Giancarlo Del Balio. Il ciclismo della Belle Époque

The fascinating history of cycling from the end of the 19th century up to the First World War told through a roundup of postcards that represented this sport in many of its aspects, from panoramas of the regions and cities traversed to portraits of individual champions, from caricatures of the most famous to advertisements of technological innovations.

With the second volume of the series 'I libri di Eroica', the sillabe publishing house is pursuing a project to enhance an important collection of postcards dedicated to cycling.

A volume for sports enthusiasts, but also for lovers of vintage and advertising history.

Giancarlo Del Balio, a collector with ties to the world of cycling, presents his collection in an unusual History of Cycling illustrated by original images (drawings, watercolours and the first black and white photographs) subdivided with rigour and attention into the different periods and specialities of the sport.

Preceded by an introduction by Giancarlo Brocci, the volume, while retracing the genesis of the great sporting competitions, also takes us to follow and evaluate the development of representation and communication techniques starting with the first images in the last decades of the 19th century.

But it was with the beginning of the new century, the 20th century, especially with the use of photographic reproduction, that the great champions of sport and cycling in particular began to appear on postcards. Although cycling is a young sport, it will in fact immediately enjoy great popularity.