Snapshots of the Past

[Madge Lessing, full length, on bicycle, facing left; holding musical horn to lips] – Historic Print

[Madge Lessing, full length, on bicycle, facing left; holding musical horn to lips], c1898. — historic photograph
[Madge Lessing, full length, on bicycle, facing left; holding musical horn to lips], c1898.. Historic photograph from the Bicycles collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of [Madge Lessing, full length, on bicycle, facing left; holding musical horn to lips]. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

[Madge Lessing, full length, on bicycle, facing left; holding musical horn to lips]

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

Actress Madge Lessing is shown full length on a bicycle, turned to the left and raising a musical horn to her lips, a pose that blends stage glamour with the newest machine of the day. The photograph is credited to E. Chickering of Boston and dated around 1898, when the bicycle boom had made cycling fashionable for women as well as men. Performers often posed with bicycles in studio portraits, since an active, cheerful woman on wheels was a popular image at the time. The record is based on old caption-card information that has not been verified, so the date and attribution should be treated as provisional.

Created / publishedc1898.
Medium1 photographic print.
NotesPhoto copyrighted by E. Chickering, Boston. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Photog. I.; Bicycles; Actresses; BI; Shelf.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,244 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-137649

More from the Bicycles collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.

Related pictures

[Leon Georget, full length, seated on bicycle, facing right; another man holding the bicycle][Leon Georget, full length, seated on bicycle, facing right; another man holding[William Martin, champion six-day bicycle rider of the world, full-length portrait, facing left, on bicycle with large front wheel and small rear wheel][William Martin, champion six-day bicycle rider of the world, full-length portra[John D. Rockefeller, full-length portrait, standing with a bicycle][John D. Rockefeller, full-length portrait, standing with a bicycle]Woman rides bicycle for 25 yearsWoman rides bicycle for 25 yearsThe famous bicycle tree of Snohomish [Washington]The famous bicycle tree of Snohomish [Washington][Man on bicycle on street, Washington, D.C.; horse-drawn streecar in background][Man on bicycle on street, Washington, D.C.; horse-drawn streecar in background]