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Penny-farthing bicycle belonging to Harry Clarke

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CC BY-SA 4.0
CC BY-SA 4.0
CC BY-SA 4.0
CC BY-SA 4.0
Type
Bicycles
Date
1884
Place
Wolverhampton, West Midlands, United Kingdom; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Tasmania, Australia
Materials
Metal - non specific, Rubber, Vinyl, Wood
Collection
Harry Clarke collection
Accession number
2013.0033.0001

Description

A penny-farthing bicycle with a large front wheel and a smaller rear wheel, a black vinyl-covered seat, black painted metal frame, rusted pedals at the centre of the large wheel, and wooden handlebars.

Penny-farthing used by Harry Clarke

About the collection

This collection consists of a penny-farthing bicycle manufactured by the 'Cogent Bicycle Works' of Wolverhampton, England, in 1884 and acquired in Tasmania in 1983 by Mr Henry (“Harry”) Thomas Clarke (1926-), a Melbourne-based vintage bicycle enthusiast. The bicycle measures approximately 1496 x1690 x580 mm and comprises a black-painted metal frame, vinyl-covered seat, timber handles and solid rubber tyres. The collection also includes a 1970s tweed suit and a brown and yellow cycling jersey belonging to Clarke and worn during vintage bicycle festivals and activities. All of the objects in this collection are in a good state of conservation. The bicycle has played an important role in Australia since the 1880s, both for sport and as means of transportation. Penny-farthing bicycles first arrived in the colonies in the 1870s, and Melbourne in particular became the centre of a cycling boom. Although initially popular, the 'high wheelers' were soon rendered obsolete, as 'safety' bicycles became the dominant form of personal transportation in the colonies. The 'Harry Clarke collection' particularly reflects the revival of interest in riding and competing on vintage bicycles during the later decades of the twentieth century.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 5:44:26 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-17. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.