Suffragette on a scooter
Lady Florence Norman on her Autoped.
Chris Wild
1916
Yes, she is a suffragette, and yes, that is her scooter. English socialite and activist Florence Priscilla, Lady Norman, CBE was given this Autoped as a birthday present by her husband, Sir Henry Norman. She used it to travel to her office in central London.Florence was following in her mother's footsteps in her active support for women's suffrage. Her CBE (Commander of the British Empire) came when she ran a hospital in France during World War I.Kick scooters — a flat board on wheels with a long handle at the front, propelled by foot — have been made for at least 100 years as toys for children. Florence's Autoped was one of the first examples of motorised kick scooters. Like a child's scooter, it had no seat. Manufactured in New York and Germany by Krupps, the U.S. postal service tested the Autoped as a means of fast transport for its special delivery service. The foldable scooter was also reportedly used as a quick getaway machine by New York gangs, racing down narrow alleys beyond the reach of police cars.Other manufacturers followed: ABC Motorcycles produced the Skootamota, which had a top speed of 15 mph (24 km/h), and The Gloster Aircraft Company introduced the Reynolds Runabout in 1919, followed by the Unibus in 1920. The Unibus was promoted as the "car on two wheels." Some of these early scooter designs were unstable, uncomfortable to ride and difficult to handle. The decades leading up to World War II saw the gradual introduction of a range of refinements, including efficient lights and brakes, gears, suspension, enclosed bodies and leg shields. During the 1930s, scooters were introduced to a new market as the ideal mode of transport at large, sprawling military bases. Ironically, the era of the scooter truly began after the war — a direct result of fuel rationing.
