Elliman's Universal Embrocation

Elliman's Universal Embrocation

This advertisement is for an ointment to soothe stiffness, aches, sprains and bruises incurred while cycling. That it features a female cyclist attired in bloomers is indicative of the social accommodations that were being made for women's athletics. This also meant changing ideas about the female body: once thought to be too delicate and fragile for physical exertion, now women's bodies are tough, they can take being bruised and sprained. Interestingly, the man here is the one who appears bodily inept. He has crashed his bicycle, while his sturdy female counterpart looks on.

S. T. Dadd

1897