Velocipede Patent Canvas Print, 1881 High-Wheel Bicycle Blueprint Art

Description

This canvas print reproduces a patent drawing for one of the earliest practical bicycles: a high-wheel machine with a giant front wheel and a small trailing rear wheel, the shape collectors and historians still call the penny-farthing. It comes in two sizes, 11×14 and 16×20, each finished as gallery-wrapped canvas. As a velocipede patent canvas print it reproduces the plate exactly as it was drawn and filed in 1881, treadle levers and ratchet disc included, with nothing added and nothing simplified.

The plate is dated 1881, drawn the way a patent office wanted every mechanism explained to an examiner who had never seen one: a curved backbone frame carries the saddle up behind the giant front wheel, and instead of a chain, hand-operated treadle levers turn a ratchet disc at the front axle to drive the wheel directly. It is rendered in aged sepia linework on a warm parchment background, the actual mechanical record of an early bicycle rather than a modern illustration styled to look old. For a collector or a lifelong cyclist, that plainness is the appeal.

Each canvas is made to order in our family-owned workshop in Northeast Ohio, printed with fade-resistant inks on gallery-wrapped canvas so the edges are finished and ready to display without a separate frame. It settles naturally into a den, home office, or workshop as vintage bike wall decor, and pairs well with other antique bicycle blueprint art for a cyclist’s gallery wall. The aged parchment tones hold up under normal light for years without fading, so the fine treadle-and-wheel linework stays sharp.

Hanging is simple: each canvas ships with wall hangers that peel, press, and hold securely without nails or tools, and they remove cleanly later without holes or wall damage. Pick the 11×14 for a shelf or narrow wall, or the 16×20 to anchor a larger space; either size has the image wrapped around the edges. It arrives ready to hang, with nothing else to buy.

Add this velocipede patent canvas print to a gallery wall of vintage cycling pieces, or let the high-wheel silhouette stand alone above a desk or workbench. Choose the size and style that fits the wall, and it arrives ready to display.

Every order is made and packed by hand in our family shop in Northeast Ohio. We use premium gallery-wrapped canvas, high-quality frame material and fade-resistant inks for both prints and canvas. Each frame is made to order and shipped same or next business day.

Crossroads Home Decor is built around one simple idea: to Inspire, Encourage, and Connect. If you have any questions about this listing or your order, please send us a message — we’re happy to help. Thank you for supporting a small family business.

— Eric & Susan

Additional information