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Pagophilia

Adventures in skating historiography

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Category: Roller skating

James Plimpton’s swan skates

August 29, 2022August 28, 2022 Bev

I saw this skate in a cabinet at the National Museum of Roller Skating: Plimpton's "improved parlor skate" at the National Museum of Roller Skating. The tag on it says: The improved James L. Plimpton parlor skate introduced in 1866 combines rollers and an ice blade. The silver brass swans attached at the front show… Continue reading James Plimpton’s swan skates →

Posted in Roller skating

Kemp’s bicycle skates

April 12, 2021April 11, 2021 Bev

On January 1, 1876, the Sporting Gazette ran a notice about a new type of skate invented by one Mr. Kemp. These skates, which he called "bicycle skates," featured a large front wheel and a small rear wheel. They seem to have been intended for skating on roads normally traversed by bicycles. "The Bicycle Skate,"… Continue reading Kemp’s bicycle skates →

Posted in Roller skating

Football on roller skates

December 21, 2020December 18, 2020 Bev

This image from the Illustrated London News in 1907 speaks for itself. The Illustrated London News, January 19, 1907, p. 105. Image courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive. The caption reads: Football on roller-skates was inaugurated recently for men at Brighton skating-rink, and the pastime was very soon taken up by women. The game is… Continue reading Football on roller skates →

Posted in Roller skating

Roller skaters still do figures

August 30, 2020 Bev

Figures were once the backbone of figure skating on ice (hence the name in English), but experienced a steep decline in popularity after they were dropped as a competitive requirement in 1991. Today, ice skaters rarely do them. In roller skating, in contrast, figures continue to thrive---on quad skates. They don't really work on inlines.… Continue reading Roller skaters still do figures →

Posted in Figures, Roller skating