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 Coach of the time of Charles II 
 
JOHNA.SEAVERNS 
 
TUFTS UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 
 
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 Vetermary Library 
 
 Tufts Unwersity 
 
 School of Veterinary Med^cme 
 
 200 Westboro Rd. 
 
 North Grafton. MA ^52^6 
 
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THE 
 
 HISTORY OF COACHES- 
 
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THE 
 
 HISTORY OF COACHES 
 
 BY 
 
 G. A. THRU PP. 
 
 " O, then, I see Queen Mab has been with yon, 
 Drawn with a team of little atomies, 
 Her Waggon spokes made of long spinners' legs ; 
 Her Chariot is an empty hazel-nut. 
 Made by the joiner squirrel, or old grub. 
 Time out o' mind the Fairies' Coachmakers." 
 
 Romeo and Jitliet, Act l. Scene 4 
 
 WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 KERBY & ENDEAN, 190 OXFORD STREET. 
 
 NEW YORK: THE "HUB" PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 
 1877. 
 
LONDON : 
 KERBY & ENDEAN, I9O OXFORD STREET, 
 
 Printers and Pnhlishas. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 "Chi va piano, va sano."* 
 
 Italian Pi'overb. 
 
 In the spring of 1876 I was requested by the Society 
 for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and 
 Commerce to prepare a series of Lectures upon 
 Coachbuilding. 
 
 I chose as my subject the Histor}^ of that Art, as 
 likely to be more interesting than a merely technical 
 description of the method of constructing vehicles. 
 
 I was desirous of enlisting the sympathies of the 
 Public in general in an Art so important to the re- 
 quirements of the age, as well as of calling the 
 attention of the artisans of our trade to the prin- 
 ciples which govern the construction of Carriages. 
 
 I need hardly add that I received from the Society 
 of Arts all the assistance in its power towards 
 composing the substance of the Lectures, and also in 
 the preparation of the numerous diagrams by which 
 they were illustrated ; they further aided in pro- 
 curing a very large attendance of artisans, employers, 
 
 * Who goes softly, goes safely. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 and others interested in Coachbuilding, at the time 
 of my dehvering the lectures in November and De- 
 cember last, in their great room at John Street, 
 Adelphi. 
 
 It is deemed desirable that these Lectures should 
 be re-issued in their present form. 
 
 I found it very difficult to arrive at the shape of 
 the vehicles used by our forefathers on account of 
 the absence of any connected history, and also from 
 the very vague descriptions contained in books on 
 the subject, but which were not always written for 
 technical purposes. 
 
 It was not therefore without considerable search 
 in books and examination of paintings and old engrav- 
 ings, that I could at all ascertain the shapes of the 
 earlier Coaches, and of course both my time and 
 opportunities were limited to a few months. 
 
 I have little doubt that there remain rich mines 
 of information unsearched by me, because unknown. 
 I shall, however, be glad to receive any informa- 
 tion that will enlarge our present knowledge. 
 
 There may be yet in England, or abroad, some 
 ancient Carrias^es which deserve to be described and 
 photographed before they perish ; for Carriages are 
 too bulky to be preserved in any quantity in national 
 museums. 
 
 Scarce books and prints, too, may exist in many 
 libraries, and a list might be made of them ; and 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 a record is desirable also of those students of the 
 Art of Coachbuilding who made their mark in the 
 world and have passed away. 
 
 Any communication will be thankfully received 
 and kept in an accessible place, to assist any future 
 writer who may have the time to prepare a more 
 complete record than I of the History of Coach- 
 building. 
 
 G. A. THRUPP. 
 
 269 Oxford Street, 
 Ap7-il, 1877. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Early Vehicles — Sledges — Solid Wheels — Egyptian Chariots — 
 Early Vehicles Always had Two Horses — King Solomon's 
 Wedding Chariot — An Egyptian Mummy Wheel — Grecian 
 Chariots— Vehicles of Ancient Rome — Scythian and Persian 
 Cars — Funeral Car of Alexander the Great — War Chariot of 
 Ancient Britain — Roman Military Roads — Wheels Found at 
 Pompeii — Later Vehicles of the Roman Empire — Ancient 
 Roman Dray — Carriages of Hindostan — A Carriage of Ancient 
 Hungary — Turkish Carriages — Welsh and Irish Cars — 
 Bristol Coburg . . . . ' . . 1-25 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Whirlicote of the Middle Ages — Charettes — Cars of the Middle 
 Ages — Revival of Carriages — The First Coaches — The Ger- 
 man Waggon — Ancient Saxon Waggon — The Horse Litter — 
 The Old Coaches at Coburg — Early Italian Coaches — Coach 
 of Queen Elizabeth — Coach of Charles I. — Coach of Henri 
 Quatre — Time of Louis XIV. — The Brouette and Steel 
 Springs — The Berlin — Old Coaches at Vienna — Horse Litter 
 at the Imperial Mews — Utility of Steel Springs — Mr Samuel 
 Pepys' Diary — Sedan Chairs — Coachbuildingin 1770 — Chariot 
 a I'Anglaise — Encyclopaedia on Coachbuilding — Cabriolets — 
 Light Chariots — The Darnley Chariot . . 26-55 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 STATE COACHES. 
 
 A Coach of Silver— Lord Castlemaine's Coach — Spanish Ambas- 
 sador's Coach — Ancient Spanish Coach — Austrian State 
 Coach — State Funeral Coach at Vienna — State Coach of 
 England — City State Coach .... 56-64 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CARRIAGES FROM 1790 TO 1S76. 
 
 -. , ^ . . PAGE. 
 
 Mr Felton's Opinions— Proper Strength of Carriages— Method of 
 Construction- Usual Width of Coaches— The Perch— Great 
 Height of Wheels in 1790— The Lord Chancellor's Coach— 
 The Landau — Phaetons of 1790 — Two- Wheeled Vehicles — 
 Taxation on Carriages — Advance of the Trade — Invention of 
 Elliptical Springs — Carriages of Napoleon Buonaparte — 
 Number of Vehicles Paying Taxes— The Curricle— Introduc- 
 tion of Undersprings — Mr S. Hobson's Improvements- The 
 Briska and the Stanhope — The Tilbury and Dog-Cart — Com- 
 mercial Travellers' Gigs — Travelling Carriages — The Pony 
 Phaeton and the Droitska— The Cab Phaeton and the Vic- 
 toria — Dress Carriages — Coronation Procession in 1838— Im- 
 provement of the Landau— Introduction of the Brougham— 
 Waggonnettes — Exhibitions of Carriages— Numbers of Car- 
 riages in 1874 . . . . . . 65-96 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ON PUBLIC CARRIAGES. 
 
 Travelling before A.D. 1600— Great Width of Waggon Wheels- 
 Turnpike Roads— Post Saddle Horses— Hackneys— Stage 
 Coaches— Hackney Coaches— Cheap Rate of Hire— The 
 York Coach— The Manchester Flying Coach— The Post 
 Chaise— The Diligence— Post-Boys— Mr T. Pennant on 
 Travelling— Increase of Mail Coaches— M'Adam's Roads— 
 Four-in-Hand Clubs — Russian TraveUing — Two-Wheeled 
 Street Cabs — Street Cabs need Improvement— Hansom Cabs 
 —Omnibus of Pascal— Omnibus of 1820— Shillibeer's Omni- 
 buses — General Omnibus Company — American Coachmaking 
 — Fast Cabs of Vienna .... 97-125 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Writers on Carriages — Periodical Publications on Coaches— Tight 
 Harnessing — Height of the Driver's Seat— Cover to the 
 Driver's Seat — American Buggy — American Trotting Wag- 
 gons—Labour-Saving Machines — Machines Save Time — 
 American Magazines on Carriages —Principles of Draught — 
 Disadvantages of Two-Wheeled Vehicles— Track of Wheels 
 — Utility of High Wheels— Side Thrust and Vibration of 
 Wheels— Pitch of Axles and Dish of Wheels— Springs- 
 Elliptic Springs— Brake Retarders— India Rubber Brake 
 Blocks— A Load Should Rest on the Highest Wheel— Danger 
 to a Stage Coach on Low Front Wheels — Carriage Drawings 
 of Full Size— Value of being a Good Draughtsman— Mr Glad- 
 stone on Design— Coachmakers' Company's Library . 126-140 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Frontispiece, as Plate 37. 
 
 Plate I — Figure i. Egyptian Car. 
 
 „ 2. Grecian Car. 
 
 „ 3. Roman Car. 
 Plate 2 — British War Chariot. 
 
 Plate 3 — Ancient Roman Chariot, from a Bas-Relief at Orleans. 
 Plate 4 — The Ordinary German Waggon. 
 Plate 5 — Two-wheeled Carriage, Hindostan. 
 Plate 6— Four-wheeled Carriage, Hindostan. 
 Plate 7 — Hungarian Coach, from Ginzrot's Work. 
 Plate 8— The Araba of Turkey. 
 
 Plate 9 — Ancient Horse Litter. . 
 
 Plate 10 — Wedding Coach of Duke of Saxony, 1584. V** ■ y \- 
 
 Plate II — Ancient Italian Coach of 1549. 
 Plate 12 — Queen Elizabeth's Coach. 
 Plate 13— Coach of time of Charles I. 
 Plate 14 — Coach of Paris in 1646. 
 Plate 15 — Coach in which Henry IV. was shot. 
 Plate 16 — Coach in which Louis XIV. entered Paris in 1654. 
 Plate 17 — Coach of Louis XIV., 1700. 
 Plate 18— The Corbillard, an early French Coach. 
 Plate 19 — Brouette of Paris, 1670. 
 Plate 20 — The Berlin, from one now at Vienna. 
 Plate 21 — Litter to be carried by horses, now at Vienna. ''^ 
 
Xll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Plate 22 — Coach of Charles II. 's time. 
 
 Plate 23 — The first Landau. 
 
 Plate 24 — Chariot k I'Anglaise, after M. Roubo. 
 
 Plate 25 — A French Chaise de Poste of 1760. 
 
 Plate 26 — From a Print published at Rome, 1692. 
 
 Plate 27 — Landau of 1790. 
 
 Plate 28 — Sociable after Hatchett. 
 
 Plate 29 — A high Perch Phaeton of 1790. 
 
 Plate 30 — A One-horse Phaeton of 1790. 
 
 Plate 31 — A Chair-back Gig of 1790. 
 
 Plate 32— A Caned Whiskey of 1790. 
 
 P ate 33 — A Briska on C Springs. 
 
 Plate 34 — English Stage Coach, 1787, after Rowlandson. 
 
 Plate 35 — Dihgence from Paris to Lyons. 
 
 Plate 36 — Modern French Diligence. 
 
 Plate 37 — Probably the first Sociable. The property of the Emperor of 
 
 Germany. A Child's Carriage of the date of iyoo.—Fro7i/is- 
 
 piece. 
 Plate 38— An English Post Chaise of 1790. 
 
The History of the Art ofCoachbuilding. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Early Vehicles — Sledges — Solid Wheels — Egyptian Chariots — Early 
 Vehicles Always had Two Horses — King Solomon's Wedding 
 Chariot — An Egyptian Mummy Wheel — Grecian Chariots — Vehicles 
 of Ancient Rome — Scythian and Persian Cars — Funeral Car of 
 Alexander the Great — War Chariot of Ancient Britain — Roman 
 Military Roads — Wheels Found at Pompeii — Later Vehicles of the 
 Roman Empire — Ancient Roman Dray — Carriages of Hindostan — 
 A Carriage of Ancient Hungary— Turkish Carriages— Welsh and 
 Irish Cars — Bristol Coburg. 
 
 'T^HE progress of the art of Coachbullding, like the 
 progress of most inventions and discoveries, has 
 been slow. In certain ages it has seemed to make a 
 sudden start, then again to remain almost stationary 
 for a long time. 
 
 It is only during the last two centuries that coach- 
 making has been in a satisfactory condition as an art, 
 and it has arrived at comparative perfection only dur- 
 ing the present century. The same, however, may be 
 said of other inventions: — Pendulum clocks were in- 
 vented about 1260; paper was made from old rags 
 about 1250; gunpowder dates from the year 1330; 
 printing, that valuable aid to the arts, 1430; watches 
 are said to have been first made in England about the 
 year 1500; and the first coach was seen in England in 
 the year 1555, three hundred and twenty years ago. 
 
 A 
 
2 EARLY VEHICLES. 
 
 The history of coaches and carriages is not as exten- 
 sive as the human race, nor can it be traced among all 
 those nations that have arrived at an advanced staee 
 of civilisation. Ancient America, especially the 
 civilised Mexico, tells us nothing ; from China and 
 Japan we gain next to nothing; and only a strip of 
 North Africa contributes to the history of wheels. 
 Europe, Asia Minor, Hindostan, and Tartary furnish 
 nearly all the information we can glean. 
 
 The history of the art of Coachmaking must be 
 divided into several marked epochs. The first termi- 
 nates with the change of orovernment at Rome from the 
 rule by Consuls to the rule by Emperors, about 2000 
 years ago. Up to this time there had been little varia- 
 tion in the vehicles chiefly used. The second epoch 
 terminates with the overturning of the Roman empire, 
 about 1500 years ago; during that epoch, which was one 
 marked by the display of great wealth, and the indul- 
 gence of most luxurious living, several new and larger 
 vehicles were introduced, and many were decorated in 
 a costly manner. 
 
 The third epoch commences with the introduction of 
 vehicles slung upon leather straps, and may be con- 
 sidered to end about the year 1 700, when the use of 
 steel springs began to be understood. 
 
 The fourth epoch will end in 1790, when coaches 
 began to assume their present form, size, and style. 
 
 And the last epoch must commence with the intro- 
 duction of carriages hung wholly on elliptic springs, 
 about 1805, by Mr Obadiah Elliott. This last and 
 surprising change has been productive of very impor- 
 
SLEDGES. 3 
 
 tant results to all Interested In the use of carrlaofes or 
 in Coachbulldlnof. 
 
 By the introduction of elliptic springs the construc- 
 tion of wheeled vehicles has been rendered less costly, 
 their weight has been materially reduced, and many 
 complicated parts have been abandoned. Simultane- 
 ously the number of vehicles has been multiplied, and 
 their comfort and accommodation have been increased. 
 
 We may fairly suppose the first means of locomo- 
 tion entitled to the name of a carriage to have been a 
 sledge. It would be so natural to place a burden, too 
 heavy for the shoulders, on some slight framework, and 
 drag it over the ground. A very little experience 
 would enable a man to judge of the best form for a 
 sledge; and. In point of fact, the first sledge of which 
 we find any record, on a sculpture of the Temple of 
 Luxor, at Thebes, in Egypt, is precisely similar to that 
 used by brewers' draymen in London. It has two 
 long runners slightly turned upwards in front, and half- 
 a-dozen cross pieces to unite the runners and bear the 
 burden. 
 
 Sledges of many shapes and fashions are In use 
 durlne the winter in most countries where snow lies 
 for any length of time upon the ground, as sledg^es 
 glide more easily over Its surface than do wheels. The 
 Esquimaux and the Laplanders habitually use sledges, 
 all more raised from the ground than the sledge that 
 carries the casks of the brewers. The Swiss and other 
 inhabitants of mountain districts use sledges to bring 
 down hewn timber and faggots to the valleys ; and a 
 hundred years ago, when carts were not so numerous, 
 
4 SOLID WHEELS. 
 
 it was common in England to load the new-made hay 
 or sheaves of wheat on light high sledges for transport 
 to the farm yard. In North America and Northern 
 Europe, sledges of elegant shape are every year in use; 
 and in Holland and Belgium, during some winters, not 
 only do the gentry ride in sledges two or three months, 
 but the meat, bread, and vegetables are run through 
 the streets daily on hand sledges. 
 
 Egypt is the chief of the countries of which we have 
 any record of the arts and manufactures introduced by 
 the progress of civilisation. Egypt had, at an early 
 period, buildings composed of very large stones ; in 
 moving these the sledge and the roller were used; and 
 it is natural that these should be combined to form a 
 low truck or platform moving on rollers. Later on, 
 wheels and axles were substituted for rollers; at first 
 wheels were slices of the trunk of a tree, all solid 
 pieces of wood, and firmly wedged to the axles. Thus 
 the wheels and axle revolved together below the cart 
 or truck, and were retained in their position by strong 
 wooden pins like the thole-pins or rowlocks of a boat. 
 The wheels and axle revolve together in tramway cars 
 and in railway carriages. Carts are made in this way 
 now in Portugal, Spain, and in South America. All 
 the earlier carts seem to have been fitted only with a 
 pole, and at least two animals seem always to have 
 been yoked together to the vehicle. The objection to 
 the wheels and axle in one piece is, that it is difficult 
 to turn a vehicle thus fitted in a small space. Any 
 one using a garden-roller round a corner may easily 
 convince himself of this, for whilst the outer edge of 
 
EGYPTIAN CHARIOTS. 5 
 
 the roller is going over the necessary sweep, the inner 
 edge is sliding on and crushing the gravel walk; it 
 should be moving independently. It was soon dis- 
 covered in Egypt that it was better to have a fixed 
 axle-tree, and allow the wheels to revolve independently 
 of one another. 
 
 A wheeled carriage appears to have been in very 
 general use in Egypt at an early period, called a car or 
 chariot: in the Bible it is usually translated "chariot." 
 There are paintings and sculptures upon the walls of 
 the temples and tombs of Egypt which have lasted 
 four thousand years, and from those we learn precisely 
 the appearance of these chariots. They are of great 
 interest to us, as they formed the chief means of con- 
 veying man for two thousand years before Christ, and 
 were more or less the type of all other vehicles of the 
 ancient world. 
 
