Marin Museum of Bicycling to Feathure Igler Collection of Historic Bicycles

In a press release issued yesterday,  The Marin Museum of Bicycling announced that it will display a selection of bikes from the Igler Collection, a comprehensive collection of bicycles dating back to the 1860s.  

Ralph Igler died in 2004, leaving the collection to his son, David Igler, Professor of History at UC Irvine. David Igler said, “The Marin Museum of Bicycling’s devotion to telling the unsung history of this extraordinary vehicle would have pleased my dad.”

Museum president Marc Vendetti said, “The Marin Museum of Bicycling is thrilled and honored to receive this long-term loan of bikes from the Igler collection. The collection’s wide range of bikes enables us to tell many interesting stories. We can feature a “chronology of technology” and rotate other bikes in for special exhibits.”

Among the collection is an 1868 “boneshaker” velocipede from the first bicycle builder, Ernest Michaux of Paris. Also included is an 1880s Coventry Rotary tricycle, the design that held human-powered speed records until improved high-wheel bicycles, such as the collection’s 1886 Rudge, took over as speed king. There’s even an 1898 Pierce shaft-drive bike, which was that company’s top model until it launched its Pierce Arrow automobile.

The Marin Museum of Bicycling, which will double as a cultural center for Marin cyclists, expects to open its doors to the public in mid-2014. Museum construction is underway in downtown Fairfax at 1966 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, former location of the Good Earth grocery store.

To raise funds for the museum, the Marin Museum of Bicycling is building a low wall at the property's corner, with the profile of Mount Tamalpais. Donors can purchase personalized tiles for this “Mt. Tam Legacy Wall” to help support the museum, on the museum's web site: http://mmbhof.org .