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The poster shows a woman wearing a gray skirt and a black blouse. She is riding a bicycle straight out of a railroad tunnel. She has turned her head back and is casting a haughty glance behind her. A steam locomotive is following her; it is still inside the tunnel. You can make out the silhouette of the waving engineer. Above the tunnel is the inscription “Cycles Terrot Dijon.” In the lower right corner is a bicycle sprocket with a chain labeled “nouvelle chaine Brevetèe S.G.D.G."

Freedom on Two Wheels

24/4/2024 — 19/1/2025

Freedom on Two Wheels

What's it About?

Until 19 Januar 2025 the special exhibition "Freedom on Two Wheels" is showing large-format historical bicycle posters from France around 1900.

The Bicycle on French Posters around 1900

Free, independent, and modern: words to describe the lifestyle promised by the bicycle in France around 1900. Across the country, bicycle advertising was steeped in this dream. Lithographic posters served as the advertising medium, resulting in exceptional works of art which, when we look at them today, offer special insights into the understanding of technology and culture at the time. A unique feature of the posters of the “Belle Époque” is that women, acting as advertising ambassadors, took center stage in different ways.

From 24 April 2024 to 19 January 2025, the Deutsches Technikmuseum is presenting more than 40 large-format bicycle posters from its collection. The exhibition "Freedom on Two Wheels. The Bicycle on French Posters around 1900" tells of a time when the bicycle as a modern means of transportation and the poster as a new advertising medium entered into a symbiosis, prompting an explosion of creativity that is still fascinating today. The posters reflect societal ideals and world views from the time around 1900, shedding light on the gender roles, technologies, and cultural realities typical at the time.

The poster shows a woman wearing a gray skirt and a black blouse. She is riding a bicycle straight out of a railroad tunnel. She has turned her head back and is casting a haughty glance behind her. A steam locomotive is following her; it is still inside the tunnel. You can make out the silhouette of the waving engineer. Above the tunnel is the inscription “Cycles Terrot Dijon.” In the lower right corner is a bicycle sprocket with a chain labeled “nouvelle chaine Brevetèe S.G.D.G."
Advertisement poster for Cycles Terrot bicycles, lithograph by Francisco Nicolas Tamagno, Paris, ca. 1895 Source: SDTB, Historical Archives, V.4. X 0079 1/1

Between Poster Plague and Bicycle Craze

Around 1890, European cityscapes began to change. Now, large, colorful posters were plastered across facades that used to be gray. Quite a few people experienced this as a disfigurement, referring to it as a “poster plague,” while others celebrated the wall art as an expression of a new, modern age.

Around the same time, another development burst on the scene: the bicycle. Promising personal mobility, it sparked the urge for freedom. Especially for women, the velocipede was a vehicle of emancipation. For this reason, it was as controversial in conservative circles as the poster. Regardless, its revolutionizing power was taking hold.

The bicycle posters provided the imagery for the dreams the bicycle was to help make come true. By 1900, more posters had been produced to sell bicycles than for any other product.

The focal point of the advertising poster is a bride in a white wedding dress with a veil. She is riding down a long flight of stairs on a black bicycle, smiling slightly. She is accompanied by two white butterflies. At the top of the staircase, the wedding party can be seen in the distance. In the center of the group stands the groom, waving his arms and calling after the bride. The scene is set against a park landscape. In the background on the right, three children are catching butterflies with colorful nets. Above that is the word “Papillion.”
Advertisement poster for Papillon bicycles, lithograph by A. Bonnard, Paris, ca. 1890 Source: SDTB, Historical Archive, Vol. 4, X 0033 1/1

What is more important: Atmosphere or Technology?

There was a great variety of bicycle posters. They presented their subjects in floral Art Nouveau style, as mythological depictions or ensconced in idyllic landscapes. These posters did not focus on the machine itself, but created atmosphere instead – and so the bicycle as a technological object was often depicted only partially or inaccurately. It was not until after 1910, when the bicycle became much more widespread, that advertising began to offer realistic depictions of technical features.

The poster depicts a scene in a Spanish village. On the left is a house. On its balcony stands a Spanish woman in a yellow-and-black dress. She is leaning on the balustrade and looking coquettishly at the viewer. She is framed by the lettering “Cycles Carmen.” In front of the house, a Spanish man in a red-and-gold traditional costume is riding a black bicycle. He looks up at the woman and blows her a kiss. In the background, a Spanish farmer can be seen with a yoke of oxen.
Advertisement poster for Cycles Carmen bicycles, lithograph by Maurice Marodon, Paris, ca. 1900 Source: SDTB, Historical Archives, V.4. X 0053 1/1

Women as Poster Subjects and Potential Customers

It is striking how many women are shown on these posters. Female figures are ubiquitous on French posters from around 1900 in general – and they also appear in bicycle advertising.

Nevertheless, cycling was still considered inappropriate for women: how could one possibly reconcile physical exercise and practical trousers with graceful femininity? 

Bicycle posters, however, showing smartly dressed, decidedly feminine “poster ladies” or mythological figures, aimed to counter such prejudices. These youthful, attractive figures served not only as eye-catchers for the male public; female viewers were also meant to identify with them.

The focal point of the advertising poster is a woman wearing a red hat, a white blouse, and a black skirt. She is riding a ladies’ bicycle from left to right. In the foreground, a large white dog is jumping over the lettering “Peugeot Valentigney-Doubs.” The background features a park landscape with a white temple and two other white dogs.
Advertisement poster for Peugeot bicycles, lithograph by Walter Thor, Paris 1906 Source: SDTB, Historical Archive V.4. X 0012 1/1

The Collection

The historical bicycle posters now on display at the Deutsches Technikmuseum come from a collection the museum acquired in 1980. The collection is now part of the museum’s Historical Archive.

The center of the poster features a girl of about ten years old wearing a pink skirt, a black coat, and a white hat. She is pushing a black children’s bicycle along a wall. On the wall are childlike line drawings. They depict people on bicycles, dogs, and a couple. Also, the phrase “Cycles Cottereau Dijon” appears twice in childlike handwriting. The same phrase is written in block letters above the scene.
The focal point of the advertising poster is a woman wearing a white hat and a black dress. She is riding a black bicycle toward the lower-left corner of the image. The upper third of the image is dominated by the striking lettering “Hurtu,” in red on a yellow background. Below that, in smaller letters, is “Diligeon & Cie.”
The center of the poster features a couple on bicycles: she is wearing a white blouse and black harem pants; he is wearing brown knickerbockers. His brown jacket flutters in the wind. In the upper part of the image, a soldier or police officer in a blue uniform with a bicorne hat and a sword can be seen. He is rushing after the couple with his arms outstretched. To the right of him is the lettering “Cycles Gladiator.”
The focal point of the advertising poster is a woman wearing a gray blouse and a black hat. She is sitting on a bicycle being held by a man who is leaning forward slightly. The scene is framed by green foliage and the brand name “Plasson Cycles.”
Advertisement poster for Cycles Cottereau Dijon bicycles, lithograph by Pol Laforet, Paris, ca. 1912 Source: SDTB, Historical Archives, V.4. X 0077 1/4