 We find certain words used in describing them, both 
 by Homer, who lived a thousand years before Christ, 
 and by Moses, who lived at least five hundred years 
 earlier, and that the words are technical terms, such as 
 axles, wheels, naves, felloes, tyres, spokes, &c. Now 
 technical terms imply that the art that had such terms 
 must have existed prior to the writer who speaks of 
 the art, so that, if we hesitated as to the date of the 
 chariots sculptured and painted on the walls of the 
 Egyptian temples, we are reassured by the terms used 
 by the authors we name. Moses, in the description of 
 the wheels upon which moved the great cauldron used 
 by the priest, and Homer, in describing the car of the 
 goddess Juno, used the same terms. We read in the 
 
6 EARLY VEHICLES ALWAYS HAD TWO HORSES. 
 
 fifth book of the Iliad, " The awful Juno led out the 
 golden-bit-ted horses, whilst Hebe fitted the whirling 
 wheels on the iron axles of the swift chariot. The 
 wheels had each eight brazen spokes, the felloes were 
 of gold secured with brazen tyres all round, admirable 
 to the sight. The seat was of gold, hung by silver 
 cords; the beam (or pole) was of silver, at the end of. 
 which was hung the golden yoke and the golden 
 reins," 
 
 These cars [Plate i, Figure i] were occasionally 
 square, but more generally semicircular or horse-shoe 
 shaped ; the rounded front towards the horses was 
 high, the sides lower, the back was open, and the 
 bottom was near the ground, so that it was easy to step 
 in and out. The wheels, especially in Egypt, were 
 very low, from 2 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. 3 in. in height. The 
 framework of the body was often open, but sometimes 
 closed up with leather skins or basket-work, and 
 occasionally with carved wood or embossed metal. 
 The pole by which it was supported curved up from 
 the bottom of the bar to the backs of the necks of the 
 horses or oxen, where it was joined to a wooden yoke, 
 this was again strapped round the bodies and necks of 
 the horses, or tied to the horns of the oxen. The 
 addition of bridles and reins would complete the simple 
 harness. Some horses were attached to the pole by 
 an iron bar with knobs at each end, which passed 
 through a ring at the end of the pole, and through a 
 similar ring upon each of the pads or saddles of the 
 horses. This would be very similar to the curricle 
 bars used in modern times, and would allow of more 
 
fig: I EGYPTIAN CAR, 
 
 FIG' 2. GRECIAN, CAR, 
 
 fig; 3. ROMAN CAR 
 
KING Solomon's wedding chariot. 7 
 
 freedom in motion than a fixed yoke would give. The 
 bodies of these chariots, in Egypt at least, were small, 
 usually containing but two persons standing upright. 
 It may be remarked that, as they were so small, they 
 could not have been of much use, and from the small 
 size of the wheels, too, they would be jolted by every 
 little obstacle on the road ; and as they were so near 
 the ground, those using them would be exposed to 
 mud and dirt : yet, in spite of these objections, they 
 were used in vast numbers. They were very light, 
 and could be driven at a great speed — nearly as fast as 
 the horses could gallop. They were narrow, and, there- 
 fore, suitable to cities in which the streets are still very 
 narrow, and to mountain roads which were often only 
 4 ft. wide. They suited the period and the people, 
 or their usefulness would not have lasted 2000 years. 
 According to Homer, a strong man could lift a chariot 
 on his shoulders and carry it away. Possibly this 
 would be without the wheels, but even then it could 
 not have been heavier than one of our wheel-barrows. 
 
 From Egypt the use of chariots spread into other 
 countries, and they were used in war in large numbers 
 upon the extensive plains of Asia. We read of the 
 900 chariots of Jabin, king of Canaan ; that David 
 took 700 chariots from the kings of Syria, and 1000 
 from the king of Zobah. Solomon had 1400 chariots, 
 and his merchants supplied northern Syria and the sur- 
 rounding countries with chariots fetched up out of 
 Egypt at 600 shekels (about ^50) a-piece. They 
 were not the first nor the last merchants who have 
 preferred their pockets to their patriotism, and supplied 
 
8 AN EGYPTIAN MUMMY WHEEL. 
 
 nations who might become their country's enemies with 
 the weapons of warfare. Solomon, we find, in the 
 Song of Solomon, built a state or wedding chariot of 
 cedar with pillars of gold, probably supporting a canopy. 
 We may also notice the poetic description by the 
 prophet Nahum of the future state of Nineveh, no 
 longer to echo " to the noise of the chariots raging up 
 and down the paved streets, jostling against one another 
 in the broad ways, with the crack of the whip, the rattle 
 of the wheels, the prancing horses and the jumping 
 chariots;" and the remark in another place of "the 
 stamping of strong horses, the rushing of the chariots, 
 and the rumbling of the wheels," all pointing to the 
 great impression which was made upon the prophet 
 of the wilderness by the carriages and noise of the 
 crowded city. 
 
 In a museum of New York is a wheel of an Egyp- 
 tian chariot, found in a mummy pit at Dashour, by Dr 
 Henry Abbott. It is 3 ft. 3 in. high, the nave is 14.^ in. 
 long, and 5 in. in diameter, and worked upon an axle 
 of wood which tapered, and was from 3 in. to 2| in. in 
 diameter. The unusual size and length of this axle- 
 arm would be very apparent in so small a vehicle as 
 the Egyptian chariot ; the spokes, six in number, are 
 2 in. by if in. at the nave, and taper towards the felloe 
 to if in. round; it has a double rim all round. The 
 six inner felloes do not meet as in modern wheels, but 
 are spliced one over the other, with an overlap of 3 in. ; 
 the felloes are t^ in. square. The outer rim is formed 
 also of six felloes, but they are tenoned together, and 
 are pierced all round the lower «dge with small holes, 
 
GRECIAN CHARIOTS. 9 
 
 through which, we may well conjecture, leather thongs 
 passed, binding the outer to the inner rim. The 
 total depth of the double rim is 3^ in. by li in. to 
 i-|- in. in width. 
 
 From the ancient sculptures preserved from Nineveh 
 and Babylon, some of which are in the British Museum, 
 we observe the use of chariots was continued in the 
 great plains, for the purposes of hunting as well as for 
 war. The chariots of Assyria were larger than those 
 of Egypt, and would carry three or more persons ; 
 they seem, too, much heavier in the build. 
 
 The Greeks used chariots, and at the siege of 
 Troy, which Homer has immortalised in his poem, all 
 the chief warriors on both sides are described as 
 going into battle and fighting from their chariots. 
 As years passed on, however, the Greeks no longer 
 used chariots for war, but only for processions in public 
 on state occasions, or in their great races, or for the 
 amusement of their leisure hours. Erectheus, king of 
 Athens, is reported to have been the first to drive 
 four horses in a car ; afterwards it became common 
 to use, in the races, four horses attached to each car. 
 The Grecian chariots were all curved in front, and 
 were rather larger and on higher wheels than those 
 used in Egypt. [Plate i, Figure 2.] 
 
 The Roman nation, as it increased in power, 
 adopted the car, which had also been for many 
 years in use by the Etrurians, a neighbouring coun- 
 try to their own in the Italian peninsula. The 
 Etrurians were traditionally the first to place a hood 
 or awning over the open two-wheeled car; they 
 
I 
 lO VEHICLES OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 decorated both the car and the awning with that 
 beautiful tracery and ornamental bordering which is 
 familiar to us from the copies of their pottery. The 
 Roman car was chiefly used in the cities, and for 
 purposes of show and state rather than for daily use. 
 A beautiful marble model of one of these still exists 
 at the Vatican in Rome ; a copy of it and the horses 
 drawing it is in the Museum at South Kensington. 
 [Plate I, Figure 3.] 
 
 Besides the chariots the Romans had other two- 
 wheeled cars, and four-wheeled waggons of different 
 shapes, and giving different accommodation ; but 
 first they were kept for conveying agricultural pro- 
 duce, and for moving goods and baggage, and the 
 better sorts w^ere reserved for the conveyance of the 
 images of their gods and vestal virgins in religious 
 processions. Then came the triumphal processions of 
 successful military commanders, and a variety of 
 vehicles conveyed the conqueror, the captives, and 
 the arms and valuables taken from the enemy. 
 Plutarch tells us that Emilius, the Roman Consul, 
 had 750 waggons in his triumph in the year 170 B.C., 
 bearing the spoils of Perseus, last king of Macedonia. 
 On the column of Trajan at Rome is modelled one of 
 these waggons. It is a large square basket on four 
 wheels, the back a little higher, and the hind wheels 
 also are a very little higher than the front. 
 
 Roman history, of the time of Camillus, 350 B.C., 
 mentions a carriage termed a Pilentiim, as a splendid 
 four-wheeled carriage with a covering to it, and with 
 seats suspended by straps. The use of these Pilenta 
 
SCYTHIAN AND PERSIAN CARS. I I 
 
 was allowed as a special favour to a few great Roman 
 ladies. The Empress Agrippina also had a Car- 
 pentwn, an elegantly carved carriage on two wheels, 
 the arched covering of which was supported by four 
 female statues; it was drawn by two mules. The 
 Romans also used Basternce, which were litters or 
 couches with low coverings, carried on poles by 
 horses or mules ; and Lecticcs, or litters carried by 
 men only. The Roman chariot was called a Currus. 
 
 Herodotus (450 B.C.), and other writers tell us of 
 the vehicles of the ancient Scythians. These were a 
 race of people who inhabited the country near the 
 Caspian Sea, and wandered about with large herds 
 of cattle and horses. They used a rough two- 
 wheeled cart which consisted of a platform, on which 
 they placed a covering shaped like a bee-hive, and 
 composed of basket-work of hazel-wood covered with 
 skins of beasts or thatched with reeds. When they 
 were stationary in any part these bee-hive huts were 
 taken off the carts and placed upon the ground to 
 serve as their dwellings, like gipsy tents. 
 
 The war-chariots used by the Persians were larger 
 and more unwieldy than those previously built. The 
 idea seems to have been to form a sort of turret upon 
 the car, from which several warriors might shoot or 
 throw their spears. These chariots were provided 
 with curved blades or scythes projecting from the 
 axle-trees. The Persians had also cars that were 
 used for state processions, in which the king or noble 
 was raised above the crowd among which he passed 
 on a sort of throne of many steps. 
 
1 2 FUNERAL CAR OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 The Dacians, who inhabited Wallachia on the 
 Danube and part of Hungary, were conquered by 
 the Romans about the year 300. Tlieir cars are 
 sculptured upon Roman monuments, and resemble 
 the Persian cars. They are on two wheels and 
 drawn by two horses ; the shape is that of a large 
 square box or chest, with a smaller box upon it, 
 which formed a seat for the passengers. The spokes 
 of the wheels are six in number, and are widest at the 
 ends supporting the rims of the wheels. A Dacian 
 car of this sort is represented upon a fragment of terra 
 cotta in the British Museum. 
 
 Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, invaded 
 Asia and advanced to India ; he was met upon the 
 banks of the river Indus by King Porus, in whose 
 army were a number of elephants of large size, and 
 also several thousand chariots ; each chariot carried 
 six persons ; but the historian notes that in a soft soil 
 or in rainy weather it was difficult for these vehicles 
 to move quickly. On Alexander's return from India 
 towards Persia, he travelled in a chariot drawn by 
 eight horses, on which a square stage or platform 
 was erected and covered in by a tent. His car was 
 followed by an innumerable number of others, covered 
 with rich carpets and purple coverlets ; some shaped 
 like shells or cradles were shaded with the branches 
 of trees. I have seen a drawing of a Persian car in 
 which the body is raised above the wheels and seems 
 to swing from pivots like a large cradle, or such a cot 
 as is used on board ship. 
 
 After Alexander's death a funeral car was prepared 
 
ELATE 2. BRITISH WAR CHARIOT 
 
 PLATE 3 ANCIENT ROMAN CHARIOT 
 
 PXATE 4!. THE ORDINARY GERMAN WAGGON. 
 
WAR CHARIOT OF ANCIENT BRITAIN. I 3 
 
 to convey his body from Babylon to Alexandria, in 
 Egypt, a distance of several hundred miles, which 
 car perhaps has never been excelled in the annals of 
 coachbuilding. It was prepared during- two years, 
 and was designed by the celebrated architect and 
 engineer, Hieronymus. It was i8 feet long and 12 
 feet wide, on four massive wheels and drawn by sixty- 
 four mules, eight abreast. The car was composed of 
 a platform with a lofty roof supported by eighteen 
 columns, and was profusely adorned with drapery and 
 gold and jewels ; round the edge of the roof was a 
 row of golden bells ; in the centre was a throne, and 
 before it the coffin ; around were placed the weapons 
 of war and the armour that Alexander had used. 
 This car was thought so much of that several his- 
 torians have described it, and there are various plans 
 of its appearance, one of which may be seen in 
 Ginzrot's work on ancient carriages in the British 
 Museum library. 
 
 The second epoch of the history of carriages I take 
 to commence at the invasion of Belgium and Britain 
 by the Romans. The ancient Britains had used a car 
 for warlike purposes which was evidently new to the 
 Romans. [Plate No. 2.] It was on higher wheels 
 than their cars, it was open in front, and was ascended 
 in the front, instead of, as in their cars, at the back ; 
 the pole, instead of sloping up to the horses' necks, 
 went straight out between the horses' bodies, and was 
 broad, so that the driver of the car could stand on it, 
 and if necessary, drive from the end of the pole, or 
 leap out and stand before his horses. It was larger 
 
14 ROMAN MILITARY ROADS. 
 
 than a Roman car, and above all it possessed a seat, 
 and was called essedum from this peculiarity. At 
 times this car was furnished with scythes, which pro- 
 jected from the axle-tree ends. No doubt the same 
 or a similar car was used by the Gauls and Belgians ; 
 but the British essedum was the best ; and Cicero, 
 writing to a friend in Britain, remarks " that there 
 appeared to be very little worth bringing away from 
 Britain except the chariots, of which he wished his 
 friend to bring him one as a pattern." 
 
 When Cassibelaunus was taken prisoner by the 
 Romans, they also captured six hundred cars and four 
 thousand essedarii, or car-drivers and warriors. I think 
 we may look upon this vehicle as the origin of the cur- 
 ricle of later years. It is certain that it attracted great 
 notice among the Romans, and under its own name, 
 essedum, and with another of a smaller size and with still 
 higher wheels called cismm, became the chief and most 
 rapid vehicles upon the public roads, whether in Italy 
 itself, or along the military roads already made into 
 France, Spain, or Germany. Despatches and letters 
 were conveyed with speed and punctuality to the more 
 distant parts of the Roman Empire. The historian 
 Suetonius mentions that the Emperor Augustus estab- 
 lished on the military roads active young men at first, 
 and afterwards carriages, to convey his despatches to 
 the governors of the provinces. Besides these rapid 
 conveyances along the public roads, there was the rheda, 
 a slow sort of waggon drawn by six or eight mules. 
 Buildings were erected alono- the main road where these 
 different carriao^es could be hired. Cicero declares that 
 
 o 
 
WHEELS FOUND AT POMPEII, I 5 
 
 a message was sent fifty-six miles in a cisium in ten 
 hours. On a monumental column at Ingel, near 
 Treves, is the representation of two persons riding in 
 a cishim with one horse. The vehicle is very much 
 like a gig. 
 
 Under the Emperors of Rome, the number of kinds 
 and shapes of vehicles increased; but from the vague 
 manner in which the writers of the period speak of 
 them, it is difficult to enter into minute descriptions. 
 The height of the wheels increased. At the capital of 
 Rome, the Emperor Marcus Aurelius is represented 
 in a car of triumph, the wheels of which are as high as 
 the backs of the horses. Sir William Gell, in his 
 work on the ancient city of Pompeii, which was de- 
 stroyed in the year a.d. 79, mentions that three wheels 
 had been dug out of the ruins in his day — very much 
 like our modern wheels — a little dished, and 4 ft. 3 in. 
 high, with ten spokes, rather thicker at each end than 
 in the middle. Sir W. Gell also gives a well-known 
 picture of a cart used for conveyance of wine in a huge 
 skin or leathern bag; it is a four-wheeled cart, with an 
 arch in the centre for the front wheel to turn under. 
 The pole in this painting appears to end in a fork, and 
 to be attached to the axle-bed. As the wealth of the 
 Romans increased so did their desire to use comfort- 
 able and highly-decorated carriages. For many years 
 what are called " sumptuary laws " existed, which re- 
 gulated each citizen's dress, furniture, and ornaments, 
 according to his rank and consequence, and these laws 
 restrained the decorations upon private carriages. 
 
 The Emperor Alexander Severus, however, issued 
 
I 6 LATER VEHICLES OF THE ROMAN EMPH<E. 
 
 a decree, " that anyone might decorate his car as he 
 pleased;" and the number of vehicles in use rapidly 
 increased. We find upon monuments many different 
 shaped cars of the time of the Emperors, chiefly pro- 
 cessional cars, lofty and highly ornamented, evidently 
 adorned with embossed and chased work in metal, rich 
 carvings, drapery and cushions. On the columns of 
 Theodosius, at Constantinople, are some specially 
 handsome cars on two and on four wheels, with door- 
 like openings in the sides of a square shape. On the 
 arch of Constantine, at Rome, are several cars. Suf- 
 ficient evidence, however, exists, that for nearly 500 
 years, during the reign of the different Emperors of 
 Rome, the art of Coachbullding must have been a good 
 and important business. Besides the ordinary artlzans, 
 the woodmen, the wheelwrights, and the smiths, there 
 must have been plenty of employment for the carvers, 
 painters, chasers, embossers, embroiderers, and trim- 
 mers. 
 
 Homer, as I have mentioned, tells us that the seat 
 of Juno's car was slung upon cords, to lessen the 
 vibration and jolting attendant upon a car without 
 springs or braces ; and it is certain that the Roman 
 Emperors were not better off for comfort and ease than 
 Juno was, unless we except one sort of carriage which 
 is described as borne on long poles, fixed to the axles. 
 Now a certain amount of spring can be obtained from 
 the centre of a long light pole. The Neapolitan 
 Calesso, the Norwegian Carriole, and the Yarmouth 
 Cart, were all made with a view to obtaining ease by 
 suspension on poles between bearings placed far apart. 
 
