Bike Messenger 1913

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I just found this picture on Shorpy.com (I highly recommend visiting this site daily). The photograph was taken in Dallas in 1913. This is the original caption by photographer Lewis Wickes Hine:

"Messenger boy in the heart of the Reservation (Red Light). Prostitutes run back and forth. Business beginning at mid-day. I saw messenger boys and delivery boys for drug stores from 15 years upward. Some still younger told me that they go there. This was in spite of a strong agitation being waged to close up the resorts."

What I find fascinating about this picture are the handlebars on the bike, they are incredibly wide and seem to consist of two separate bars bolted onto the stem.