural movement known as 'modernity.' Glen Norcliffe covers the bicycle's history from about 1869, when the first bicycle appeared in Canada, until about 1900, a date that marks the end of the era when bicycles were a recognized symbol of modernity and social status; cycling continued into the Edwardian period and beyond, of course, especially in Europe, but by then it had lost its symbolic status and social cachet in Canada. Norcliffe's aim is to examine how the bicycle fits into the larger picture of change and progress in a period of dramatic economic, social, and technological flux. He argues that the bicycle led to a host of innovations affecting the development of technology, modern manufacturing, better roads, automobiles, and even airplanes. He describes, for example, how the bicycle, promoted through eye-catching advertisements, was one of the first products for which the sale of accessories was as important as sales of the main item - thus anticipating twentieth-century patterns of marketing. Lively and well illustrated, The Ride to Modernity provides a particularly Canadian history of one of the first big-ticket, mass-produced consumer luxuries.

Author Biography

Glen Norcliffe is Professor of Geography, York University.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Modernity and the Bicycle	p. 3
The Bicycle Carrier Wave	p. 41
Modern Manufacturing: From Artisanal Production to Mass Production	p. 89
Bells and Whistles: The Bicycle Accessory Industry	p. 121
Bad Roads, Good Roads	p. 149
The Cycling Crowd: Modern Life on Wheels	p. 179
Larger Spaces and Visible Places	p. 211
Pedaller's Progress: The Bicycle and Modernity	p. 247
Notes	p. 257
Select Bibliography	p. 275
Illustration Credits	p. 283
Index	p. 285
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