ANCIENT ROMAN DRAY. I 7 
 
 In these the seat is placed midway between the two 
 wheels and the horse, on very long shafts, which are 
 thus made into wooden springs. In the old Roman 
 carnages the weight was carried between the front and 
 hind axles, on long poles or wooden springs. The 
 under-carriage of the later four-wheeled vehicles used 
 by the Romans was, in all probability, the same as is 
 in use in the present day, both in this country and on 
 the Continent, and in America, for the under-carriages 
 of agricultural waggons. There is a work on the sub- 
 ject of ancient carriages which was published at Munich 
 in 181 7; it was prepared by John Christian von Ginzrot, 
 who was an inspector in the office of the Master of the 
 Horse of the King of Bavaria. A few copies of this 
 work exist still, but only in the German language, and 
 not easily accessible to the public. This author gives 
 the Greek and Latin names for the pole, perch, wheel- 
 plate, and other technical terms of carriages so fully as 
 to leave no doubt that coach-building was well under- 
 stood by the Romans. He also gives a plan of a four- 
 wheeled dray [Plate 4], used by the Romans for 
 conveying casks of wine, which is identical with the 
 drays used now in Vienna and Munich. If his authori- 
 ties be sound, we may be satisfied that the art of 
 coachbuilding, as far as the under-carriage works, and 
 the making of agricultural waggons, was as forward in 
 the days of the Csesars of Rome as it is to this day in 
 central Germany. 
 
 We will, however, quit ancient carriages for those 
 now used in Asia. In Hindostan are a great number 
 of vehicles of native build. It has been frequently 
 
 B 
 
1 8 CARRIAGES OF HINDOSTAN. 
 
 remarked that there Is little change in the Eastern 
 fashions, that tools and workmen are precisely as 
 they were a thousand years ago, and the work they 
 produce is precisely the same. In examining what 
 is done now by Indian coachbuilders, we are probably 
 noticing carriages of a similar, if not identical, sort with 
 those in use three thousand years ago. The comrrionest 
 cart in Hindostan is called " hackery" by Europeans ; it 
 is on two wheels with a high axletree-bed,and a long plat- 
 form, frequently made of two bamboos, which join in 
 front and form the pole, to which two oxen are yoked ; 
 the whole length is united by smaller pieces of bamboo 
 tied together, not nailed. In France, two hundred 
 years ago, there was a similar cart, but the main beams 
 terminated in front in shafts ; in neither the cart of 
 India nor of France were there any sides or ends ; the 
 French cart is called " Haquet;" it is probable that 
 the French, who were in India as well as ourselves, 
 may have given the term " hackery" to the native 
 cart, which was so like their own. The native name, 
 however, is " Gharry." Other carts have sides made 
 by stakes driven into the side beams ; the wheels are 
 sometimes of solid wood, or even of stone. Wheels 
 are also made by a plank with rounded ends, and two 
 felloes fitted on to complete the circle. Again, wheels 
 are made like ours, and also with six or eight spokes, 
 which are placed in pairs, each pair close to and parallel 
 with one another. 
 
 If a carriage for the rich is required the under-works 
 are like those of a cart, but the pole is carefully padded 
 and ornamented with handsome cloths or velvet ; the 
 
PLATE 5. TWO WHEELED CARRlAGE^HlN DOSTAN . 
 
 J'lATE 6. FOUR WHEELED CARRIAGE, HINDOSTAN . 
 
 PLATE. 7. HUNGARIAN COACH FROM GlNZROTS WORK. 
 
CARRIAGES OF HINDOSTAN. 1 9 
 
 sides of the body are railed or carved, and the top is 
 of a very ornamental character, similar to the howdah 
 of state that is placed on an elephant. It has a domed 
 roof, supported upon four pillars, with curtains to 
 the back and sides [Plate 5]. The passengers ride 
 cross-legged under the dome, on pillows. The driver 
 sits on the pole, which is broad at the butt-end, and he 
 is screened from the heat by a cloth which Is fastened 
 to the dome roof and supported upon two stakes which 
 point outwards from the body. A variety of different 
 shaped native vehicles may be seen in elaborate models 
 in the India Museum at South Kensington, but they 
 do not show much originality of design nor beauty 
 of execution, and are said to be really creaking and 
 lumbering affairs. When the Hindoos wished for a 
 four-wheeled vehicle, the plan appears to have been to 
 hook on one two-wheeled vehicle behind another [Plate . 
 6], connecting them with a perch-bolt, and upon the 
 hindermost they placed the body. 
 
 There is a sineular addition to their vehicles outside the 
 wheels ; a piece of wood curved to the shape of the wheel 
 is placed above it, frequently supported by two straight 
 uprights from the end of the axle-tree outside the wheel; 
 this acts as a wing or guard to keep any one from falling 
 out of the vehicle, and also the dress of the passengers 
 from becominor entano^led in the wheel. In addition, 
 a long bar of wood, rather longer than the diameter of 
 the wheel, curved in the shape called " cupld's bow," 
 is fastened to the axletree, the linchpin being outside 
 of it, and the ends of the bar tied to the ends of the 
 wing by cords. I imagine it to be placed in order to 
 
20 CARRIAGES OF HINDOSTAN. 
 
 be a safeguard for the people in crowded streets, who 
 might be pushed by the throng against the wheel. It 
 will be seen in many of the models, and I have seen it 
 also in ancient drawins^s of Indian and Persian vehicles. 
 Many of the carts, which are designed to carry heavy 
 loads, have a curved rest from 20 in. to 30 in. long 
 attached to the lower side of the front end of the pole ; 
 , this serves not only as a prop whilst the vehicle is being 
 loaded, but, should the oxen trip and fall, it supports 
 the cart, and prevents the load, yoke, and harness from 
 weighing down the poor animals as they struggle to 
 recover themselves. In England we have very few of 
 these humane contrivances ; we have, however, short 
 rests to prop up a hansom cab when not at work. 
 
 In India there are several huge unwieldy structures 
 on wheels called " idol cars;" the name of the car of 
 Tuo-o-ernaut must be familiar to manv. The wheels of 
 some of these are enormous blocks of stone shaped and 
 drilled for the work. In the Indian Museum there is 
 a photograph of an idol car from South India, in the 
 district of Chamoondee and the province of Mysore, 
 which deserves examination. The car appears well 
 proportioned, and the ornamental carvings are beautiful 
 in design, and would bear comparison with most 
 European work. 
 
 The Hecca or Hcka is a one-horse native car. re- 
 sembling an Irish car; it consists of a tray for the 
 body, fixed above the wheels on the shafts, and has a 
 canopy roof ; the driver sits on the front edge of the 
 tray, and the passenger cross-legged behind him. The 
 Shampony is the usual vehicle for women, which 
 
A CARRIAGE OF ANCIENT HUNGARY. 2 I 
 
 resembles the former, but It is larger ; the wheels are 
 outside the body, and it is drawn by two bullocks; the 
 canopy roof is furnished with curtains that are drawn 
 all round, and the driver sits on the pole in front of the 
 body. All these native vehicles have wooden axles, 
 which, until recently, I am told, were used without 
 grease, from the prejudices of the people forbidding 
 them to use animal fat. Some used olive oil or soap, 
 but in most lar^e towns there are now reoulations 
 oblioinof the natives to use some substance to avoid 
 the noise and creaking of the dry axles. The com- 
 monest carriages in Central India are called " Tongas," 
 but the universal native word for a vehicle is " Gharry." 
 
 In Calcutta are several coachbuilders of repute, who 
 employ large numbers of native workmen; Messrs 
 Dyke employ six hundred ; jNIessrs Stewart & Co. 
 four hundred ; and ^Messrs Eastman, three hundred. 
 The men are chiefly Ftindoos, and are clever and in- 
 dustrious, but have a singular habit of sitting down at 
 their work. The labourers who have to use grease 
 are all ]\Iahomedans. The wages vary from sixpence 
 to two shillings per day. 
 
 A representation of a primitive vehicle, which was 
 in use in Hungary not very long ago, is given by 
 Von Ginzrot as representing the Roman rhedum. It 
 is very curious, and just such a primitive affair as might 
 be made in any countr}^ [Plate 7.] The body is a 
 disguised waggon ; the tilt-top has two leather flaps to 
 fall over the doorway ; the panels are of wicker work, 
 such as was in common use for carriages both in Greece 
 and Italy; and of such a character we may suppose the 
 
2 2 TURKISH CARRIAGES. 
 
 waggons were, which were used by the many wandering 
 tribes that, in the times of the Roman empire, poured 
 out of Asia and Russia, and invaded Germany, Gaul, 
 and Italy. In the history of Julius Caesar's wars in Gaul, 
 we are told of the large number of waggons which the 
 savage wandering tribes possessed. 
 
 Another primitive vehicle is the Turkish " Araba," 
 [Plate 8] used for the conveyance of women. The 
 lattice-work admits air without too much light. The 
 singular wing-guards over the wheels identify this 
 " Araba " as being derived from the same source as the 
 carriages of Persia and Hindostan. These vehicles 
 have been superseded in many parts of Turkey, Asia, 
 and Egypt by carriages sent from the west of Europe. 
 
 In i860 a carriage was made for one of the ladies of 
 the Sultan's harem, which consisted of silver as far as 
 possible. It cost, it is said, 2,000,000 Turkish piastres, 
 about £ 1 5,000, a very expensive present for the ruler of 
 Turkey to make to one out of many wives. 
 
 To speak of one more primitive carriage. Dr 
 ' Edgfeworth describes some cars which were in use in 
 his time (that is in 1806) in Ireland, as the common 
 vehicles of the country. They were composed of 
 shafts with cross-bars; two low wheels of solid wood 
 were wedged on to the axle-tree, so as to form one 
 piece, like a railway axle and wheels ; they were nearer 
 together than the shafts, and ran inside the shafts ; the 
 axle projected beyond the wheels, and moved in sockets 
 beneath the shafts. These cars, Dr Edgeworth says, 
 " cost only four guineas, including painting ; they 
 would follow a horse anywhere, they could scarcely be 
 
 jy^ 
 
WELSH AND IRISH CARS. 23 
 
 overturned even with bulky loads, they were light and 
 easily moved by hand, their repair was easy, and they 
 lay so near the ground that they could be easily loaded 
 and unloaded ; the whole would turn in a very small 
 compass." It is probable that these were the primitive 
 cars of Ireland. The nearest approach to them in the 
 present day are the costermonger's barrows. We have 
 noticed how light and simple are these vehicles, and 
 that a wretched pony or donkey will canter along with 
 three or even four persons sitting upon them. They 
 also resemble the Yarmouth cart, in which the wheels 
 are inside the shafts ; but then the difference is, that 
 the shafts of the Yarmouth carts are of great length, 
 and the load is carried between the horse and the 
 wheels instead of over the wheels, as is usual in a cart. 
 In some parts of Wales cars are used of this construc- 
 tion, and are also supposed to be the primitive cars of 
 that country; their wheels are solid. In Yarmouth 
 this shape was adopted to suit the very narrow streets 
 or alleys, which a cart made with the wheels outside 
 the shafts could not traverse. The great length of the 
 shafts is occasioned by the necessity of carrying a 
 quantity of goods, such as barrels or sacks, which 
 would tend to make the vehicle top-heavy, if piled up 
 above the wheels. 
 
 The Irish jaunting car, as now built, is superior to 
 the vehicle of forty years ago. It was then on lower 
 wheels, and being hung lower, the shafts pitched up in 
 front, and the unfortunate passengers were huddled 
 upon one another at every jolt in the road. This car 
 was very light, a great benefit for the horse; it is easily 
 
24 BRISTOL COBURG. 
 
 turned and moved in a crowded thoroughfare, and is 
 capable of conveying more luggage than might at first 
 be supposed. The car is no doubt very cheap, and 
 perhaps more Irish drivers are able to own their 
 own cars than are the drivers of London cabs. 
 Irishmen, perhaps, like the vehicle to which they are 
 accustomed, but it will never become popular in this 
 country. 
 
 The car, however, used in Cork, is still more un- 
 comfortable. It is an inside car, that is, instead of 
 sitting back to back, you sit face to face, and to most 
 there is a hood or tilt; a very good vehicle, no doubt, 
 for two persons at a slow pace, but with four persons 
 at a trot it is the worst vehicle I had ever the mis- 
 fortune to enter. If the Cork car was hung on higher 
 wheels, and the shafts kept parallel to the ground, it 
 would be a better vehicle ; if, however, it cannot be 
 balanced properly, it should be placed upon four 
 wheels, like the inside cars of the North of England. 
 
 I will mention one more primitive vehicle, — the cart 
 with a tilt, with side windows, and a door behind, 
 which is called a Coburg, and is used in the south-west 
 of England ; when on good springs, it is a very cheap 
 and comfortable vehicle. In Belgium and Holland it 
 is much used, and is usually built of a larger size than 
 in England. It is, however, after all, rather like a 
 bathing-machine on wheels. It is to be found pictured 
 in our earliest illustrations of vehicles in old English 
 illuminated manuscripts, differing from the modern 
 Coburg only in the want of a door and springs. 
 
 In reviewing what I have laid before you as to 
 
BRISTOL COBURG. 25 
 
 ancient carriages, I would say, that any one who desires 
 to learn more about them can do so in the pages of the 
 London Carriage Builders Art Journal ior 1859 and' 
 ^1860, which appears to contain much of the informa- 
 tion given by the German work of Von Ginzrot. 
 
 It is interestino; to observe the character of the dif- 
 ferent people illustrated in their carriages. The 
 Egyptians, with all their learning and skill, appear to 
 have made no change during centuries of experience ; 
 as at the beginning, so at the end, the kings stand by 
 the side of their charioteers, or hold the reins them- 
 selves. The Persians and Hindoos introduced luxur- 
 ious improvements, and in lofty vehicles elevated the 
 nobles above the heads of the people, and secluded 
 their women in curtained carriages. The Greeks in- 
 troduced no new vehicles, but perfected so successfully 
 the useful waggon, that their model is still seen through- 
 out Europe, without change of principle or structure. 
 The Romans, on the other hand, in their career of con- 
 quest, gathered from every nation what was good, and, 
 wherever possible, improved upon it : — From Greece, 
 the waeeons ; from Persia, the harmamaxa and 
 elevated triumphal cars ; and from Hungary, the 
 rheda. We may well add that the genius of the Roman 
 nation speaks through Cicero, when he wrote, " I hear 
 that in Britain are most excellent chariots ; bring me 
 one of them for a pattern." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Whirlicote of the Middle Ages — Charettes — Cars of the Middle Ages — 
 Revival of Carriages — The first Coaches — The German Waggon — 
 Ancient Saxon Waggon — The Horse Litter — The Old Coaches at 
 Coburg — Early Italian Coaches — Coach of Queen Elizabeth — Coach 
 of Charles I. — Coach of Henri Ouatre — Time of Louis XIV. — The 
 ■ Brouette and Steel Springs — The Berlin — Old Coaches at Vienna 
 — Horse Litter at the Imperial Mews — Utility of Steel Springs — 
 Mr Samuel Pepys' Diary — Sedan Chairs — Coachbuilding in 1770 — 
 Chariot a I'Anglaise — Encyclopaedia on Coachbuilding — Cabriolets — 
 Light Chariots — The Darnley Chariot. 
 
 T "\ 7ITH the decadence of the Romans we may well 
 suppose many of the arts of civilisation fell into 
 disuse. The skilled artisans died out and left no suc- 
 cessors, for their work was not required, and for some 
 centuries we find little or no mention of carrlasfes. 
 
 Ordinary carts were used, it is true, but the great 
 and wealthy moved about the cities or travelled on 
 horseback, and if 111 they had litters carried by men 
 or horses. But another cause tended to the disuse 
 of wheeled carriages — the state of the roads. 
 
 The Romans had been celebrated for the perfec- 
 tion of their roads ; some of these have lasted nearly 
 two thousand years. There Is one, called the Applan 
 way, which leads from Rome to near Naples, made 
 B.C. 500 by the Consul, Appius Claudius, which 
 is paved with blocks of stone, and can still be 
 travelled upon after such a lapse of time. Roads 
 like these could easily be traversed by carriages, but 
 
WHIRLICOTE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 27 
 
 in the course of time they fell into disorder, whilst 
 barbarian tribes had overrun Italy and driven the 
 Romans from Germany, France, and Britain. 
 
 The increase of population caused a gradual in- 
 crease of traffic, and the formation of new roads, 
 which, from the absence of method in making them, 
 soon became mere horse-tracks, and very unsuitable 
 for travelling on wheels for pleasure. We ascertain, 
 however, from old manuscripts and books, that, by 
 degrees, the use of two and four-wheeled carts was 
 revived by the wealthy, in addition to riding on 
 horseback as a means of travelling. The only dis- 
 tinction, however, from common carriers' carts was in 
 the use of carving on the woodwork, and gaily 
 coloured curtains and cushions. 
 
 In the reign of Richard II., we find mention of a 
 vehicle termed a whirlicote, viz., a cot or bed upon 
 wheels. The king and his mother rode a whirlicote 
 in 1380, when she was sick, and history tells us that 
 they were much used for the conveyance of ladies, 
 but still more for their luggage. We are told by 
 Stowe that " in the following year King Richard took 
 to wife Anne, the daughter of the King of Bohemia, 
 and she first brought hither the riding upon side- 
 saddles, and so was the riding in those chariots and 
 whirlicotes forsaken except at coronations and such 
 like spectacles." We have here evidence that the 
 chariot and whirlicote of that time were identical. 
 In 1294, Philip, King of France, issued an ordinance 
 prohibiting the citizens' wives the use of cars or chars. 
 In 1267, Charles of Anjou entered Naples, and his 
 
28 CHARETTES. 
 
 queen, Beatrice, rode in a Cai^etta, the outside and 
 inside covered with sky-blue velvet powdered with 
 golden lilies, and in 1273 Pope Gregory X. entered 
 Milan in a caretta. In an early English poem, the 
 father of a princess of Hungary promises — 
 
 " To-morrow ye shall on hunting fare, 
 And ride my daughter in a char ; 
 It shall be covered with velvet red. 
 And cloths of velvet about your head." 
 
