culture
A Look at Toronto’s Cycling Heyday
To kick off Toronto Bike Month, here's a sampling of Victorian and Edwardian bike advertising, taken from Toronto newspapers.
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Mail and Empire</em>, February 9, 1895.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> A sampling of top-end models offered by one of the city’s largest bicycle retailers. A second ad in the same newspaper noted that "our Mr. Hyslop has given up all his other business connections with the intention of pushing the bicycle trade to its utmost extent…If energy, push, and live business ideas count for anything, we shall have it."<br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Globe</em>, April 4, 1901.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> Department stores sold their own lines of bicycles. In this ad, Eaton’s explains why it could sell a bike for far less than the average $50–$150 range. Given the store's legendary policy of accepting returns with few questions asked, we imagine a few wheels made their way back to the store when riders needed an upgrade.<br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Globe</em>, April 18, 1898.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> It’s a fact: stopping for a rest by the roadside while out for a ride will immediately turn your clothing to tatters and cause stubble to sprout from your face!<br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Globe</em>, April 2, 1887.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> Shockingly, the paper was not swamped with letters from angry bicycle repairmen for portraying them as greedy businessmen preying on cyclists who chose their vehicles poorly.<br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Empire</em>, January 21, 1895.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> During this era, competitive cycling was used as a sales pitch. L.D. Robertson, T.B. McCarthy, and R. Hensel were the top three finishers during the inaugural edition of the Dunlop Trophy Race on September 29, 1894. Participants rode a 20-mile course that included several loops of Woodbine Racetrack (then located at Queen Street and Woodbine Avenue), a journey out and back along Kingston Road, and a final loop of the horse track. The <em>Globe</em> observed that while Woodbine was is in good shape, Kingston Road was "pretty dusty and rutty." It was also observed that race officials were too cheap to publicize the competition, resulting in only 1,000 spectators at Woodbine. The race <a href="http://www.vintageccm.com/content/1926-dunlop-trophy-race">moved to Ottawa in 1926</a>, a year that proved to be its final ride.<br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Globe</em>, April 1, 1897.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> Teach a few lessons, promote cycling as a competitive sport, and hope the lure of an “academy” sells a few more Cleveland-brand cycles. Brilliant marketing, n’est pas?<br /><br /><br /> <br /> 471 Church Street was the venerable <a href="https://www.graniteclub.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=312623&ssid=201995&vnf=1">Granite Club’s</a> second location. The club had moved there from St. Mary Street in 1880. The site hosted athletic and social activities for the local upper crust until the mid-1920s. <br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Globe</em>, April 8, 1908.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> In modern terms: a Metropass is like an armed robber. <br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Globe</em>, April 14, 1897.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> The bike courier market was well catered to.<br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Mail and Empire</em>, May 3, 1898.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> Agricultural-machinery giant Massey-Harris was among the manufacturers who jumped into the bicycle business. Instead of using country farmers to sell their bikes, M-H presented images of urbane gentlemen of all ages and sizes. <br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Globe</em>, April 30, 1897.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> Bicycle advertising wasn’t immune from the Victorian habit of portraying women as delicate flowers. <br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Mail and Empire</em>, April 2, 1898.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> As we all know, since 1898, all bicycle repairs have been made bare-handed, without the assistance of tools. <br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Mail and Empire</em>, May 7, 1898.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> We’ll test you on your Red Bird knowledge later on.<br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Mail and Empire</em>, May 14, 1898.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> Bicycles offer a less claustrophobic (unless caught in a tight squeeze with other vehicles), more independent alternative to crowded streetcars. Downside: you can’t read the latest catalogue while riding your bike.
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Mail and Empire</em>, May 21, 1898.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> This man is laughing at the fools herding onto the streetcar. Or least we think he’s laughing—hard to tell beneath the beard, not to mention the fine Victorian skill of repressing external emotions.
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>News</em>, April 2, 1903.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> Unlike the Pullman railway car, the Hygienic Cushion Frame didn't include space for sleeping, or a porter to tend to any belongings you brought on your ride. <br /><br /><br /> <br /> By this point Massey-Harris’s bicycle division had merged with several other manufacturers to create the Canada Cycle and Motor Company (CCM). The new company settled in Weston prior to World War I, establishing the town as the region’s bicycle production hub.
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>News</em>, April 2, 1898.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> It might not be Daisy <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41U78QP8nBk">giving her answer do on a bicycle built for two</a>, but perhaps this is how couples too clumsy to balance a tandem rode together.
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Toronto Star</em>, June 4, 1898.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> A ride wasn’t complete without a fine new bicycle suit.
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>Mail and Empire</em>, May 25, 1895.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> Modern "Tweed Ride" participants may want to seek antique Rigby suits in case of rain.
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>World</em>, May 20, 1895.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> Next time you have a tummy ache, hop on your bicycle! <br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>World</em>, February 17, 1900.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> Then as now, there was a stampede for repairs and tune-ups before spring cycling season. <br />
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- <strong>Advertisement, the <em>News</em>, May 10, 1902.</strong><br /> <br /><br /> A sign of things to come: Hyslop began selling a motorized contraption called an “Olds Mobile.” Bicycle companies soon fought for ad space with car manufacturers, a battle the two-wheeled vehicles eventually lost.
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A cyclist during the height of the bicycle craze of the 1890s would have scoffed at the notion of a Toronto Bike Month, which starts today. At the time, no special observance was necessary. Everybody was picking up two-wheeled vehicles in models designed for comfort, fashion, and style. They were speedier than a horse carriage, roomier than a crammed streetcar, and offered independent mobility. Outside of the winter months, bicycles were poised to rule the city’s streets for years to come.
The introduction of equal-sized wheels and inflatable rubber tires during the late 1880s produced safer bicycles, sparking a boom in sales. At the height of the fad, trendy riding clothes were available, spectators lined streets and tracks to watch competitive races, and relationships were cemented on leisurely rides. Yet within a few years of the 20th century’s arrival, the bike’s popularity began to fade as the next big thing began to take over: the automobile.
To salute Toronto Bike Month, we’ve assembled a gallery of ads from an era when the bicycle was king.