In conjunction with the “Cycling Through the News” exhibit, a bike tour is planned for this Saturday, June 13. Details:
Wheeling Around Burlington: A Bicycle History Tour … By Bike
Grab your “wheel” (bicycle) and join us for a tour of Burlington to celebrate the opening of Bailey-Howe Library’s new exhibit on bicycle history! During this 10-mile jaunt, we will explore the fascinating history of the late-nineteenth century “bicycle boom” when wheeling took the country–and our city–by storm. Led by Professor Luis Vivanco, the bicycling anthropologist, we will visit places that can tell us who rode, why they rode, how they rode, and how these things were connected to important social changes.
When: Saturday, June 13, 10am-12noon
Where: The tour will start and end at Bailey-Howe Library on UVM campus so you can visit the exhibit as well.
What to bring: your wheel (of course!), a helmet, and a water bottle
Rain date: Saturday, June 20, 10am-12noon
ALSO… a complementary exhibit in Special Collections (Bailey-Howe Library, Ground floor):
The Vermont Digital Newspaper Project is proud to announce the opening of a new exhibit at the Bailey/Howe Library lobby on the University of Vermont campus (where VTDNP is headquartered): Cycling Through the News: The Rise of Bicycling in Vermont & the Nation.
Click to enlarge.
The UVM Libraries summer exhibit looks at the rise of bicycling in America from 1870 to 1920. Newspapers contributed to the nation’s bicycle mania with articles, advertisements, and announcements for cycling events. Stories about health effects (good and bad), adventurous cyclists, cycling etiquette, bicycles and the modern woman, and the need for better roads were common. Advertisements promoted bicycle sales and repair shops, touring opportunities, and sporting events.
The Appeal., June 19, 1897, Page 2
“Cycling through the News” was curated by the staff of the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project. Karyn Norwood, digital support specialist, searched Chronicling America, the national newspaper database of the Library of Congress, to find an amazing collection of materials on all aspects of the bicycling phenomenon that swept the country. The exhibit includes period photographs, advertising and brochures, as well as artifacts. Glenn Eames and Burlington’s Old Spokes Home generously loaned lamps, bells, a flask, a brass horn and other items.
The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, runs until August 26, 2015.
Wheelmen (and women!) played a critical role in advocating for improved road conditions, as part of the Good Roads Movement in the United States at the turn of the century. Essex County herald., June 23, 1899, Page 1
Stay tuned for additional news on upcoming related events and exhibits!
Tunbridge is one of those quintessential Vermont towns, nestled amongst our state’s undulating green hills. Old barns, fields, cows, and historic homes along a winding narrow road lead to the relatively unchanged historic downtown of Tunbridge, where, in the valley below the town, the Tunbridge World’s Fairgrounds were home to the 2014 Vermont History Expo on June 21 and 22. Amid idyllic scenery and esteemed fellow exhibitors (all 160 of them!), we hosted an exhibit in Floral Hall.
Over the course of two days, we had the opportunity to meet hundreds of people from Vermont and beyond–many of whom had not yet heard of the project and what we had to offer. It was therefore a weekend full of discoveries!
Erenst Anip, Project Librarian, with our exhibit.
Particularly helpful was our laptop with Chronicling America set up. Visitors tested out keywords with the guidance of VTDNP team members. There were some amazing newspaper finds, particularly in regard to genealogy. One family discovered an obituary with some confirming information on a relative who moved from Vermont to Kansas in the time of John Brown and Bleeding Kansas. Stay tuned for more stories! (Read our post on genealogy search strategies.)
With maple creemee in hand, Karyn Norwood, our newsgirl, helps a visitor navigate Chronicling America in search of an ancestor. Seems she had some success!
Our booth featured an exhibit entitled, Expressions: The Newspaper Masthead in Vermont Newspapers between 1836-1922, which took a particular look at the Cronaca Sovverisiva’s masthead artist, Carlos Abate, and displayed other interesting masthead designs from Vermont newspapers. View mastheads on our Flickr account.
Click to enlarge the exhibit panel.Click to enlarge the exhibit panel.
In addition to the main exhibit, we challenged visitors with a guessing game featuring mystery toy advertisements from the turn of the twentieth century. It was a lot of fun, and every participant received some candy and a bookmark! Think you’d like to give it a try? Try our online version!
Finally, thanks to our volunteers who helped with manning the booth: Tom McMurdo and Mary VanBuren Swasey. We couldn’t have done it without you!! Many thanks to the Vermont Historical Society for organizing such an impressive History Expo. Additional thanks to Karen Lane of the Aldrich Public Library and Paul Heller, local historian and author, for their help with the Cronaca Sovversiva research and images.
Karyn Norwood, Digital Support Specialist, was a newsgirl for the weekend, delivering the headlines from the 1800s and early 1900s to the public!
It was an incredible weekend of Vermont history; we are so happy to have been a part of it. We can’t wait for the 2016 History Expo!
A view of Floral Hall (where VTDNP had our exhibit) and the gazebo, where musicians played music from the past and present.
Extra! Extra! Read, watch, and view more about VTDNP at the Expo:
More photos from the weekend are available on our Flickr account.
