c1900 Velocicpede Tricycle Pedal Car
with two-wheel brake
Length: 34″
Width: 21″
Height: 34″
Front wheel: 14″
Rear wheels: 22″
This remarkably well preserved child’s vehicle is my oldest pedal car. A steering wheel was first fitted to a full-size automobile in Europe in 1894, and used on the world’s first mass-produced car, the Benz. So this may be the first instance of a steering wheel on a juvenile version.
Because it is motivated as a velocipede tricycle, with pedals in the front wheel, and its upholstery is similar to the Benz and also horse carriages, this could have been manufactured in the late 1890s – in which case, it might be one of the first pedal cars?
