A Comprehensive Bibliography of Nineteenth Century Bicycling Periodicals

Bicycling became hugely popular in the second half of the nineteenth century. At the time, bicycle manufacturing was an important American industry, bicycle racing was one of the most popular spectator sports, and joining a bicycle club was a mark of social distinction. This bicycle craze occurred at the same time as an explosion in the publishing of American periodicals. Bicycle manufacturers invested heavily in newspaper and magazine advertising which spurred the creation of new periodicals. This paper documents more than one hundred bicycling periodicals that were published in the nineteenth century. The bibliographic essay provides historical context for both the periodical and bicycle booms. It also elaborates on significant individual titles. The bibliography provides title-level information including: dates published, location, frequency, preceded by / succeeded by, location of digital copies and WorldCat holdings.