You may not have realized that May is National Bike Month, though I suppose it makes sense to get out and enjoy the spring weather on your bicycle. The first verifiable invention of the bicycle occurred in the 1800s, and as a glance through Nebraska Memories shows, Nebraskans have been enjoying their bikes for many years.
The
Butler County Gallery Collection includes some portraits of children posed with their bicycles, such as
Elvannah Brown. While she is technically riding a tricycle, rather than a bicycle, this image of
toddler Nettie Butler 
was too adorable not to include.
The
Townsend Studio Collection also includes some portraits of people with their bikes. This
portrait of Mrs. Tomas Bennett most likely depicts a bicycle used for purely recreational purposes, while
Ed Mockett’s portrait depicts a cyclist and his racing bike.
A less formal, and more recent, depiction of a bicycle is shown in this image of
children at 
the Nebraska Children’s Home in Omaha receiving a bike, among other gifts, in 1938. Also of interest is a group of
images of the Frazier Cycle Company in Omaha in the early 1900s.
Visit
Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.
Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see
http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information, or contact
Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.
