Los coleccionables del Museo Zumalakarregi

The velocipede, the first popular bicycle, was invented. 1861 The early designs (many of which had enormous front wheels) were difficult to control and stop, thus causing many accidents.

The Ormaiztegi viaduct was built in Guipúzcoa, Spain. 1864 Various workers later participated in the construction of the Suez Canal which was opened five years later.

Charles Dickens wrote one of his best-loved works, 1861 Great Expectations, in which he once again dealt with some of his favourite issues. Eight years later, in 1868, the French writer Victor Hugo wrote his best work, Les Miserables.  Realist and naturalist novels started to highlight the miseries of a society in crisis.

Other writers produce historical novels and adventure novels. 1865 Lewis Carroll’s most famous book, Alice in Wonderland, started out as a story told to the daughters of one of the author’s friends. The novel broke away from the traditional children’s stories of the era by making no attempt to either teach or incorporate a moral lesson.

The American writer Louisa May Alcott, 1868 a suffragette and reformer, found fame and fortune with Little Women, the story of four sisters. This novel became one of the most popular children’s books in history and is in fact a fictionalised account of the author’s own childhood.

Fixed, independent baths became a household 1868 feature thanks to the invention of the gas water-heater. This appliance put an end to the tradition of filling the metal bath in front of the fire in the living room, bedroom or kitchen.

An American company invented shoes with rubber soles 1868 and canvas tops. They were dubbed sneakers because they were designed to promote light-footedness while playing croquet and constituted a huge step forward in the design of specific footwear for each individual sport.