Article on Dutch bicycle historiography published
Our article on Dutch bicycle historiography has appeared: Manuel Stoffers and Harry Oosterhuis, ‘ “Ons populairste vervoermiddel”. De Nederlandse fietshistoriografie in internationaal perspectief’, in: Bijdragen en Mededelingen betreffende de Geschiedenis der Nederlanden, 124(2009), nr. 3, pp. 390-418.
Because bicycle racing on public roads was forbidden in the Netherlands after 1905, the Amsterdam bicycle firm Hima organised in 1915, 1916 and 1917 ‘bicycle tours’ with wellknown racing cyclists through the Netherlands. The tour of 1917 was promoted except by the poster above, also by a short cinema-movie by Pathé Frères. (Collectie KABK, sign. BG E17/407, IISG, Amsterdam).
The article, while highlighting the significance of cycling history in general, provides an overview of the publications on the history of cycling in the Netherlands in the light of recent international research. It does so by focusing on four main themes: technological and transportation history, economic and business history, sports history and social-cultural history.