Sepia Saturday - Vintage Bicycle Racing

Bicycle racing became popular in the 1880s. There were races with the high-wheeled bicycles, but they were fairly dangerous. One small rock and you were face-first over the handle bars. The new bicycles with two equal-sized wheels were called safety bikes. When they came along, racing really took off.  Bicycle like the ones shown here were developed in 1898.

In the 1880s, the 6-day races were very popular in England. Participants would race for six days or until they gave in to fatigue. That's how crazy people were about bicycles. In the U.S., the event was modified slightly to include two-man teams, so they could trade off and race for the entire six days. It's still total insanity if you ask me.

The first Tour de France took place in 1903. There were also road races in the U.S., but Velodrome or track racing was immensely popular as a spectator sport. It was exciting because of the speed that riders could achieve, racing in close quarters on a  banked track. These fellows were probably both velodrome racers, though their pictures were taken in a studio. Note the medals on the cyclists shirt below:

To find out more about the history of the racing bicycle, visit The Racing Bicycle. To see more wonderful old photos and rich family histories, check in with the Sepia Saturday blog.

Bar-Le-Duc, France

The message reads:

Bar-le-Duc

Monday

Dear K.

Here is the street I live on just around the corner opposite the clock. I am coming to Paris Friday for Monthly Mtg. +  I hope to see thee, can thee ask Mrs. Shewell if there will be a place for me at the Brittanique for over Friday night. I return Saturday I suppose. I saw R. the other day but I suppose he has already told thee. Love from Ruth.

The reference to monthly meeting and use of the pronoun thee make me think that Ruth was a Quaker. There are still Quakers (members of the Society of Friends) who use the pronoun thee, though it is increasingly rare.  While it may seem overly formal and antiquated today, it was originally used by Quakers because they rejected the use of separate pronouns as a way of setting people apart. At the time, people of nobility were addressed with a plural pronoun (you) and servants were addressed with a singular pronoun (thee).  This distinction went against Quaker beliefs, so they used thee for everyone. Over time, common usage shifted to you, and the Quaker use of thee then seemed outdated.

Note: Next time you're reading Shakespeare, be on the lookout for possible double meanings in his use of you and thee.

I realize now that I focused on the card's message and didn't say a thing about Bar-le-Duc itself. The town of Bar-le-Duc is the capital of the Meuse department in northeastern France, about 147 miles from Paris.  Bar-le-Duc has many beautiful 16th-century houses and is divided into an upper town and a lower town. It is particularly well known for its currant preserves (red and white) and has been for hundreds of years. The currant preserves are very expensive, in part because they use goose quills to individually remove the seeds from each currant. You can buy many different kinds of currant jam at Dean and Deluca for $5 and under (for 12 ounces), but the Bar-le-Duc preserves will set you back $44 for 3 ounces.

Jell-O as Food and Architecture

I know...this is a postcard blog and these aren't postcards. I just couldn't help myself. A little diversion is good every now and then, especially if it's a Jell-O diversion. I have harbored a secret desire to visit the Jell-O Museum in LeRoy, New York ever since I discovered there was such a thing. In the meantime, I'll just have to be satisfied with these Jell-O recipe folders.

Recently I suggested to the man who steals my covers that I might like to make the recipe for Thrifty Salad from one of the folders. He was less than encouraging and made some idle threats, so it hasn't happened yet.

O.K., maybe the recipe is a little odd, but they used real fruit flavoring in Jell-O back then, so it might actually have been tasty. It must have been or they wouldn't have received all of these gold medals:

Jell-O is wonderfully architectural, so I guess it should come as no surprise that people want to construct things out of it. Still, to make a replica of the entire City of San Francisco out of Jell-O! A California Artist by the name of Liz Hickok has done that and more by meticulously creating her own forms and making a miniature model of the city. Here are some pictures of her San Francisco 

creations. The first one is Alamo Square. I think you can just see the Transamerica Pyramid in the background.

 This picture shows the Ferry Building:

Yes, it's a little wobbly. And here's a view of the whole city from Alcatraz:

Don't worry about the possibility of an earthquake, because Jell-O buildings are much more resilient than wood and concrete ones. A hot tidal wave would be truly disastrous though. To see more of Liz's work, click here.