 Froissart speaks of the return of the English from 
 Scotland in the time of Edward III. in their charettes 
 about 1360. We can therefore trace the word 
 chariot from the original Roman currus, car, char, 
 charette, charet, chariot, as a vehicle used in the 
 middle ages, and gradually becoming that chiefly 
 used in state processions. 
 
 When King Henry VIII.'s queen, Anne Boleyn, 
 went to her coronation, she passed through the streets 
 of London ; gravel had been strewed all over the 
 pavement that the horses should not slide, and 
 wooden railings were placed along the route ; this 
 was on May 31st, 1553. Anne herself was in a litter 
 of white cloth of gold, not covered or bailled, which 
 was carried by two palfreys clad in white damask to 
 the ground, led by two footmen; following her were two 
 chariots covered with red cloth of gold, a third chariot 
 in white, with six ladies in it in crimson velvet ; and a 
 fourth chariot was red, with eight ladies in it. 
 
 Twenty years later, on September 30th, 1553, 
 Queen Mary Tudor rode through the city from the 
 Tower to Westminster to her coronation in a chariot 
 
CARS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 29 
 
 of cloth of tissue, drawn by six horses trapped with 
 the hke cloth, and a canopy was borne over her 
 chariot. A second chariot had a covering of cloth of 
 silver all white, and six horses trapped with the like, 
 wherein sat Lady Elizabeth and the Lady Anne of 
 Cleves. Then two other chariots covered with red satin, 
 and the horses betrapped with the same. Also forty-six 
 gentlewomen rode on horseback in the procession. 
 
 Now what was the shape of these chariots ? We 
 are able to judge from a painting of the triumph of 
 the Emperor Maximillian L, on the walls of the 
 Town-hall at Nuremburg, a copy of which is in the 
 Museum at South Kensington, also from a sculpture 
 at Orleans Cathedral [Plate 3], and from an old 
 print of Queen Elizabeth in a chariot. It was an 
 open vehicle on four wheels, rather higher at the 
 back than at the sides, open in front, and containing 
 two or three seats, what the French once called a 
 cha7^-a-banc. 
 
 M. Roubo has preserved a design of a charette in 
 his work written for the French Academy of Arts, 
 but we cannot have a safer and more reliable model 
 than in a Flemish car or char-a-banc now in the 
 Museum at South Kensington ; this is a very small 
 vehicle with but two seats, only four people could just 
 sit in it, and it is suspended on leather braces, which 
 we do not know had been introduced into England in 
 Queen Mary's time, but that even is not impossible 
 or improbable. We may, therefore, fairly conclude 
 that in this Flemish car we see an improved repre- 
 sentation of what our ancestors used during many 
 
30 REVIVAL OF CARRIAGES. 
 
 hundred years under the name of whirlicote car, and 
 of different sizes, to carry from four to twelve persons. 
 
 About the commencement of the sixteenth century 
 we find that there was a remarkable revival of Coach- 
 building in Italy, France, Spain, and Germany ; and 
 It has been warmly debated in which of these coun- 
 tries it commenced, which originated the word coach, 
 and which first suspended a coach upon braces. 
 
 I may premise that we find also a vast increase in 
 the size of the wheels used. Up to this period 
 wheels of 4 feet to 4 feet 6 inches seem to have been 
 the limit ; but the first coaches, and all their succes- 
 sors for nearly two hundred and fifty years, had 
 wheels 5 feet and upwards in height. I can only 
 suppose that, as soon as any large body had to be 
 conveyed, the model of the vehicle was taken from a 
 timber-carriage, such as must have been in use in all 
 parts of Europe. Secondly, although at first all the 
 wheels of a coach were similar in height, it w^as soon 
 found necessary, for use in cities, that the coach must 
 turn in a shorter space than a lofty front wheel 
 would allow. Consequently, the front wheel was 
 made lower, and an imperfection was caused, the 
 effects of which have been felt by horse and vehicle to 
 'the present day. 
 
 In all the claims to the origin of the coach, we must 
 understand that by that word we mean a conveyance 
 in which the roof forms part of the framing of the 
 body — as distinguished from cars and biroches, above 
 which a canopy was often placed by means of iron 
 rods or wooden pillars. 
 
THE FIRST COACHES. 3 1 
 
 We have further to notice that the vehicles called 
 coaches are distinguished from chariots, by the name 
 of Hungarian coaches, by the Italian writers, and that 
 we must consider a coach to have been not merely a 
 covered, but a suspended vehicle, after the fashion 
 introduced first in Hungary. 
 
 Mr Bridges Adams, in his work on carriages, 
 mentions that Ladislaus, King of Hungary, sent an 
 ambassador to King Charles VH., to Paris, and as a 
 present a beautiful carriage, the body of which 
 "trembled;" it is considered that this coach was 
 suspended upon leather braces, and was a specimen 
 of the coaches already in use in Hungary. 
 
 The word coach in all European languages has the 
 same sound, and is derived from the town of Kotze 
 in Hungary, where coaches were first built, just as 
 Landaus and Berlins were so named from the cities 
 that first produced them. The coach from Hungary 
 was given to Charles VH., at Paris, in the year 1457. 
 In 1474, the Emperor Frederick III. rode to Frank- 
 fort in a coach covered and suspended. In 1509, the 
 Pope Paul III. visited Ferrara, and was met by the 
 duke with a train of sixty coaches, whilst to make it 
 clear that these were not the cars, the historian 
 mentions that the Duchess of Ferrara rode in a litter, 
 and her ladles followed her In twenty-two cars. At 
 this period, 1550, there were only three coaches in 
 Paris, one belonging to the Queen of Francis I., 
 another to Diana of Poitiers, and a third to a cor- 
 pulent nobleman who could not mount a horse. 
 There must have been many other vehicles in France, 
 
32 THE GERMAN WAGGON. 
 
 but, it seems, only three covered and suspended 
 coaches. In 1594, the Margrave of Brandenburg, 
 father of the first Duke of Prussia, had thirty-six 
 coaches, each with six horses. 
 
 We will now consider what was the origin and the 
 shape of these coaches. It is in the German waggon 
 that we find the orio-in of the coach. Throughout 
 Germany, Russia, France, and other parts of Europe, 
 the chief agricultural vehicle is the waggon. [Plate 
 4,] It is of the same form now that it was a 
 hundred years ago. The under part is similar in its 
 construction to our timber-waggons, and, like them, 
 it is capable of being lengthened or shortened at 
 pleasure. The wheels vary in height, according to 
 the requirements of the owner and the country, and 
 the chief purpose for which it is used. As in our 
 timber-waggons, the wheels are sometimes 4 feet and 
 5 feet high, and sometimes they are as low as 2 feet 
 8 inches in front and 3 feet 6 inches behind, but the 
 usual size is 3 feet 6 inches in front and 4 feet 
 behind, the track on the road between the tyres is 
 but 4 feet, and the centres of the axle-trees are about 
 7 feet apart. The carriage is composed of a tran- 
 som in front, with a perch (as we name the long 
 piece of timber that unites the front and hind 
 wheels) fastened to it. There is a. hind axletree bed 
 formed of two pieces of timber, clipped together, be- 
 tween which the wings are notched in ; these wings 
 meet together above the perch to which they are 
 united by a strong iron pin. The under works con- 
 sist of a front axletree bed, also made of two pieces 
 
GERMAN WAGGON. 33 
 
 clipped together with two futchels notched in be- 
 tween, and meeting in a point in front, and spreading 
 outwards behind the axletree bed ; a long sway bar, 
 generally quite straight, rests on the futchels and 
 bears against the under part of the perch. Our word 
 futchels is derived through the French word four chils, 
 from the Latin ftirca or fork. The pole of these 
 waggons has at the hind end two wings fixed by iron 
 hoops ; the wings are fitted outside the front end of 
 the futchels and are secured by two moveable iron 
 pins. This method of attaching the pole is very 
 ancient ; it was in use in the time of the Romans, and 
 may be traced in old pictures. The horses are 
 harnessed to splinter or drawing bars ; the longest of 
 these is attached to the pole by a bolt or pin. When 
 the load is light, it is common to harness one horse 
 only to the left or near side of the pole. The under 
 works being thus complete, a body is formed by two 
 long fir poles laid from the top of the transom to the 
 top of the hind axletree bed, about i8 inches apart, 
 with two planks between. Outside the poles are four 
 standard posts, about 30 inches long, which rise up- 
 right from the transom and axle-beds, but which, 
 viewed from behind, spread outwards from four to 
 six inches each towards the wheels. The sides are 
 formed by planks resting against these standard posts, 
 and the ends of the waggon are also moveable. The 
 body is thus much narrower at the bottom than at 
 the top. We shall find that this shape pervades all 
 the early vehicles used by the wealthy classes, show- 
 ing very plainly the original type of the coach. 
 
 c 
 
34 ANCIENT SAXON WAGGON. 
 
 When the waggon is thus fitted up with plank sides, 
 it can carry earth, manure, or roots. When the 
 farmer wishes to transport a load of hay, the planks 
 are removed, the carriage is lengthened two or more 
 feet, and the sides are formed by long and high 
 hurdles. If a large cask of wine has to be trans- 
 ported, the sides are removed and the cask placed 
 upon the centre of the poles, and, as the waggon 
 moves along, the poles may be seen to sway slightly 
 up and down under the weight of the cask, as the 
 poles of a sedan-chair, or palankeen sway, suggesting, 
 as I hope to show hereafter, a means of forming a 
 species of spring for the ease of anyone riding in the 
 waggon. 
 
 We find, then, at a very early date, that waggons 
 were chiefly employed for the conveyance of agri- 
 cultural produce or the transport of merchandise and 
 the goods of the upper classes. It was also easy, by 
 placing planks across the sides, or suspending seats by 
 straps from the sides, to use the waggons for the con- 
 veyance of men and women. But we have evidence 
 that they were made still more free from jolting. In 
 an ancient Saxon manuscript treating on the book of 
 Genesis and the history of Joseph in Egypt, there is 
 an illustration of the meeting of Joseph and Jacob. 
 The father is seated in a two-wheeled cart drawn by a 
 pair of oxen, but Joseph is seated in a hammock, sus- 
 pended by iron hooks from the standard posts of one 
 of these waggons which I have been describing. This 
 manuscript is supposed to be of the eleventh century, 
 and the artist would be likely to represent only what 
 
ELATE 8, THE ARABA OF TURKEY 
 
 PLATE 9. ANCIENT HORSE LITTER 
 
 PLATE 12. A COACH OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. 
 
THE HORSE LITTER, 35 
 
 was in use In his own time for the easy conveyance of 
 great people. 
 
 The next step, however, in the advance of Coach- 
 ' building, would be the use of a better body than that 
 of a mere cart. Such was the case with the Horse 
 Litter [Plate 9]. These were long and narrow — long 
 enough for a person to recline in — and no wider than 
 could be carried between the poles which are placed 
 on either side of the horses. They were about 4 ft. 
 to 5 ft. long, and 2 ft. 6 In. wide, with low sides and 
 higher ends. The entrance was in the middle, on both 
 sides, the doors being formed sometimes by a sliding 
 panel and sometimes simply by a cross-bar. The steps 
 were of leather "or iron loops, the latter being hinged 
 to turn up when the litter was placed on the ground. 
 The upper part was formed by a few broad wooden 
 hoops, united along the top by four or five slats, and 
 over the whole a canopy was placed, which opened in 
 the middle, at the sides and ends, for air and light. 
 The first pleasure-waggon bodies were made in a 
 similar fashion to the horse-litters, but rather longer 
 and wider, with similar doors. By degrees these bodies 
 were ornamented with carving, and the slats of the 
 tilt-top were exchanged for poles, whose ends were 
 ornamented with metal rosettes, or animals' heads, and 
 gilt. I have not found any certain date at which these 
 bodies were first suspended upon straps or braces. 
 The suspension of a hammock from the standard posts 
 of a wae2:on, and of the litter from the harness of the 
 horses, would, however, suggest the suspension of 
 these Improved waggon bodies from the same standard 
 
36 THE OLD COACHES AT COBURG. 
 
 posts. I have seen in a very early picture in oil, at 
 Nuremberg, two waggons such as I have described, 
 with carved and gilt standard posts both in front of 
 and behind the body, the tilt-tops have the middle of 
 the sides cut out square, and made to turn over the 
 top. and the driver sits outside the waggon body 
 between the standards. 
 
 We have, however, at Coburg, the capital of Saxe- 
 Coburg, several ancient vehicles preserved, which are 
 among the oldest in Europe. One of these was built 
 for the occasion of the marriage of the Elector of 
 Saxony, Duke John Cassimir, in 1584, to Anne of 
 Saxony [Plate 10]. It has leather braces and high 
 wheels, which measure 4 ft. 8 in. and 5 ft. in height ; 
 the distance from centre to centre of the axle- 
 trees is 10 ft. 6 in. The carved standard posts, from 
 which the body hangs by the leather braces, are evi- 
 dently developed from the standards of the common 
 waggon. The body is 6 ft. 4 in. long, but only 3 ft. 
 wide. The steps have now disappeared. The wheels 
 have wooden rims, but over the joints of the felloes 
 are small plates of iron about 10 in. long. 
 
 This coach is not the only one. There is another, 
 rather longer and larger, built for the Duke's second 
 marriage, in 1599, with the Lady Margaret. There is 
 also a smaller coach-body built for the Duke John 
 Frederick, as early as 1527, for his marriage with 
 Sybilla of Cleves. This small coach was shown this 
 year at the Exhibition of arts at Munich ; the iron 
 loops by which it had been suspended are still on the 
 body. 
 
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EARLY ITALIAN COACHES. 37 
 
 There are also two small Coach bodies, which are to 
 be seen at Verona, and are shown at the Palace Sareeo 
 Allighieri, with the story that they were used by 
 Dante the poet. This is a fable. Count Gozzadini, 
 in his recent work on ancient coaches, says that, by 
 the heraldic shield still on one coach, he finds it was 
 built in 1549, at the marriage of Ginevra, the last of the 
 race of Dante Allighieri, with Count Marc Antonio di 
 Sarego. This Coach, as may be seen in Plate ii, is 
 beautifully shaped and ornamented. Both are but 
 skeleton bodies, and had to be covered to keep off 
 the sun or rain, with leather, cloth, and silk curtains. 
 
 There are curious sumptuary laws cited by Count 
 Gozzadini as enacted during the sixteenth century in 
 various Italian cities, against the excessive use of silk, 
 velvet, embroidery, and gilding in the coverings of 
 coaches and the trappings of horses. 
 
 In 1564, Pope Pius IV. exhorted the cardinals and 
 bishops not to ride in coaches, according to the fashion 
 of the time, but to leave such things to women, and 
 themselves ride on horseback. Duke Julius of Bruns- 
 wick issued an edict in 1588, that his subjects should 
 desist from indolent ridinof in coaches, and should 
 return to the useful discipline of riding on horses. 
 
 The use of coaches in Germany, in the sixteenth 
 century, was not less than in Italy ; the current of 
 trade, especially from the East, had for a long time 
 poured into those two countries towards Holland, 
 enriching all the cities in its progress, and the rich 
 traders built fine houses, and churches, and town halls, 
 and would have their coaches handsomely decorated 
 
o 
 
 8 COACH OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. 
 
 as well as their houses. Macpherson, in his history 
 of commerce, says that Antwerp possessed five hundred 
 coaches in 1 560, in the time of Queen Elizabeth. France 
 and England appear to have been behind the rest of 
 Europe at this period. 
 
 The first coach was made in England in 1555 for 
 the Earl of Rutland, by Walter RIppon, who also made 
 a coach in 1556 for Queen Mary, and in 1564, a state 
 coach for Queen Elizabeth; in 1580, the Earl of 
 Anmdel brought over a coach from Germany. 
 Queen Elizabeth, however, preferred the use of a 
 coach [Plate 1 2] which William Boonen brought her 
 from Holland in 1560, and made him her coachman. 
 This William Boonen's wife brought out of Holland 
 the art of clear-starching, and was appointed to 
 prepare the Queen's famous cambric ruffs, which in 
 pictures of her are displayed round her neck. 
 Taylor, called the water-poet, says that old Pan- 
 gave him this information in 1605, and adds that 
 since, ' *' coaches have increased with a mischief, and 
 have ruined the trade of the waterman by hackney 
 coaches, and now multiply more than ever." Another 
 writer complains that " now the use of these coaches 
 brought of Germany is taken up and made common, 
 that great ladies caused coaches to be made for them, 
 and rid in them up and down the counties to the 
 great admiration of all the beholders, and little by 
 little they grew usual among the" nobility and others 
 of quality, so within twenty years there grew up a 
 great trade of Coachbullding In England." 
 
 A curious tract or pamphlet was published in Lon- 
 
PLAIE 11. BACK VIEW 
 
 PLAIE 11. ANCIENT ITALIAN COACH^ 
 SIDE VIEW 
 
 154-9. 
 
 I^LATE .IS, COACH OF TIME OF CHARLES is^ f from ANOLDPftiNT) 
 
COACH OF CHARLES I. 39 
 
 don In 1636, entitled " A Dialogue between a Coach 
 and a Sedan-chair." In the figure of the coach, as 
 given in this tract [Plate 13], there are no leather 
 braces marked, but the artist may have omitted what 
 he considered unnecessary details, just as the artists 
 of the present day, making a cheap view of a pro- 
 cession, will figure coaches and chariots of a shape 
 that was obsolete fifty years ago, and even in pictorial 
 journals that should draw better, the shape and details 
 of carriages are unfaithfully rendered. Still, on the 
 whole, we may consider this gives the coach of the 
 period — a long body, a domed roof, the sides open 
 with curtains to draw down when requisite, no door, 
 but a leather screen hung across the doorway, a very 
 small coachman's seat, and swingletrees for the horses' 
 traces. 
 
 In 1641, on November 25th, Charles I. passed 
 through the City of London on his return from Scot- 
 land, and banqueted with the citizens at Guildhall. He 
 was met at Kingsland by the city authorities and five 
 hundred liverymen of the city companies on horseback, 
 each with his footman and torch-bearer, and was accom- 
 panied to Whitehall after the banquet by the livery- 
 men with their torch-bearers. It is worthy of notice 
 that the king's coach is the only coach spoken of, 
 and that the King, Queen, the Elector Palatine, 
 their brother-in-law, the Duchess of Richmond, and 
 three of the royal children, seven persons in all, rode 
 therein. Plate 14 shews a coach of this period. 
 
