the Pedestrian Curricle Posted by P. Bingham on July 21, 1998 at
00:18:10: In response to Hobby Horses, written by Marie-
Bernadette on July 20, 1998 at 12:01:17 The Hobby Horse was
invented by Baron von Drais in about 1816 and it was called the
Draisine. The British version was the hobby horse which would
have been available sometime after that though I can't say the
date for certain. I do have an illustration of the English Hobby
Horse dated 1819, though. It was also known in England as the
Dandy Horse and the Pedestrian Curricle, the later name being
the "smartest." This sport was short lived but it was in vogue
long enough for "riding academies" to be established to teach
young bloods how to navigate them. In 1821 Louis Gompertz, and
Englishman tried to improve the design by rigging a ratchet on
the front wheel which was operated by leaning against a padded
support and sawing a handle bar forward and back. This latter
model did not become popular. Posting followups to old messages
is disabled; instead go t