Fowler Museum: Round Trip Bicycling Asia Minor 1891

CELEBRATE 125 YEARS OF CYCLING WITH THE FOWLER MUSEUM AT UCLA

In the summer of 1890, two young Americans William Sachtleben and Thomas Allen Jr. set off to circle the globe on new-fangled “safety” bicycles, prototypes of the modern bike. Over the next three years, they pedaled 18,000 miles across three continents and helped spark the great bicycle boom that transformed cycling into the wildly popular form of recreation and means of transportation we know today.

Using a new, compact Kodak camera, the young men captured 1,200 spontaneous snapshots on cellulose nitrate-based film negatives while crossing Europe and Asia. A third of these images survived and are held by UCLA Library Special Collections.

Round Trip: Bicycling Asia Minor, 1891 (opening December 14 at the Fowler Museum at UCLA) features forty-three of these strikingly beautiful black-and-white photographs that capture the dawning of cycling enthusiasm.

OUR VISION:

To celebrate the exhibition and the last century of cycling, the Fowler Museum at UCLA is collaborating with the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition, Golden Saddle Cyclery, and on-campus partners UCLA Bike Shop, Bike UCLA, Bicycle Coalition at UCLA, and UCLA Transportation and Recreation to organize a fun-filled day of activities centered around the bicycle in March 2015. We hope to offer campus rides, bike repair tutorials, bike rodeos for tykes, bike decorating projects and lots more.

On January 11, 2015, the exhibition curator, author, and historian David V. Herlihy will be in Los Angeles for a lecture and reception to celebrate Round Trip.

To make this vision a reality, we are partnering with UCLA Spark to raise $7,500 by December 2!

BE A PART OF THE PROJECT:

Be a part of this exciting project by contributing to the Round Trip Exhibition Fund with a gift of $10 or more before December 2.

Your important gifts contribute to presenting this exhibition and its accompanying public and educational programs that will attract cycling enthusiasts, Fowler members, art patrons, UCLA students, faculty and staff, and the greater Los Angeles public, including:

Round Trip Exhibition Production and Installation:

Including graphic design, digital printing of the 43 images and mounting the exhibition.

​Public and Educational Programs:

A fun-filled day of public and educational programs in March 2015 that celebrates the exhibition and cycling in our LA community, with programs designed for cyclists of all ages.

​Fowler's School Visit Program:

As part of the Fowler's School Visit Program, we will bring K-12 students to the museum via bus to tour the Round Trip exhibition. For many of the students, this is the first visit to the museum and to the university.

CHECK OUT OUR CAMPAIGN PERKS!

In thanks for your support, you’ll receive some super cool perks like:

A year of Membership to the Fowler Museum at UCLA

25% discount on Solé Bicycles

An invitation to celebrate the opening of Round Trip with guest curator, author and historian David V. Herlihy

Water bottles, bike decals, historical cycling books and more!

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS

We are grateful for the encouragement and support of our generous partners to help promote cycling, the Round Trip exhibition and the Fowler Museum at UCLA.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Thank you for your heartfelt gifts to our crowdfunding campaign. Your gifts contribute greatly to our efforts of bringing this exhibition to greater audiences.

Please help us also share our project with friends and family and encourage them to support the Fowler Museum today via email, Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #RoundTrip.

As always, remember to 'like' us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter as well.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

This exhibition is organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA in partnership with UCLA Library Special Collections and guest-curated by David V. Herlihy, historian and author of Bicycle: The History and Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance.

*As is the practice of other museums across the nation, raising funds for exhibitions occurs concurrently with their planning and preparation. Often, fundraising activities are conducted up until the opening day of an exhibition.