 In France, King Henry IV. was assassinated in his 
 coach by Ravaillac on May 16th, 1710. The account 
 
40 COACH OF HENRI QUATRE. 
 
 States that the coach was surrounded by blinds or cur- 
 tains, but the king had drawn them back that the 
 people might see him ; with him in the coach were 
 seven noblemen, that is, two persons on each seat, and 
 two in each boot. A drawing- of this coach has been 
 preserved [Plate 15], by which we see the roofs and 
 supports (somewhat resembling the outline of a Roman 
 or Asiatic vehicle) and the curtain hanging over the 
 doorway in front of the boot. 
 
 A coach belonging to a Duke of Saxe-Coburg is 
 still to be seen at the castle at Coburg ; in this the 
 body is 7 ft. 6 in. long in the middle, the wheels are 
 4 ft. and 4 ft. 10 in. high, the roof and upper quarters 
 are of black leather nailed on with brass nails, the 
 heads as large as a sixpence and rounded. On either 
 side of the doorway are iron bars to form the sides of 
 the boot, and the doorway is guarded by a wooden 
 cross-bar padded which drops upon two pins, and from 
 which bar the curtain would fall over the doorway. 
 With such a length of body we can understand how 
 eight persons could ride in it. In prints of this period 
 all coaches are drawn like this, with the bodies sus- 
 pended on leather braces — with domed roofs and with 
 the front wheels generally rather low — with a coach- 
 man seated upon a cross-bar or cushion suspended be- 
 tween the two front standard posts, and his feet upon 
 a board projecting at the bottom of the posts over the 
 pole. 
 
 Some coaches are depicted so wide that they may 
 have held three persons on each seat, but the general 
 appearance is that of Louis XIV.'s first coach [Plate 
 
PLATE 14. COACH OF PARIS IN 164-5 
 
 ELATE IS. COACH IN WHICH HLNRI IW WAS SHOT 
 
 ELATE 16. COACH IN WHICH LOUIS XIV ENTERED PARIS IN 1654., 
 
PLATE 17. COACH OF LOUiS XIV Itv 1700 
 
 SECTION 
 
 PLATE, ]B. THE CORBILLARD AN EAKLY FRENCH COACH , 
 
TIME OF LOUIS XIV. 4 1 
 
 1 6]. No trace of glass windows or complete doors 
 seems to have existed up to 1650. But plain and 
 rude as was the first coach of Louis XIV. it was in 
 his reign, which lasted till 1715, that the most rapid 
 progress was made in Coachbuilding. From the 
 simple waggon-like skeleton body was developed by 
 degrees a beautifully shaped, carved, and panelled 
 piece of cabinet work [Plate 1 7], such as we can justly 
 allow to be worthy the name of a coach, and this de- 
 lighted our ancestors in the reign of Queen Anne. 
 The credit of this transformation is equally due to 
 Germany, Italy, France, and England ; in each country 
 improvements seem to have been made simultaneously. 
 
 The following is the description by a French author, 
 M. Roubo, of the change that took place in Louis 
 XIV.'s reiorn. The corbillards are the earliest French 
 coaches of which we know the exact form. [Plate 18.] 
 These were straight - bottomed, open at the upper 
 sides or quarters, which were furnished with curtains 
 of cloth and leather ; at first these were tied on, and 
 would roll up when air was required ; they had no 
 doors, but were entered on either side by a moveable 
 rail, over which a leather screen was hung. Behind 
 these screens were seats, a little above the floor, where 
 the pages of the owner of the carriage sat sideways. 
 Sometimes there was a projection on either side called 
 a boot, in which the pages sat. 
 
 The next coaches had curved bottoms, and were 
 made with a wooden door half-way up the body, and 
 the whole of the lower part of the body was panelled 
 instead of beings covered with cloth ; this change is 
 
42 THE BROUETTE AND STEEL SPRINGS. 
 
 supposed to have taken place about 1660. As the 
 coach began thus to be built in, carving, gilding, and 
 painting were introduced, and beauty in shape in- 
 creased. Next came the introduction of glass to the 
 sides. A complete door reaching to the roof, with 
 sliding glasses, followed. 
 
 There is very little mention made by historians of 
 steel springs, but they were first applied to wheel car- 
 riages about 1670. At this period a vehicle drawn 
 by men, and called a Broiiette {or wheelbarrow) was 
 introduced at Paris. [Plate 19.] It was a sedan 
 chair, to hold one person, with the door in front like 
 the sedan chairs are now made, but on two wheels, about 
 3 ft. 6 in. high, and with two poles or shafts projecting 
 forward, between which one man ran, whilst another 
 pushed behind if the weight required it. There is a 
 vehicle now much in use in Japan and China that 
 seems a revival of the brouette; I think it is called a 
 Jin-rik-sha. 
 
 The brouette was improved by Dupin, who applied 
 two elbow-springs beneath the front, and attached them 
 to the axletree by long shackles, the axletree working 
 up and down in a groove beneath the inside seat. This 
 is the first record of the application of steel springs to 
 carriages. Many bath-chairs have springs from the 
 body to the axletree in this method, and there is a 
 tradition in the north of England that small broughams, 
 on two wheels drawn by men, were used sixty years 
 ago, as well as^ sedan chairs, for the conveyance of 
 ladies to evening parties. 
 
 It has been said that a Mr Thomas brought springs 
 
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THE BERLIN. 43 
 
 first before the notice of the scientific body of the 
 Academy at Paris in 1703, but this is erroneous. The 
 spring Mr Thomas mentioned is a small spiral spring- 
 to be placed between the double leather brace of a 
 carriage. [See this spring in Plate 28.] 
 
 The first application of steel springs to a coach was 
 beneath the bottom of the body; the loop of the brace 
 was hinged, and between the body and the loop were 
 placed two elbow-springs. [Plate 19.] 
 
 The Company of Coach and Coach-harness Makers 
 was founded in May 1677 by Charles 11., and was con- 
 firmed by King James II. in the third year of his reign. 
 
 In Germany, there was invented about 1660 the 
 vehicle called the Berlin. It will be remembered that 
 in the German waggon the bottom of the body is 
 formed by two long poles, which afford a certain 
 amount of spring when weighted only in the middle. 
 Acting on this principle, Philip de Chiesa, a Pied- 
 montese in the service of Frederick William, the Duke 
 of Prussia, invented and built a carriage, which received 
 the name of Berlin. [Plate 20.] It had two perches 
 instead of one, and between these two perches, 
 from the front transom to the hind axletree bed, two 
 strong leather braces were placed, with jacks or small 
 windlasses, to wind them tighter if they stretched. 
 The bottom of the coach was altered from being 
 straight to an easy curve, and it was fixed upon these 
 braces of leather, which allowed it to play up and down 
 with the motion of the carriage, instead of swinging to 
 and fro from four high posts. Philip, the inventor, 
 died in 1673. 
 
44 OLD COACHES AT VIENNA. 
 
 In the Imperial mews at Vienna are four coach 
 berHns, which, I think, may belong to this period. 
 They are said to have been built for the Emperor 
 Leopold, who reigned at Vienna from 1658 to 1700, 
 and Kink describes this emperor's wedding carriages 
 as covered with red cloth and as having glass panels ; 
 he also says they were called the Imperial glass 
 coaches. It is possible that the coaches have been 
 a little altered from the time of their construction, but 
 I consider that in these four we have the oldest 
 coaches with solid doors and o;lasses all round that 
 exist in Europe. Whether they are identical with 
 the Emperor Leopold's wedding carriages matters 
 much less than the influence the Berlin undoubtedly 
 had upon the Coachbuilding of that period. It was 
 the means of introducing the double perch, which, 
 although it is not now in fashion, was adopted for 
 very many carriages both in England and abroad, up 
 to 1 8 10. Crane-necks to perches were suggested by 
 the form of the Berlin perch ; and as bodies swinging 
 from standard posts suggested the position of the C 
 spring, so bodies resting upon long leather braces 
 suggested the horizontal and elbow springs to which 
 we owe so much. The first Berlin was made as a 
 small vis-a-vis coach — small because it was to be used 
 as a light travelling carriage, and narrow because it 
 was to hang between the two perches, and was 
 only needed to carry two persons inside. It was 
 such an improvement in lightness and appearance upon 
 the cumbersome coaches that carried eight persons, 
 that it at once found favour, and was imitated in 
 Paris, and still more in London. 
 
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HORSE LITTER AT THE IMPERIAL MEWS. 45 
 
 At Vienna there is also to be seen a horse Utter 
 of this period [Plate 21], which is interesting as 
 another specimen of a small vis-a-vis coach with 
 glass windows. In shape it exactly resembles the 
 coaches on the arms of the Coach and Coach-harness 
 Makers' Company of the City of London. [Plate 
 22.] It is a singular instance of the length of 
 time that some old patterns exist, that this horse- 
 litter exactly resembles the shape of the sedan chairs 
 still in use at the public baths at Ischl, in Austria — 
 that is, if this litter were cut in half, you would have 
 two sedan chairs. It is said that the Spanish wife of 
 the Emperor Ferdinand III. rode in a glass carriage, 
 so small as to contain two persons only, as early as 
 1 63 1. It is possible that this horse-litter may be 
 the carriage spoken of. Glass was in common use 
 then for windows ; but plate-glass, such as was .used 
 for State coaches in 1 700, was not made at all in 
 England until 1670, ' 
 
 Towards the end of the seventeenth century, 
 among the wealthier classes, decoration was applied 
 to coaches to an extent that would surprise us now-a- 
 days. Wheels were again ornamented, as in the 
 times of the old Roman empire ; the spokes were 
 shaped and carved, the rims moulded, and the naves 
 highly embossed. The panels had beautiful paint- 
 ings upon them ; sometimes the whole was the 
 subject of a picture in which a landscape and figures 
 appeared, sometimes surrounded wath a continuous 
 ribbon border of flower work, or the panels were 
 divided into squares or diamonds of diaper work, each 
 
4^ UTILITY OF STEEL SPRINGS. 
 
 little partition bearing a flower or device. The inside 
 linings were of brocaded silk or velvet. 
 
 But all this century the use and number of coaches 
 in England was increasing, and at length the value of 
 springs in lessening the weight of coaches was fully 
 understood ; and this demands a short explanation. 
 First it was found that when the body was suspended 
 upon springs, the vibration, and consequently the 
 wear and tear of not only the body, but in a degree 
 of the underworks or carriage, was reduced, and the 
 entire amount of timber used could be safely di- 
 minished, and with it the load behind the horses. And 
 secondly, when the wheels had to be pulled over an 
 obstacle or out of a ditch, the weight of the entire 
 coach had not to be lifted as formerly, since the 
 elasticity of the spring allowed the wheel to rise 
 without lifting all the body and its passengers with 
 it. It is of importance to understand this clearly, 
 and anyone may convince himself by watching the 
 motion of two loaded carts over a bad road, one 
 having springs and the other being without them. 
 
 In Mr Samuel Pepys' diary during the year 1665, 
 we find on May ist, "After dinner I went to the 
 tryall of some experiments about making of coaches 
 go easy. And several we tried, but one did prove 
 mighty easy [not for me to describe here, further than 
 that the whole of the body lies upon one long spring], 
 and we all one after another rid in it, and it is very fine, 
 and likely to take." (This may have been a Berlin car.) 
 
 On September 5th he writes, " After dinner comes 
 Colonel Blunt in his new chariot made with springs, 
 
MR SAMUEL PEPYS DIARY. 47 
 
 as that which was made of wicker, and wherein a 
 while ago we rode at his house. And he hath rode 
 he says now, this journey, many miles in It with one 
 horse, and outdrives any coach, and so easy he says. 
 So for curiosity I went in it to try it, and up the hill 
 to the heath, and over the cart ruts, and found it 
 pretty well, but not so easy as he pretends." 
 
 In 1666, January 22nd, " I went with Dr Wilkins, 
 Mr Hook, Lord Brouncker, and others, to Colonel 
 Blunt's, to consider again of the business of chariots, 
 and to try their new invention, which I here saw 
 Lord Brouncker ride in, where the coachman sits 
 astride upon a pole over the horse, but do not touch 
 the horse, which is a pretty odd thing." 
 
 In 1668, November 5th, Mr Pepys went with Mr 
 Perry all the afternoon among the Coachmakers in 
 Cow-lane, and " did pitch upon a little chariot, whose 
 body was framed but not covered, it being very light, 
 and will be very genteel and sober." 
 
 December 2nd, " Abroad with my wife, the first 
 time that I ever rode in my own coach." 
 
 In 1669, April 19th, " Calling about my coach 
 which hath been to the Coachmakers to be painted 
 and the window frames gilt again." We see from 
 this entry that in 1669 coaches were made in England 
 already with glass windows. 
 
 April 30th, " To the Coachmakers, and find many 
 ladies sitting in the body of a coach, which must be 
 finished by to-morrow, the Lady Marquess of Win- 
 chester and Lady Bellasis eating of bread and butter 
 and drinking of ale ; my coach is silvered over, but 
 
48 SEDAN CHAIRS. 
 
 no varnish yet laid. I stood by it till at eight at 
 night, and saw the painters varnish it, and it dries 
 almost as fast as it can be laid on. I sent the same 
 night my coachman and horses to fetch the coach 
 home ;" and on May ist, " At noon to dinner, and 
 after through the town with our new liveries of serge, 
 and the horses' manes and tails tied up with red 
 ribbons, and new green reins." 
 
 Sedan chairs came into fashion in England in 
 1634, and were in general use by the middle of the 
 century. The alteration in the form of the coach, 
 from the long barge shape of Charles I.'s time to 
 that of Charles II. was, no doubt, suggested by the 
 shape of the sedan chair, in London as well as in 
 Germany.* The improvements mentioned by Mr 
 Pepys show that coaches were being altered, but 
 the progress of springs was slow. We appear, in 
 England, to have taken the lead, in at the same time 
 introducing springs and lessening the weight of 
 coaches. In 1770, an elaborate treatise on Coach- 
 making was published at Paris by the Academy 
 of Arts, written by Mons. Roubo. In this work we 
 find that even at Paris then, springs were not at all 
 universal. They were applied to the four corners 
 of a perch carriage, and placed upright, and at first 
 only clipped in the middle to the posts of the 
 earlier carriages, and the leather braces went 
 from the tops of the springs to the bottoms of the 
 bodies, without any long iron loops such as we now 
 
 * See cover of this book for the shape of a coach of this period, and 
 also Plate 22. 
 
PLATE 19 BROUETTEOF PARIS, 1670. 
 
 HAIE 21, UTTER TO BE CARRIED BY HORSES now at vienna. 
 
 PLATE 23 THE EIRST LANDAU.IFROM ANOLD drawing! 
 
COACHBUILDING IN I77O. 49 
 
 use ; and, as the braces were very long, we find that 
 complaints were made of the excessive swinging, 
 tilting, and jerking of the body. Another method of 
 the application of springs was beneath the body. 
 The Queen's coach is thus suspended. Four elbow- 
 springs, as we should call them, were fastened to 
 the bottom of the body [Plate 19, Figure 2], 
 but again the ends did not project beyond the 
 bottom, and the braces were still kept too long ; 
 Mons. Roubo doubts whether springs were of much 
 use. 
 
 It seems clear from this work, that one hundred 
 years ago the art of Coachbuilding was in some 
 respects equal to that of the present day. Their 
 timber was carefully selected and dried, the bodies 
 were framed and panelled, the shape, and curves, 
 and side sweep, and turn-under was regulated by very 
 careful drawings, the grooves for the blinds and 
 classes were well made. Blinds were made both 
 panelled, perforated, and to open, just the same as 
 those which we call Venetian blinds, and a fourth sort 
 with fixed open slats, as are now used in Turkey and 
 India. Panels were then, as now in France, chiefly 
 of walnut-wood, and M. Roubo describes the method 
 of curving them by wetting one side and exposing the 
 other to a hot fire. He also gives designs for the 
 various tools used by the woodmen and the smiths. 
 He enumerates the various classes of workmen, in- 
 cluding painters and trimmers, and adds "all these 
 are independent workmen, yet who should have a 
 knowledg-e of one another's work, that the work of 
 
 D 
 
50 , COACHBUILDING IN I 770- 
 
 one hinders not the work of another, their mutual 
 knoAvledge should concur in the acceleration and per- 
 fection of the whole." 
 
 Coaches at this period were hung comparatively 
 high, being necessarily above the perch. Berlin Coaches 
 or Vis-a-vis were hung between two perches, and there- 
 fore nearer to the ground. The body of some Berlins 
 also had a solid top or roof, but the sides and ends 
 were of leather, which could be rolled up to admit of 
 more air. These may have given the idea of a singular 
 carriage which preceded the Landau. [Plate 23.] 
 Some coaches had windows in the side quarters. A 
 few were still made to hold eight persons inside. 
 The shapes admitted of considerable variety ; the 
 elbow line was straight or in three or four curves ; the 
 quarters either what we call the britchka quarters, or 
 a concave single sweep from the elbow to the end of 
 the bottom side, like the shape of Her Majesty's State 
 Coach. Chariots were made with the hind quarter 
 similar in shape to the front pillar, that is with a 
 concave sweep. M. Roubo goes on to tell us that 
 chariots, being smaller than coaches and lighter, were 
 at first called diligences. But in consequence of the 
 speedy passage of a stage coach from Paris to Lyons, 
 it obtained the name of diligence, which has since 
 remained to those large double coaches still ,in use on 
 the Continent. We also find the drawing of an 
 invalid or Dormeuse coach, very ingeniously con- 
 trived, and descriptions of the different summer open 
 carriages, some with and some without springs ; there 
 are a few of really elegant shapes. He enumerates 
 
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 F-\ 
 
CHARIOT A- L'aNGLAISE. 5 I 
 
 chaises, phaetons, cabriolets, caleches, " Anglaises des- 
 obligecnits " (or what we should call sulkies, that would 
 only contain one person), lastly and the wourst, a 
 vehicle introduced from Germany for sporting, and 
 which is a Russian drosky, but very much longer than 
 those we have seen in England, there is a crane neck 
 in the perch to allow the wheel to turn, and the seat, 
 which is hung on braces, is very narrow, for the 
 passengers to sit on it astride. 
 
