The Boy with the Wooden Bicycle by Johannes Pääsuke, Estonia, 1912 #historicalphotos #rarephotos

In 1912, Estonian photographer Johannes Pääsuke captured a moment in an open field in southern Estonia: a boy with a homemade wooden bicycle.

Johannes Pääsuke (1892–1918) was a pioneering Estonian photographer and filmmaker. His images captured ordinary people – farmers, craftsmen, children, women in traditional dress, and scenes of everyday life that would otherwise have disappeared. He was also commissioned by the Estonian National Museum. He traveled on foot, by bicycle, and by rail with heavy photographic equipment, creating a remarkable ethnographic archive.
Though he died young, his photographs remain a vivid record of early 20th-century Estonia.

Photograph by Johannes Pääsuke, “A cyclist with a homemade wooden bicycle in Tarvastu, Viljandi County”, 1912. Public domain, sourced from Eesti Rahva Muuseum (Estonian National Museum).