Floats, parades and carnivals of all sorts were certainly hot in the 1890s, and this bicycle powered sail with anchor, constructed of netting and flowers, is just my sort of float! Waving at top is a handmade flag reading Flora, and faintly along the bottom of the image is a descriptor: "Flora Carnival 1898 No. 53"--I presume the No. 53 suggesting that there were at least 52 other floats in the parade! With a handsome young man at the pedals and another peeking through the net, garlands draped in either direction, and paper woven through the spokes of the bicycle. Fabulous.
8" x 10" and in very good condition, with light general wear and a couple of creases to the photo showing white at lower left corner. Stamped on reverse: "Given Feb. 28, 1929 by Wm. S Appleton" -- easy to identify as William Sumner Appleton Jr. (May 29, 1874 – November 24, 1947), who was, notably, the founder of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities! Perhaps it is WIlliam, or another Appleton, in the picture, hard to know for certain; the Appleton family was very prominent in these parts.
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