 M, Roubo describes at length, and gives a plan of 
 the Anglaise. It is a chariot, with the modern curved 
 lower quarter panel suspended upon a double swan- 
 necked perch, rather high front wheels, and four whip 
 springs, and with a small hammer-cloth in front. 
 [Plate 24.] There is one very similar preserved in 
 the Museum of the Hotel Clunyat Paris. But on this 
 vehicle M. Roubo remarks, " I see no beauty nor grace 
 in the voitiwe a V Anglaise, but it is no doubt sufficient 
 that the invention of this vehicle comes from England, 
 to make all the world desire to have them, as if there ex- 
 isted some law which obliges us to be the servile imi- 
 tators of a nation who is our rival, and which, although it 
 is respectable, and admirable even, in some respects, can 
 never be equal to us for works of taste in general, and 
 above all in Coachbuilding." 
 
 Whilst we may smile at M. Roubo's jealousy, we 
 must allow the general truth of what he says, viz., that 
 in works in which taste reigns paramount, the French 
 do usually surpass the English; and as regards Coach- 
 building, although we have the name for superior 
 vehicles, and deservedly so as regards quality, dura- 
 
52 ENCYCLOPEDIA ON COACHBUILDING. 
 
 bility, and ease, the French are beyond us in applying 
 tasteful painting, trimming, and decoration of all sorts. 
 In the French Encyclopaedia of i 772, by Diderot, 
 there are elaborate descriptions of the art of Coach- 
 building, the workshops and tools used, and plates of 
 the different carriages in use. I have mentioned these 
 two works, one by M. Diderot on his own account, 
 and the other by M. Roubo for the French Academy, 
 partly to shew the great care taken by our neighbours 
 to instruct the people in the technical principles on 
 which their manufactories should be conducted. It 
 may be that having these superior models before their 
 eyes, and being assured by the wise men of the day 
 that thus carriaees should be constructed, the French 
 Coachbuil iers were content with their achievements, 
 and allowed other nations to advance more rapidly, 
 during the remainder of the century, with daring in- 
 novations in lio^hter and easier vehicles. 
 
 But the teaching of the Academy would neverthe- 
 less tend to create a careful and thoughtful body of 
 workmen, who, if they developed but slowly, would 
 develop carefully, and turn out good work in their 
 generation. 
 
 There is one vehicle which appears almost solely 
 in this epoch, and had a marked effect in introducing 
 our English post-chaise. This was the chaise de 
 poste. [Plate 25]. 
 
 From the engraving and description in the Ency- 
 clopedia it appears to have been a small chariot body, 
 very little longer than a sedan chair, and like a sedan 
 chair, it had the door in front; this door was hinged at 
 
CABRIOLETS. 53 
 
 the bottom, and fell forward on to a small dasher 
 like a gentleman's cabriolet ; there was a window in 
 each side. It was hung upon two very lofty wheels 
 and long shafts for one horse, and the body was rather 
 in front of the wheels, so that the weight on the horse's 
 back must have been considerable. It was suspended 
 at first upon leather braces only, but later upon two 
 upright or whip springs behind, and two elbow springs 
 in front from the body to the cross-bar, which joined 
 the shafts and carried the steps. 
 
 Count Gozzadini tells us that in 1672 Cabriolets, or 
 gigs with hoods, were introduced from Paris into 
 Florence — " an affair with a curved seat fixed on two 
 long bending shafts, placed in front on the back of a 
 horse and behind upon two wheels; to this was given 
 the name of gig, and they so increased in number that 
 in a few years there were nearly a thousand in the city 
 of Florence." 
 
 These vehicles, in which the shafts were really very 
 long, appear to be the origin of the carriole of Norway, 
 the calesso of Naples, and the volante of Cuba. In 
 the Museum at South Kensington we have a specimen 
 of one of these, adorned with much elegant carving. 
 It has no hood. The seat is very small. Beneath 
 the shafts are two long straps of leather and a windlass 
 to tighten them; this apparatus was, no doubt, to re- 
 gulate the spring of the vehicle to the road travelled 
 over. 
 
 There was a small-sized vehicle in use called 
 Cabriolet, the body only a shell, with a hood which 
 would put up and down, composed of three iron hoop- 
 
54 LIGHT CHARIOTS. 
 
 Sticks, jointed in the middle to fall upwards ; the set- 
 ting joints are straight, the covering appears to have 
 been cloth or canvas. 
 
 Although these French books appeared about 1770, 
 they describe carriages that had been a long time in 
 use. 
 
 In the meantime the English had been rhaking a 
 great many small chariots. Dean Swift, in 1770, 
 speaks in his journal of driving down to Hampton 
 Court and to several gentlemen's country houses near 
 London in a chariot and pair of horses, to dine with 
 some great man, and returning after dinner to town. 
 He mentions that he could not have done the same in 
 the neighbourhood of Dublin on account of the absence 
 of turnpike roads. He drove from Windsor to Lon- 
 don, twenty-three miles, in two hours and forty 
 minutes, and from Wycombe to London, twenty- 
 seven miles, in five hours, and from Windsor to 
 Bucklebury, near Newbury, twenty-six miles, in four 
 hours. 
 
 In 1744 Lady Hervey wrote in her " Letters," that 
 lio-ht-bodied chariots were then advertised as fit for 
 town or country. As a further illustration of this 
 period, there is a chariot in the South Kensington 
 Museum belonging to the Earl of Darnley's family, 
 which is supposed to have been built in 1750. I 
 should think it is of rather earlier date, probably 
 1 700. The body is small, and abounds in curves 
 and sweeps like furniture of the date of Louis XIV. 
 The glasses of the doors and of the front rise and fall 
 in frames. There is a broad perch, with two iron 
 
THE DARNLEY CHARIOT. 55 
 
 handsomely-forg-ed cranes (exactly like those in the 
 diligence Anglaise, which, unfortunately, did not please 
 M. Roubo). The body is slung upon leather buckle 
 braces, with small elbow springs at the bottom of the 
 body at the hinder part. There is a small hammer- 
 cloth on which the coachman could sit (the origin of 
 the name is supposed to be from its original use in 
 covering the budget which held the hammer and other 
 tools that were frequently carried with carriages, 
 especially travelling carriages, as late as the year 1840) ; 
 the footboard is framed to the carriage part. There is 
 a splinter-bar, by which the horses would be attached, 
 and the wheel-irons hook on to this bar, and are 
 attached at the hinder part to the ends of the front 
 axletree. The front wheels are 2 ft. 9 in. high, and 
 the number of spokes eight. The hind wheels have 
 twelve spokes, and are 5 ft. high. The whole is hung 
 low. We can well suppose that this was not a heavy 
 carrlaofe after the horses. 
 
 When the first coach quarters were covered with 
 leather, they were nailed on and the heads showed.' 
 After 1660 these nail heads were covered with a strip 
 of metal made to imitate a row of beads; from this 
 practice arose the name of " beading," which has been 
 retained, although beading is now made in a continuous 
 level piece, either rounded or angular. 
 
 The use of coaches had by this time spread from 
 Europe to the colonies, and in i 740 there were many 
 coaches and chariots in use at Spanish Town, Jamaica, 
 and other large towns in America, wherever colonised 
 by Europeans. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 STATE COACHES. 
 
 A Coach of Silver — Lord Castlemaine's Coach — Spanish Ambassador's 
 Coach — Ancient Spanish Coach — Austrian State Coach — State 
 Funeral Coach at Vienna — State Coach of England — City State 
 Coach. 
 
 TN Count Gozzadini's work on Ancient Carriages 
 there is an account of a State Coach which was 
 built under the direction of an ItaHan at Brussels, for 
 the ceremony of the marriage of Alexander, the son of 
 Octavius Farnese, Duke of Parma, with a Portuguese 
 princess. The wedding took place in 1565 at Brussels. 
 There were four carriages Flanders fashion, and four 
 coaches after the Italian fashion, swinging on leather 
 braces. The chief, or state coach, is described as built 
 in the most beautiful manner, with four statues at the 
 ends, the spokes of the wheels like fluted columns. 
 There were seraphims' heads at the ends of the roof 
 and over the doorway, and festoons of fruit in relief on 
 the framing of the body. The coachman was sup- 
 ported by two carved figures of lions, two similar lions 
 were at the hind end, and the leather braces that sup- 
 ported the body and the harness were embossed with 
 heads of animals. The ends of the steps were serpents' 
 heads. The whole of the wood and ironwork was 
 covered with gold, relieved with white. The coach 
 was drawn by four horses, with red and white plumes 
 of feathers, and the covering of the body and of the 
 
A COACH OF SILVER. 57 
 
 horses was gold brocade with knotted red silk fringe. 
 The cushions of embroidered gold stuff were perfumed 
 " with amber and musk, that infused the soul of all who 
 entered the coach with hfe, joy, and supreme pleasure." 
 The horses were cream colour. All • this description 
 would fit very much with the coach of the Duke of 
 Saxe Coburg built twenty years later [Plate No. lo], 
 except that the carving of the Brussels coach was 
 superior, which is probably due to Capt. Francisco 
 Marchi, of Bologna, who designed the whole. 
 
 A State Coach on a far more ambitious scale is de- 
 scribed in the same work, which was built in Italy, for 
 the marriage of Duke Edward Farnese with Lady 
 Margaret of Tuscany in 1629. The body was lined 
 with crimson velvet and gold thread, and the wood- 
 work covered with silver plates, chased and embossed 
 and perforated, in half relief. It could carry eight 
 persons : four on the seats attached to the doors, and 
 four in the back and front. The roof was supported 
 by eight silver columns, on the roof were eight silver 
 vases, and unicorns' heads and lilies in full relief 
 projected from the roof and ends of the body here 
 and there. The roof was composed of twenty sticks, 
 converging from the edge to the centre, which was 
 crowned with a great rose with silver leaves on the 
 outside, and inside by the armorial bearings of the 
 Princes of Tuscany and Farnese held up by cupids. 
 The curtains of the sides and back of the coach were 
 of crimson velvet, embroidered with silver lilies with 
 gold leaves. At the back and the front of the coach- 
 carriage were statues of unicorns, surrounded by cupids 
 
58 LORD CASTLEMAINE's COACH. 
 
 and wreathed with lilies, grouped round the standards 
 from which the body was suspended ; on the tops of 
 the standards were silver vases, with festoons of fruit, 
 and wrought in silver. In the front were also statues 
 of Justice and Mercy, supporting the coachman's seat. 
 The braces suspending the body were of leather, 
 covered with crimson velvet ; the wheels and pole 
 were plated with polished silver. The whole was 
 drawn by six horses, with harness and trappings 
 covered with velvet, embroidered with gold and silver 
 thread, and with silver buckles. It is said that twenty- 
 five excellent silversmiths worked at this coach for two 
 years, and used up 25,000 ounces of silver; and that 
 the work was superintended by two master coach- 
 builders, one from Parma and the other from 
 Piacenza. 
 
 An embassy was sent in the latter years of his reign 
 by King James II. to Pope Innocent XI. at Rome, 
 headed by Lord Castlemaine. An account was written 
 of all the state and pomp with which he was received 
 in Rome ; a copy of this work is at the hall of the 
 Coach and Coach-harness Makers. On Lord Castle- 
 maine's state entry into Rome, January 8th, 1687, a 
 procession was formed of three hundred and thirty 
 coaches. The ambassador had thirteen coaches of his 
 own, in all probability built for him at Rome. Two 
 of these were state coaches, and certainly were 
 Roman. The bodies of these coaches were similar to 
 that of Louis XIV., without glass in the doors or sides. 
 They were hung inside and out with beautifully 
 embroidered cloths, the one coach with crimson, the 
 
SPANISH AMBASSADOR S COACH. 59 
 
 Other with azure blue velvet, and gold and silver work. 
 The roofs were adorned with scroll work and vases 
 gilt ; under the roof were curtains with silver fringes, 
 and the ambassador's armorial bearino^s. The carriage 
 of the principal coach was adorned in front with two 
 large Tritons, of carved wood, gilt all over, that sup- 
 ported a cushion for the coachman between them, and 
 from their shoulders the braces depended. The foot- 
 board was formed by a conch shell, between two dol- 
 phins. In the rear of the coach were two more Tritons, 
 supporting not only the leather braces of the coach, but 
 two other statues of Neptune and Cybele, who in turn 
 held a royal crown. Below Neptune and Cybele, and 
 projecting backwards, were a lion and a unicorn, and 
 several cupids and wreaths of flowers. The wheels 
 had moulded rims, and the spokes were hidden by curv- 
 ing foliage carving. The second coach had plainer 
 wheels and fewer statues about it. In both, the size 
 of the wheels were, as well as I can judge, 2 ft. 6 in. 
 and 4 ft. high, and the length apart 1 2 ft. The whole 
 appearance of these coaches may have been magni- 
 ficent, but certainly not beautiful.'"" 
 
 There are a few records of a maofnificent state coach 
 that was built in 1713 for the Duke of Ossuna, ambas- 
 sador from Philip V. of Spain on the occasion of 
 making the peace of Utrecht. The body was in shape 
 somewhat similar to Lord Darnley's chariot at the 
 South Kensington Museum, with the doorway pro- 
 jecting downwards some ten inches below the bottom 
 sides, the quarters rake towards the roof considerably, 
 
 * Plate 26 shows a Roman Coach. ' 
 
6o ANCIENT SPANISH COACH. 
 
 the roof over the doorway is arched upwards, the 
 upper quarters are fitted with large glasses of mirror 
 plate-glass. It is elaborately and beautifully carved 
 with figures of Tritons and Nymphs, cupids and lions. 
 The wheels have carved spokes and felloes. It is 
 hung upon leather braces from the usual standard 
 posts, which are carved into figures of men and 
 women, and the supports into figures of boys and 
 baskets of fruit. There is a hammer-cloth cushion in 
 front, and a footboard supported by Tritons blowing 
 horns. The description of this coach was published 
 at Amsterdam. 
 
 There is at Madrid a very old coach of a similar 
 shape to this, with many small points so similar as, I 
 think, clearly to mark it out as belonging to the same 
 period. The standards both in front and behind of 
 the Spanish coach are, however, of beautifully wrought 
 scroll ironwork. The body and wheels are of carved 
 wood stained black, the whole of the panels and fram- 
 ing are worked over with very elegant carving, the 
 centre of each panel is a medallion containing figures 
 of females of beautiful forms. There is a photograph 
 of this at Coachmakers' Hall. It is, however, ascribed 
 erroneously to the time of Jeanne La Folle, as Queen 
 Joanna, the mother of Charles V., died in 1555. It is 
 certain that the Spanish tradition of its age is incorrect. 
 The wheels have the spokes turned in spiral form, the 
 rims of the wheels are moulded and carved. The 
 windows, eight in number, I am informed, have been 
 refitted with wooden frames. This coach is deserving 
 of careful study ; it is certainly in many points what a 
 
AUSTRIAN STATE COACH. 6 1 
 
 State Coach should be. There are no fittines for ser- 
 vants or driver. It was the custom for many years in 
 Spain to drive postilhon, because a coachman of the 
 Duke of OHvarez having overheard and betrayed a 
 state secret, the duke ordered that coachmen should 
 no longer be allowed in Spain. 
 
 Our excellent ambassador at Madrid, who takes a 
 great interest in antiquarian researches, has kindly sent 
 me the particulars respecting this Spanish coach, and 
 obtained from the king's librarian the further informa- 
 tion that it is not mentioned in any inventory of the 
 royal goods until the early part of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury ; the librarian's opinion is that the coach belonged 
 to Charles II. of Spain, who died in 1700, and left his 
 kingdom to Philip V., the grandson of Louis IV,, King 
 of France. The coach in shape so closely resembles 
 the coaches of 1 700 [Plate 1 7], that there is no doubt 
 it belonged either to Charles II. or Philip V., Kings 
 of Spain. 
 
 One of the most beautiful of State Coaches is that 
 belonging to the Imperial family at Vienna. There 
 are photographs of it in Coachmakers' Hall, but to be 
 perfectly appreciated it should be seen. The pro- 
 portions are almost perfect, and the finish of the 
 mouldings and carvings is exquisite. It was built in 
 1696, and is shaped with all the curves that are familiar 
 to us in cabinets and furniture of the style called Louis 
 Ouatorze, and in which a straight line is so carefully 
 avoided. The body is very deep, and longer on the 
 roof than at the elbows ; the doorway is depressed to 
 hide the steps. The panels are beautifully painted 
 
62 STATE FUNERAL COACH AT VIENNA. 
 
 with nymphs in the style of Rubens ; indeed, one is 
 told at Vienna that Rubens painted them himself, but 
 that is another instance of the inaccuracy of many local 
 traditions, as Rubens died in 1640. There is an 
 unusual quantity of plate-glass in the panels of the 
 coach, that help to give it a light and airy appearance. 
 The centre of the roof has a large Imperial crown, 
 and larofe tassels hanof from the four corners of the 
 roof, where modern Coachbuilders would place lamps. 
 The body hangs very low. The carriage has a single 
 perch with double cranes, corresponding very closely 
 with those on Lord Darnley's chariot at South 
 Kensington. The standards in the front and hind 
 parts are lofty, elegantly shaped and carved, and 
 strengthened with boldly curved iron stays. The 
 body is hung upon eight leather braces, four of which 
 are arranged on the Berlin plan, and four are attached 
 to short elbow springs beneath the bottom of the body. 
 There are six of these little steel springs at each corner. 
 The wheels are about 3 ft. and 4 ft. 9 in. high, and are 
 very elegantly formed with carved rims, and the spokes 
 each of a shape, with three curves in it. There are 
 no fittings for coachman or footman. The whole of 
 the wood and ironwork is gilt, the panels only are in 
 the colour of a landscape with figures. 
 
