An Old Penny-farthing bicycle serves as an advert for a cycle hire shop in Dockyard, Bermuda
Penny-farthing, high wheel, high wheeler, and ordinary are all terms used to describe a type of bicycle with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel that was popular after the boneshaker, until the development of the safety bicycle, in the 1880s. They were the first machines to be called "bicycles". Although they are now most commonly known as "penny-farthings", this term was probably not used until they were nearly outdated; the first recorded print reference is 1891 in Bicycling News. It comes from the British penny and farthing coins, one much larger than the other, so that the side view resembles a penny leading a farthing. For most of their reign, they were simply known as "bicycles". In the late 1890s, the retronym "ordinary" began to be used, to distinguish them from the emerging safety bicycles, and this term or Hi-wheel (and variants) is preferred by many modern enthusiasts.
Size: 2574px × 3954px
Location: Dockyard Bermuda
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: bermuda, dock, dockyard, harbour, tourism, travel
