An original, vintage, promotional poster for the Rover Imperial bicycle, c. 1930. Better known today as a car manufacturer, the Rover Company was established in 1878 by John Kemp Starley in Coventry to produce bicycles.  It was one of the first to introduce the ‘safety’ bicycle, which eventually replaced the unstable ‘penny farthings’ of the 1870s and 1880s. Introduced in the 1900s, the Imperial was primarily a racing bike which was successful in many competitions. A higher resolution image is available for viewing on request.