19th Century Monkey Figure on Horse Velocipede

A late nineteenth-century novelty featuring an anthropomorphic monkey dressed in eighteenth-century courtier attire, mounted upon a velocipede in the form of a carved wooden horse. The monkey figure, fashioned from papier-mâché and composition with glass eyes and mohair wigging, wears an embroidered sage velvet and silk brocade coat trimmed with gold-tone passementerie, lace jabot, and silk breeches terminating in buckled shoes.

The mount comprises a carved and painted softwood horse posed mid-gallop, integrated with a metal tricycle frame. Fitted with spoke wheels, direct pedal cranks to the front axle, and ornate cast framing beneath the rear axle, the vehicle derives directly from the French velocipedes popularised in the 1870s and 1880s.