HISTORY: EARLY SKATES

PETIBLED-SKATE-1828

The evolution of roller skates is similar to that of the bicycle. Just as penny farthings gave way to safety bicycles after 1886, inline skates became obsolete with the invention of the quad skate in 1863.

Bear in mind that up to the nineteenth century independent riding was confined to horseback and only the bicycle and the roller skate provided the novelty of personal wheeled propulsion.

Ice skates were popular but only seasonally or at rinks. There was therefore great potential if someone could invent a wheeled skate to simulate the moves of ice skates. Various methods of attaching wheels to ice skates were tried out, noticeably in the early seventeenth century. The invention of practical wheeled skates is credited to the Belgian Joseph Merlin in the 1760s.

The year 1819 was a turning point for both bicycles and roller skates. Patents were awarded to Johnson for the hobby horse and Petibled for a three-wheeled inline roller skate.

A new style of skate with two axles was patented in 1863. Again mirroring the bicycle’s evolution – the Safety Bicycle replacing the Ordinary and popularising the hobby as a result – this new skate was much safer than inlines. Skating took off. And the four-wheeled quad skate became the dominant style.

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Items in this Collection

ice_skates

1800 Curled-Toe Ice Skates

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1860 Inline Roller Skates 05

1860-1863 Three-Wheel Juvenile Inline Skates

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1889_Robinson_Ice_Velocipede_1

1886-1889 Velocipede & Ice Skate Patents

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1896_choubersky_skates_03

1896 Patin Bicyclette Road Skates (Richard-Choubersky)

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1896-Ritter-Road-Skates-03

1896 Ritter Road Skates

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FOR SALE 1896 Ritter Road Skates 1

1896 Ritter Road Skates

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1896-Ritter-Road-Skates-051

1896 Ritter Road Skates

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1896 Ritter Road Skates 05

1896 Ritter Road Skates (Ladies Model)

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1896-RITTER-SKATES-LADIES-01

1896 Ritter Road Skates (Ladies Size 10)

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1896 Ritter Road Skates 05

1896 Ritter Road Skates (Size 11 1/2)

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1896 RITTER ROAD SKATES 5

1896 RITTER ROAD SKATES (The Road Skate Co, 271 Oxford St, London)

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1896_Ritter_Skates_03

1896 Ritter Skates (Road Skate Co)

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1897 Daniels Foot Cycle Roller Skates 05

1897 Daniels ‘Foot Cycle’ 3-Wheel Roller Skates

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1897 F.I Gibbs & W. Wright Roller Skates 05

1897 Gibbs & Wright 2-Wheeled Roller Skates

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1906-Centaur-Roller-Skates-15

1906 Centaur Roller Skates

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1911 Young’s Automobile Road Skates

1911 Young’s Automobile Road Skates

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1928-brinkman-skooter-skate-1

1928 Brinkman ‘Skooter Skate’ – From Roller Skate to Skateboard

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1954-Rollfast-Hopalong-Cassidy-Roller-Skates-03

1950s Rollfast Hopalong Cassidy Roller Skates

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