 It is a singular thing that there is a second coach of 
 the same shape and date, but with the wheels and 
 other fittings of a plainer description, and all black 
 inside and out, with the Imperial arms in bronze 
 relief on the doors. This black state coach is for 
 funerals. 
 
STATE COACH OF ENGLAND. 63 
 
 There were a number of state coaches built about 
 this period for the different courts of Europe ; -' but 
 without ilkistrations of each, descriptions would not 
 give much idea of their shapes. The general cha- 
 racter of each is that of a rather lumbering body, 
 profusely carved, gilded, and adorned, placed on a 
 very lumbering carriage, on some of which are 
 introduced figures of gods and goddesses or animals, 
 appearing to hold up the heavy body by leather 
 braces. 
 
 The last, and probably much the largest of these, 
 is the State Coach of England, built for King George 
 III. It is not known who built it; it was designed 
 by an amateur, who could not be expected, perhaps, 
 to consider so much its usefulness as a certain massive 
 grandeur which he expected to gain from an exaggera- 
 tion of some of the principal parts, such as the body, 
 the total length, and the hind wheels. This coach, 
 built in 1 761, was designed by Sir William Chambers ; 
 the length is 24 feet, the height 12 feet, the width 
 8 feet ; the weight is stated as 4 tons. The intro- 
 duction of the figures of four Tritons, to support the 
 braces, is probably imitated from Lord Castlemaine's 
 coach of 1687, but it would have been better to have 
 introduced such figures as leaninof ao"ainst the standard- 
 posts, than to make the figures themselves the bearers. 
 Why the coach was not hung upon C springs, or rather 
 whip springs, it is very difficult to say, as they were in 
 common use in 1 760. 
 
 * There are several wonderful specimens at Lisbon, Photographs of 
 which are in the writer's possession. 
 
64 CITY STATE COACH. 
 
 The City State Coach was built in 1757, about the 
 same time as the royal coach. It is, in some respects, 
 in better taste and proportions, but is very unwieldy 
 still. It deserves some study, recollecting in how 
 many city shows it has borne a conspicuous place. 
 The body is the Louis Ouatorze shape. The panels 
 would look better if they were repainted ; fresh colours 
 would liq-hten the whole coach. It is to be regretted 
 that the name of the builder is not on record at Guild- 
 hall. But, in the same year, a state coach was supplied 
 to Sir Charles Asgill by Messrs Runciman and Barker 
 for ^860 ; it was refitted the following year for Sir 
 Richard Glyn, and successively for Sir Thomas Chitty, 
 Sir Matthew Blakiston, Sir Samuel Fludyer, and lastly 
 for Mr William Beckford. It was, probably, from the 
 original cost, only a second coach, and appears to have 
 been newly painted and otherwise adorned for each 
 successive Lord Mayor. 
 
 If the present City State Coach is to be kept for state 
 use it should be supplied with springs. The city coach- 
 maker, who has for some time had the charge of this 
 coach, could add springs without any difficulty, and 
 without much expense. 
 
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CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CARRIAGES FROM 1790 TO 1876. 
 
 Mr Felton's Opinions — Proper Strength of Carriages — Method of Con- 
 struction — Usual Width of Coaches — The Perch — Great Height of 
 Wheels in 1790 — The Lord Chancellor's Coach— The Landau — 
 Phaetons of 1790 — Two Wheeled Vehicles — Taxation on Carriages 
 — Advance of the Trade — Invention of Elliptical Springs — Carriages 
 of Napoleon Buonaparte — Number of Vehicles Paying Taxes — The 
 Curricle. Introduction of Undersprings — Mr S. Hobson's Improve- 
 ments — The Briska and the Stanhope — The Tilbury and Dog-Cart 
 —Commercial Travellers' Gigs — Travelling Carriages^The Pony 
 Phaeton and the Droitska — The Cab Phaeton and the Victoria — 
 Dress Carriages — Coronation Procession in 1838— Improvement of 
 the Landau — Introduction of the Brougham — Waggonnettes — Exhi- 
 bitions of Carriages — Numbers of Carriages in 1874. 
 
 " T N the year 1 790," according to a very competent 
 ^ judge, a coachbuilder then aHve, Mr Felton, 
 " the art of Coachbuilding had been in a gradual state 
 of improvement for half a century past, and had now 
 arrived to a very high degree of perfection, with 
 respect both to the beauty, strength, and elegance of 
 our English carriages." "The superior excellence,' 
 too, of English workmanship has not only been the 
 occasion of a very great increase in their number in 
 this country, but the exportation of them to foreign 
 nations is become a profitable and considerable branch 
 of British commerce." 
 
 These statements might have been made again and 
 again for many years after this date. Our carriages, 
 
66 MR felton's opinions. 
 
 as I will endeavour to show, have continued to 
 improve ; but no longer, I regret to have to say, are 
 they exported in large numbers. The cost has so 
 much increased, from the date of 1790, that foreign 
 nations prefer to deal with manufacturers who can 
 give them a vehicle which, to the eye, appears as 
 good as our own, and in colours and finish is more to 
 their taste, whilst the price is from 10 to 30 per cent, 
 less than the British carriage. 
 
 Although I shall have occasion to treat this part 
 of our subject in the last lecture more fully, I will 
 here guard against misconception, by pointing out the 
 example set us by our energetic brothers in the 
 United States, who have secured a very large market 
 for their carriages, even in English colonies, by 
 building good and light vehicles at a moderate price. 
 In confirmation of the statement of Mr Felton in 
 1790, we find that English carriages had been ex- 
 ported to the North American and West Indian 
 Colonies as early as 1 740. 
 
 To return to Mr Felton's work. He states that 
 the Coach trade was prosperous, and was not confined 
 to Coachbullders proper, but that harnessmakers and 
 others opened repositories for the sale of carriages. 
 This practice was not confined to England, — it was 
 also a French custom, and so much so, that in the 
 French Encyclopaedia, Coachmaking is described 
 under the heading of " Selller " or " Saddler," and 
 even now in some towns on the Continent, one may 
 see " Selller " painted on the front of a coach-factory, 
 without any other description of the trade. 
 
PROPER STRENGTH OF CARRIAGES. 67 
 
 The principal improvements in carnages in London 
 from 1770 to 1790 were the invention of Mr John 
 Hatchett, of Long-acre, whose taste in building 
 appears to have been prominent, and other Coach- 
 builders generally copied him. 
 
 Mr Felton adds that many gentlemen took great 
 pleasure and pride in getting a handsome coach built, 
 and that his treatise was intended to aid them in 
 forming a judgment thereon. 
 
 The following remarks are principally taken from Mr 
 Felton's work, as far as regards this period of 1 790 : — 
 
 " Carriages should always be built adapted to the 
 places for which they are destined, whether for town, 
 country, or the Continent; as a greater stress is laid upon 
 the carriaore in drawins^ over stones than on a smooth 
 road. This makes it absolutely necessary to build 
 stronger for the town than if intended for the country 
 only, owing to the general goodness of our English 
 roads ; it is also necessary to build stronger for the 
 Continent than even for the town, as the badness of 
 their roads obliges them to use six horses where we 
 should use two. 
 
 " The construction of every carriage should be as 
 light as the nature of the place for which it is destined 
 will allow. It is folly to give unnecessary weight to 
 the horses, as the pleasure of conveyance arises from 
 expedition and ease, which cannot be effected in a 
 cumbersome, heavy carriage. 
 
 " A false opinion pervades the minds of many 
 persons, which is, to build strongly, regarding the 
 durability of the carriage in preference to the pre- 
 
68 METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 servation of the horses. Superior strength is only 
 effected by additions in weight of the materials used. 
 
 "In the usual meaning of the word carriage among 
 Coachmakers, it is the lower framework on which the 
 body containing the passengers is fixed or suspended 
 and to which the wheels are attached. Although, 
 speaking generally, all vehicles are called carriages, yet, 
 in speaking technically, the distinction must be observed. 
 
 " It is the body, however, which contains the pas- 
 sengers, which varies most in shape and size, and 
 which is most conspicuous to the eye, and from which, 
 therefore, we derive the particular name of each sort 
 of vehicle." 
 
 In Coachbuilding, accordingly, the first process is to 
 draw out a side view of the body, and carefully to 
 assimilate the lines and curves to the prevailing 
 fashion of the day. Secondly, to draw out the plan, 
 or view from above, of the bottom and roof dimen- 
 sions, with the sweep or cant lines downwards, and 
 backwards, and forwards. The body-maker after- 
 wards makes patterns in thin wood of all the different 
 pieces of timber he requires ; these are laid upon 
 planks of ash timber, and marked with chalk, and 
 sawn as nearly to the size as possible. The body- 
 maker then proceeds to smooth one side of the pieces 
 of wood and frame them together. It is unnecessary 
 here to give further details of framing the body, it is 
 sufficient to say that the chief timbers are called the 
 bottom sides ; upon them all the superstructure is 
 raised, and upon their stability all depends ; they are, 
 therefore, of stout timber, and generally strengthened 
 
USUAL WIDTH OF COACHES. 69 
 
 with iron plates several inches wide, and from a 
 quarter to three-quarters of an inch thick. It is 
 necessary to mention the bottom sides also, because 
 we can hardly describe the shape of a body without 
 mentioning them. The panels are of soft-grained 
 mahogany, which was used in i 790, as well as at the 
 present day in England ; although our neighbours in 
 France preferred then, and generally still use walnut 
 and poplar wood for panels. The roof, bottom, and 
 lining boards are of deal. The roof of a coach is covered 
 with a hide of leather stretched on in a wet state. 
 
 The widths usual for the inside of bodies in those 
 days was 3 feet 5 inches for two persons, and 4 feet to 
 4 feet 2 inches, for three persons on each seat. The 
 height of the seat from the floor was 14 inches, and 
 from the roof 3 feet 6 inches to 3 feet 9 inches. 
 These dimensions will serve to show how little we 
 have varied from them to the present day. 
 
 The body being planned out and in progress, the 
 carriage underworks were prepared, and Mr Felton's 
 description answers to the description in most par- 
 ticulars of the method of building from that time to 
 this. The axles were common axles, with a single 
 large nut and linch-pin, such as we now use to agri- 
 cultural carts and street cabs only. There were 
 improved axle-trees, with double nuts at each end of 
 the axle-trees and patent axles, which were not then 
 furnished with the loose collet now used, and mail 
 axles ; all these are carefully described, and evidently 
 very closely resembled the axles in use in 1876. The 
 axles were strengthened by wooden additions called 
 
70 THE PERCH. 
 
 beds, In which the axles were recessed and cHpped. 
 The front and hind axle-beds were joined by a long 
 timber called a perch, with wooden side-stays or 
 wings behind. In front the under fore-carriage was 
 joined to the perch by a large iron perch (or king) 
 bolt. To secure a steady bearing for the upper and 
 under carriages in locking round, a circle of iron and 
 wood was added, termed wheel-plate in England, and 
 the fifth wheel in America. Beneath the wheel-plate 
 were the futchels (or fourchils) to support the splinter- 
 bar and pole, or shafts. All these timbers were 
 heavier in i 790 than those used in the following years ; 
 the ironwork was lighter and broke very frequently. 
 The iron used by Coachbuilders in those days was 
 decidedly inferior to the iron of 1830. This remark 
 applies chiefly to the smaller pieces of iron. When a 
 large piece of work, such as an axle-tree or a crane was 
 required, it was forged of a number of bars, welded 
 together, and hammered into a tough, secure mass. 
 
 The wheels were the distinguishing feature of the 
 carriages of that day, from their great height and light 
 appearance, and demand some consideration from us. 
 
 The extreme height of wheels extended to 5 feet 
 8 inches, which were made with but fourteen spokes ; 
 wheels 5 feet 4 inches high had twelve spokes ; 
 wheels 4 feet 6 inches had ten spokes ; and the 
 lowest wheels, 3 feet 2 inches high, eight spokes. The 
 naves were of elm, the spokes of oak, and the rims or 
 felloes of ash or beech. The rims of the higher 
 wheels were often of bent timber, in two or more 
 pieces, and were bolted to the tyres by one bolt 
 
PLATE 25. A FRENCH CHAISE DE POSTE OF 1760 
 
 HiATE £7. LANDAU OF 1790 
 
 PLATE 28 A PERCH SOCIABLE BY HATCHETT 
 
GREAT HEIGHT OF WHEELS IN I 79O. 7 I 
 
 between each pair of spokes. The tyre was generally- 
 put on in pieces, the end joining in the middle of the 
 felloe. But the better sort of wheels had the tyre put 
 on in one piece, and called, as in the present day, " a 
 hoop -tyre." 
 
 " Many persons," Mr Felton says, " prefer the 
 common sort of wheel, on account of their being 
 more easily repaired than the hoop-tyre wheel ; but 
 though the repairing the latter is more difficult, they 
 are much less subject to need it." In consequence of 
 the great height of the wheels it was necessary to 
 make the carriages very long, and the distance from 
 the front to the hind axle-tree was 9 feet 2 inches in a 
 chariot, and 9 feet 8 inches in a coach, or about 
 8 inches in each longer than we should think neces- 
 sary now. In hackney coaches a shorter perch was 
 customary. Crane-neck perches were still used. 
 The springs were chiefly what is termed the whip 
 spring, namely, an upright spring, slightly curved 
 at the top towards the body. The same spring, if 
 united at the point to another, became a nutcracker or 
 elbow spring. The same united at the thick end 
 with another became the grasshopper, or horizontal 
 spring, and was used for gigs. The C spring was 
 also occasionally used. There was also a small 
 conical spring placed between the double of the 
 braces, after the manner recommended by Mr 
 Thomas to the Academy of Sciences at Paris, in 
 1703. [_See Plate 28.] 
 
 Having thus described the making of the body and 
 carriage, we naturally proceed to the product. What 
 
72 THE LORD CHANCELLOR S COACH. 
 
 was the actual appearance of the coach of 1 790 ? We 
 are again assisted here by the existence of a coach of 
 that period. In the museum of South Kensington may 
 be seen the Lord Chancellor of Ireland's coach, a large 
 body with deep panels, flat-sided, longer on the roof 
 than at the elbow, with windows in the upper quarters ; 
 the carriage with two crane perches, (Berlin fashion), 
 whip springs, and very high wheels. There is no hind 
 footboard, whilst a hammer-cloth for the coachman is 
 raised upon scroll ironwork, very well made. The 
 shape and appearance correspond with the designs in 
 Mr Felton's book, and with drawings now in the pos- 
 session of the well-known firm of Barker and Co., of 
 coaches built by their house for the Duke of Bedford 
 and others during 1780 to 1800. 
 
 The chariot was something like the chariot of later 
 days [Plate 38], but was made with smaller win- 
 dows, deeper panels, a very shallow rocker, and with a 
 sword-case ; this was an ugly excrescence at the back 
 of the body, to which there was an opening from 
 behind that squab against which the shoulders rest. 
 The sword-case was at first intended to contain weapons, 
 too frequently required by the many highway robbers 
 that were encountered by travellers, and for fifty years 
 it was considered essential to almost every carriage 
 that was built ; but it was a relief to every critical eye 
 when Coachmakers were allowed to omit it. 
 
 Landaus were originally invented about the year 
 1757, at the fortified town of Landau, in Western 
 Germany. 
 
 The Landaus in 1790 [Plate 27], were like coaches 
 
THE LANDAU. "JT, 
 
 in shape but made so as to open In the centre of the 
 roof, the framework of which fell back at an angle of 
 45 degrees only, to allow the admission of air and the 
 sight of the country more freely than in a coach ; but 
 for nearly fifty years there was no improvement in the 
 method of opening and closing the top, technically 
 termed the " hood" of the Landau. 
 
 Landaulets were chariots made to open. The hoods 
 of both Landaus and Landaulets, and other carriages, 
 were then made of greasy harness leather, disagreeable 
 to touch or smell, and continually needing oil and black- 
 ing rubbed into them to keep them supple and black. 
 This was certainly much against their popularity ; but, 
 considering that they were two carriages in one, and 
 would serve for day and night work, and summer and 
 winter, it is not surprising that they found a large 
 amount of patronage. 
 
 Besides these vehicles there were phaetons, barouches, 
 sociables, curricles, gigs, and whiskies. Of these phae- 
 tons there were several sorts, but all for self-driving by 
 the owners. Young England, in those days especially, 
 delighted in very lofty phaetons and fast driving. The 
 romantic tales of this age, as well as the biographies, 
 are full of anecdotes of adventures by upsets out of 
 these dangerous machines, and yet of the fearful plea- 
 sure there was in driving them. 
 
 One was called the " Perch-high Phaeton." [Plate 
 29]. It was shaped like a curricle, and had a leathern 
 hood. The centre of the body was hung exactly 
 over the front axle-tree, the bottom of the body 
 was 5 ft. from the ground, the front wheels were 
 
74 PHAETONS OF IjgO. 
 
 4 ft. high, and the hind wheels 5 ft. 8 in. The 
 hind wheels were far behind, as we see them in a 
 horse-dealer's skeleton brake. There was a large plat- 
 form board over the hind axle-tree, for servants or 
 luggage. On such a carriage George IV., when Prince 
 of Wales, used to drive to the race-course, or round 
 Hyde Park. It was on such a carriage that the Hon. 
 Col. Onslow, generally called " Tommy Onslow," per- 
 formed his feats of driving : 
 
 " What can Tommy Onslow do ? 
 He can drive a chaise and two ; 
 What can Tommy Onslow more ? 
 Oh, he drives a cha,ise and four." 
 
 Another sort of phaeton, with the wheels 6 in. on 8 in. 
 lower, and the body slung between the wheels, was 
 used both for driving and posting. A third sort was 
 used for small horses, with the front wheels 3 ft. 2 in, 
 and the hind wheels 4 ft. 9 in. 
 
