1909 Lowe Bicycling Map of the Environs of Algiers, Algeria

Cycling around Algiers at the turn of the 20th century.

This is a 1909 Émile Lowe cycling map of the environs of Algiers, Algeria. The map documents the introduction of cycling to colonial Algeria and how, there, as elsewhere, cycling evolved into a popular pastime that encouraged the development of good roads, ultimately paving the way for the automobile age.

A Closer Look

The map depicts northern Algeria from the Mediterranean Sea to Blida. Cyclable roads with milage are highlighted in red overprinting, while uncyclable roads are marked in black.

Cycling in Algeria

Bicycles arrived in Algrea sometime in the mid-1880s, when English aristocrats, wintering in Algeria introduced the novel contraption, the velocipede, to Algerian society, instigating a new popular pastime. In subsequent decades, cycling grew in popularity with the French colonial population, and as access to bicycles became more prevalent, immigrant communities and Algerians themselves began to enjoy cycling's social, athletic, and transportation benefits. By 1909, when this map was issued, the Union Vélocipédique Algérienne ran local clubs in Algiers and Oran organized amateur races, time trials, or long-distance rides.

Publication History and Census

This map was originally drawn by Émile Lowe, engraved by J. Duvert, and published by P. Duvert in Algiers in 1899. Adolphe Jourdan published a 2nd edition in 1907 and a 3rd edition in 1909 (present example). We know of one surviving example of the 1899 edition, which is part of the collection at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. One example of the 1907 edition is cataloged in OCLC at Harvard University. This is the only known surviving example of the 1909 edition.

Cartographers

Émile Théodore Lowe (April 20, 1846 - July 23, 1921) was a German-born architect who lived in Algiers, Algeria. Born in Schwerin, Germany, Lowe married twice and was both his wives died before he did. His first marriage was to Ida Hélène Marie Bottchen and his second marriage was to Julie Euphrasie Wallez.   Further Details...

Adolphe Dominique Jourdan (August 4, 1846 - August 15, 1916), not to be confused with the contemporary painter of the same name, was a prominent 19th-century French bookseller, printer, and publisher based in Algiers (Alger), Algeria. Active as a publisher from 1870, Jourdan had trained and worked under his uncle, Julien Hippolyte Bastide (1814 - 1871), who had founded a publishing house in Algeria in 1833, which Jourdan inherited upon Bastide's death. Jourdan's works primarily dealt with Algeria and the wider Arab and Muslim worlds, touching on subjects such as archaeology, translation, religious studies, and anthropology (cultures of Algeria). Jourdan also published scholarly journals, especially the long-running Revue africaine for the Société historique algérienne, and official-administrative collections such as Bulletin judiciaire de l'Algérie. In brief, Jourdan was one of the main distributors of information about Algeria and the wider Arab and Muslim worlds in French in the colonial period. Jourdan was also active in local politics and civic life. He married Marie Dermineur. After Jourdan's death, the firm passed to Jules Carbonel (perhaps his own nephew), who had worked for the firm for many years and began publishing under his own name (Imprimerie Carbonel, or, for a short time, as Ancienne maison Bastide-Jourdan) and later as Imprimeries La Typo-Litho et Jules Carbonel, seemingly after acquiring another printer. The firm continued to hold a prominent place among French publishers in Algeria well into the mid-20th century, down to the end of the colonial period, maintaining its areas of specialization (publishing, for example, the Annales de l'Institut d'Études Orientales in the mid-20th century).   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Dissected and mounted on original linen.