Plimpton roller skate
The roller skate with wheels in two pairs that could be steered by leaning.
Earlier roller skates could only go straight ahead. Plimpton mounted the wheels on rubber cushions so that the skater could turn by leaning the feet.
He opened roller rinks in New York and Newport and sold licences. The principle of two pairs of wheels and steerable axles survives in today’s roller skates.
Materials: Wood and metal, wheels of boxwood or rubber, leather straps
Manufacture: Patented by James Leonard Plimpton in New York in 1863.
The wheels placed in two pairs, one in front and one behind.
Rubber cushions that allow the skate to tilt in turns.
The straps that fasten the shoe.