Judge — August 7, 1897 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical cartoon depicting a busy urban street scene centered on bicycle commerce and repair. The image shows various storefronts advertising bicycle-related services—"Undertaker and Bike Dealer," "Fine Coffins and Bikes," "Spring Magic Bicycles," and repair shops. The satire appears to mock the bicycle craze of the late 19th/early 20th century, when bicycles were wildly popular. By pairing coffin dealers with bicycle shops and filling the street with cyclists of all ages, the cartoon suggests bicycles are everywhere—omnipresent in urban life. The juxtaposition of coffins with bikes may humorously imply that bicycling is dangerous, or simply that bicycles have become as fundamental to city commerce as death itself. The crowd of pedestrians, cyclists, and vendors suggests the bicycle industry's dominance of contemporary urban culture.