 Then there was a one-horse phaeton [Plate 30], 
 the body of which was over the hind axle, and it was 
 hung on grasshopper springs, bolted to the axle, and con- 
 nected with the body by scroll-irons; the body was joined 
 to the fore carriage, which was without springs, by 
 wooden stays, and the wheels locked round in front of 
 the body. This distance of the horse from the driver, 
 though it gives but an indifferent command of his 
 head, yet secures the passengers from the danger of 
 his heels. 
 
 The sociable in those days was [Plate 28], in the 
 shape of a double-cab body, made with or without 
 doors, and with or without a driving seat. Sometimes 
 
ELATE 51. CHAIR BACK GIG OF 1790, 
 
 PLATE 32 A CANED WHISKEY OF 1790. 
 
 ELATE 33. A BRISKA ON C SPRINGS. 
 
TWO-WHEELED VEHICLES. 75 
 
 an open body like this sociable, and a chariot had but 
 one under carriage between them, which was used 
 according to the year, either with the open or the 
 closed body. 
 
 The large two-wheeled vehicles were hung upon 
 framed carriages with whip springs behind and elbow 
 springs in front, like the gentlemen's cabriolets of the 
 present day. When drawn by two horses they were 
 called curricles, or if by one horse, chaises [Plate 31]. 
 There was a little variation in the shape of the body, 
 namely, the full curricle patterns, and the half curricle 
 with or without a boot^similar to a Tilbury or a gig 
 body. The wheels were from 4 ft. 3 in. to 5 ft. in 
 height. Lancewood was then used for shafts. 
 
 Another two-wheeled carriage was the Whisky [Plate 
 32] (or gig) the body fixed upon the shafts — which again 
 were connected with the long horizontal springs by 
 scroll-irons. The gig was also made with a moveable 
 hood. 
 
 The Rib Chair was a similar vehicle, but without 
 springs ; the body had a solid board for a seat, 
 rounded into a semi-circular form, with an upper rail of 
 the same shape, supported by a number of small sticks 
 hardly differing at all from the Stanhope shape of later 
 days. This vehicle was made in the country towns 
 for twelve pounds. The tax in 1 790 upon two-wheel 
 vehicles in general was ^3, 1 7s. each, but if the cgst 
 was only £\2, and the words " taxed cart" were painted 
 upon the gig or cart, the yearly tax was reduced to 
 twelve shillings, hence a very large number of these 
 "rib chairs" came into use among the gentry; whilst 
 
76 TAXATION ON CARRIAGES. 
 
 farmers used a similarly cheap cart without springs, 
 and, to obtain some slight ease, had the seat slung 
 upon straps fastened to the side of the cart. The tax 
 upon four-wheeled carriages was ^8 i6s. for the first, 
 and £g i8s. for the second carriage, but if three or 
 more carriages were kept, the owner had to pay a tax 
 of ^11 on each carriage. 
 
 It is difficult for a government who must raise 
 money to so adjust the taxes as not to impede at the 
 same time the industry of the country. Looking back 
 now at the alterations which took place from time to 
 time in the taxes upon carriages used and carriages 
 hired, we can have no hesitation in saying that suffi- 
 cient attention has never been given to the remon- 
 strances of Coachbuilders and hackney carriage owners 
 at the offices of the Inland Revenue, and that conse- 
 quently the owners and users of carriages have suffered 
 an amount of annoyance that might and should have 
 been avoided ; whilst the amount raised in taxes 
 might have been higher if it had been more judiciously 
 apportioned. 
 
 I have now given a description of the principal 
 vehicles at this period of the history of English coach- 
 building. I wish to add that most, if not all, were 
 used for travelling purposes as well as for driving in 
 the cities. By an ingenious arrangement the hammer- 
 cloths could be removed, and the cushions on which 
 the footmen stood behind the coach or chariot gave 
 place to a trunk or rumble. Boxes fitted to the shape, 
 and called imperials, were put upon the roofs. Drag- 
 shoes and chains, tool-budgets and dragstaffswere added, 
 
PLATE 29. A HIGH PERCH PHAB.TON OF 1790. 
 
 PLATE 30. A ONE HORSE PHAETON OF i^QO, 
 
 SLATE 38 AN ENGLISH POST CHAISE OF 1730. 
 
ADVANCE OF THE TRADE. 77 
 
 and the vehicles could then be used as a comfortable 
 travelling carriage [Plate 38]. The curricles and 
 phaetons were all used to carry trunks, and these are 
 described by Mr Felton very minutely, so as to make 
 it clear we have not much improved upon the fittings 
 of a travelling carriage since 1790. 
 
 Looking once more at the history I have given of 
 the state of the coach-trade in 1 790, it is impossible 
 not to be surprised at the considerable advance from 
 the clumsy vehicles of Queen Anne and George I.'s 
 time. But during the reigns of George II. and George 
 III., all our manufactures had received an immense 
 impulse from the energy of the men of the time. 
 Discoveries were continually being made in arts 
 and manufactures. Books were written, experiments 
 tried, and debates held in every workshop as to 
 the best mode of construction and arrangements of all 
 the parts, and improvements by the artisans employed 
 became a matter of course. It is true that, with the 
 increased wealth of England there was an increased 
 demand for carriages, — demand will always produce 
 supply, — but all must admit that the supply in those 
 days was very good, and all the varied demands were 
 met with considerable pains and ingenuity. 
 
 In the year 1769, the Society of Arts had given 
 sixty guineas to Mr T. Hunt for improvements in 
 tyring wheels, and twenty guineas to Mr Joseph Jacob, 
 of St. Mary-axe, for improved coach springs. This 
 same Mr Jacob wrote a clever treatise on carriages in 
 1773; and in 1777 he repaired the city state coach. In 
 1772, the Society of Arts gave twenty guineas to Mr 
 
78 INVENTION OF ELLIPTICAL SPRINGS. 
 
 W. Bailey, for improvements in the locking of waggons ; 
 and in 1 ']']-x^, the Society of Arts had experiments made 
 in the draught of carriages, and rewarded a Mr Cuth- 
 bert Clarke with fifteen guineas, for an essay on the 
 height of wheels. Later, Dr Edgeworth, in 18 16, 
 conducted a series of interesting experiments at Dublin, 
 with a view to ascertain the difference that high and 
 low wheels, long and short carriages, and springs placed 
 between the axles and the vehicles, would have upon 
 the draught of the vehicles. 
 
 In the year 1804, Mr Obadiah Elliot, a coachmaker 
 of Lambeth, patented his plan for hanging vehicles 
 upon elliptical springs, thus dispensing with the heavy 
 combined wood and iron perch and cross beds that 
 had been invariably used in four-wheeled carriages up 
 to that time, with the exception of a few one-horse 
 phaetons. Elliot was rewarded by the grant of a gold 
 medal from the Society of Arts, and extensive orders 
 for his carriages from the public, who appreciated his 
 important enterprise and invention. 
 
 L have a print, published by Ackermann in 18 16, 
 which shows a landaulet upon elliptical springs. There 
 is a square boot, framed to the body, with the driving- 
 seat on ironwork high above the boot ; what are usu- 
 ally called the pump-handles behind are straight, and 
 support a foot-board. The whole is upon four elliptical 
 springs, 3 ft. 6 in. long, and with a span of 10 in. The 
 wheels are 3 ft. 8 in. and 4 ft. 8 in. high. The body 
 is very small, and the bottom is 3 ft 6 in. above the 
 ground. But the centres of the axle-trees are only 
 6 ft. 6 in. apart. 
 
CARRIAGES OF NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE. 79 
 
 In the same book of drawings there is a full-bodied 
 barouche, only 5 ft. long, hung likewise high, with high 
 wheels, and a very short carriage, with whip springs; 
 a coach and a landau, all painted yellow, are likewise 
 with very small bodies, and are hung high, with short 
 carriages, and the perches nearly straight ; also a mail 
 phaeton, with a curricle-shaped body, and a rumble 
 boot framed to it, hung upon a carriage with 3 ft. 
 4 in. centres, the wheels 3 ft. and 4 ft. 4 in. high, 
 with full-shaped C springs behind, and elbow-springs 
 and braces from a high scroll iron on the transom 
 bed. 
 
 It is interesting to observe how the demand for 
 light vehicles had begun to work, in decreasing the 
 size and length in every way, and also in lowering the 
 height of the wheels from Felton's time. Exactly the 
 same revolution was taking place in mail coaches. The 
 improvements carried out in England were repeated 
 on the continent. 
 
 In 1 8 10 three beautiful carnages were built at Milan 
 on the occasion of the wedding of the Emperor of 
 Napoleon Buonaparte with the Princess Maria Louisa 
 of Austria. These carriages are still preserved at 
 Vienna, and consist of a state coach, a chariot, and a 
 barouche, all upon C springs. The perches are double, 
 Berlin fashion, with elegant cranes at each end ; each 
 perch is octagon, very well shaped, and forged out of 
 solid iron from end to end. All three carriaees are 
 small, light, and well finished. The coach has a 
 large crown on the roof and windows in the sides, the 
 hammer-cloth is supported on scroll ironwork, all 
 
8o NUMBERS OF VEHICLES PAYING TAXES. 
 
 the decorations are in a good state and well-propor- 
 tioned. At the Court of Spain are preserved two 
 handsome coaches built for Charles IV. before l8oo, 
 with side windows, an elegant metal fretwork standing 
 above the edge of the roof, hammer-cloths on scroll 
 ironwork and C springs. They have iron crane Berlin 
 perches, and are suspended upon long thick leather 
 braces passing from the hind C springs to the front 
 under the body without any iron loops. Photographs 
 of these vehicles are preserved at the hall of the Coach- 
 builders' Company. 
 
 I have mentioned the designs in the Carriage 
 Fashion Book of 1816. In further illustration I can say 
 that, in 1812, a large coachbuilder's stock-book, which 
 I have seen, contained over two hundred carriages, 
 mostly let for terms of years. Of these one-half were 
 chariots, fifty were landaus, and the remaining fifty 
 coaches and landaulets. 
 
 In 1 8 14, there were 23,400 four-wheel vehicles pay- 
 ing duty to Government; 27,300 two-wheel, and 18,500 
 tax-carts; a total of 69,200 carriages in Great Britain. 
 We shall see by later returns how much these numbers 
 have increased, by the reduction of government duties, 
 and the introduction of elliptical springs. 
 
 A carriage was much in fashion at this period called 
 the Curricle; it had been in use for many years in Italy; 
 it was derived, I believe, from the British esscdttm, 
 which had been adopted by the Romans. The Italians 
 of the middle ages brought the body forward in front 
 of the wheels, and at length suspended the body from 
 braces; the French added springs, and the English 
 
THE CURRICLE. INTRODUCTION OF UNDERSPRINGS. 8 1 
 
 altered the shape giving the back panel an ogee curve, 
 and Improved the hood, and now added a spring bar 
 across the horses' backs, rendering It a graceful 
 and easy vehicle, which could be driven at great 
 speed. The want of perfect safety checked Its early 
 popularity, and It was gradually superseded by the 
 gentleman's cabriolet with one horse, and the mall- 
 phaeton with two horses. It was In use from 
 1700 to 1830. The celebrated Romeo Coates drove a 
 curricle In the shape of a shell. Charles Dickens 
 drove one as soon as his writings procured him the 
 means, and Count D'Orsay and Lord Chesterfield had 
 new curricles from Messrs Barker's as lately as 1836. 
 
 The Coachbullders of London of the greatest 
 celebrity In 181 5 were the large firm of Colllnrldge, 
 Rowley, Mansell, and Cook, of LIquorpond Street ; 
 WIndus, In BIshopgate Street, In the city of London ; 
 Barker, of Chandos Street ; Hatchett, of Long Acre, 
 Houldltch and Hanklns; and Luke Hopklnson of 
 Holborn. In 1818 Mr WIndus Introduced Under- 
 springs to perch carriages. It was found that In bad 
 roads the elliptical springs did not give sufficient ease, 
 but the addition of horizontal springs below the C 
 springs had the advantage of rendering the carriages 
 not only easier but more durable, by relieving the 
 perch and beds from the direct concussions caused by 
 ruts and holes. About the same time concealed 
 hinges were Invented. Colllnge's patent axles, which 
 had first been made In 1792, became more generally 
 used; their high price had been much against them, 
 but the advantage of carrying a supply of oil for two 
 
82 MR S. HOBSON'S IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 or three months, avoiding also the noise and rattle of 
 the common axles (which require fresh greasing daily), 
 gradually secured their use, and when the patent 
 expired they were universally adopted. Now this 
 patent axle and the mail axle are in general use 
 throughout the civilised world. 
 
 In 1820 the greatest improvements in the shape and 
 style in the manufacture and finish of English carriages 
 were commenced by the celebrated Samuel Hobson, 
 who may be truly said to have improved and remodelled 
 every sort of carriage which came under his notice, 
 especially as regards the artistic form and construction, 
 both of body and carriage. He lowered the wheels of 
 coaches and chariots to 3 ft. 3 in. in front and 4 ft. 5 in. 
 behind, and lengthened the carriage part once more to 
 such a true proportion to the whole vehicle as has 
 approved itself as correct to each succeeding genera- 
 tion of Coachbuilders and users of carriag^es. He 
 lowered the body so that it could be entered by a 
 moderate double step instead of the three-fold ladder 
 previously in use. He perfected the curves of the 
 bodies and the springs, besides making the numberless 
 small details of the body and underworks of the 
 requisite strength, and the most agreeable shape and 
 proportion. Mr Samuel Hobson learnt the art in the 
 firm of Barker and Co., of Chandos Street, and rose to 
 be a partner in the firm, but after a few years in that 
 position he left about the year 181 5 and set up for 
 himself in Long Acre, and ultimately moved about 
 1824 to the large premises previously Messrs 
 Hatchett's. In his improvements he was assisted by 
 
THE BRISKA AND THE STANHOPE. S^ 
 
 his experience gathered at Messrs Barker's, and aided 
 by the enlightened minds and good sense of most of 
 the trade, who copied him as they had copied his pre- 
 decessor, Mr Hatchett, in 1780. 
 
 The Briska, or britchka, had been, about 1818, 
 introduced into England by Mr T. G. Adams, from 
 Austria. [Plate 33.] It was built both upon ellip- 
 tical springs and C springs, and was made in various 
 sizes, large for family use, smaller for posting, with a 
 rumble behind, and still smaller to be drawn by one 
 horse. This briska was nearly straight along the bottom, 
 according to the fashion of the wicker waggons still so 
 much used in Germany. The hind panel was ogee- 
 shaped, the front terminated in a square boot, and the 
 door was lower than the hind quarter, and was fitted 
 with a solid folding apron or knee-flap. The carriage 
 was short, and the front wheel rather lower than 
 usual. The Briska came, in 1824, to be very much 
 used, and lasted in favour until about 1840. 
 
 Two-wheeled carriages had much increased. The 
 Dennett, invented by Mr Bennett, of Finsbury, was a 
 great improvement on the whisky, or gig, of 1790. It 
 was like those, hung upon two long horizontal springs. 
 
 The Stanhope was built under the superintendence 
 of the Hon. Fitzroy Stanhope, brother of Lord Peter- 
 sham, by Tilbury, the builder also of the easy vehicle 
 of that name. The Stanhope was shaped like the old 
 rib gig, but hung upon four springs, two of which were 
 bolted between the shafts and axle, and the other two 
 crossways, parallel to the axle at either end of the 
 body, and shackled to the side springs. These Stan- 
 
84 THE TILBURY AND DOG-CART. 
 
 hopes are very easy, and do not rock so much as other 
 gigs behind a rough-trotting horse, but they are heavier 
 than the dennett, as it is necessary to add iron plates 
 all round the shafts. 
 
 The Tilbury was made without any boot, but other- 
 wise the body was shaped like a stanhope ; the shafts 
 were equally strong and plated with iron. It was hung 
 in front by two elbow-springs and leather braces to 
 the shafts or front cross bar, and behind by two elbow- 
 springs passing from beneath the seat to a cross-spring 
 raised to the level of the back rail of the body by three 
 straight irons from the hind part of the cross bar. 
 Later two more springs were added between the axle- 
 tree and the shafts by scroll irons. The Tilbury was an 
 elegant carriage, and when well made, a particularly 
 good vehicle, but the weight of so many springs and 
 so much ironwork gradually took away the public 
 favour; they lasted until nearly 1850. They were 
 perhaps more in favour for export to Italy, Portugal, 
 and other foreign countries, than our other two-wheel 
 carriages, because they would hold together over the 
 roughest roads, and lasted a long time without 
 repair. 
 
 The Dog-cart and Tandem-cart belong also to the 
 beginning of the present century in their origin. Dr 
 Edgeworth speaks with horror of the reckless height 
 to which they attained in 18 17. " Carriages," he says, 
 " have arisen to a preposterous elevation. That 
 private phaetons and barouches should be mounted out 
 of the town dust, and above the country hedges, is .a' 
 dangerous luxury, but it does not materially affect the 
 
COMMERCIAL TRA.VELLERS' GIGS. 85 
 
 public. The invention of that daring vehicle, * the 
 Suicide,' will not probably be much imitated among 
 Christian people ; and fortunately the laws have limited 
 the elevation to which, by the absurdity of coachmen, 
 mail coaches might have been raised." The " Suicide" 
 was the name of a very high tandem gig, wherein the 
 groom was mounted upon a seat three feet above the 
 driver. It received its name in Ireland. 
 
 The first Dog-carts had a large and deep boot with 
 Venetian slats in the sides, to contain greyhounds or 
 pointers, and the four passengers sat back to back. 
 Tandem-carts were made in a similar manner with a 
 large boot, the driver's seat raised, something like the 
 Salisbury boot fashion, whilst the groom's seat was, 
 like the hind seat of a drag, raised from the boot on 
 ironwork. The gradual' development of the Dog-cart 
 in all its varied shapes of high cart and low cart, New- 
 port, Pagnell, Malvern cart, Whitechapel, sliding body 
 cart, Norwich cart, &c., are too well known to need 
 enlarging upon. They have afforded facilities of 
 agreeable locomotion to millions at a very moderate 
 cost, and, if carefully driven, are as reasonably safe as 
 any vehicle. Who drives faster than a butcher boy, 
 and over roads of all sorts — dry, rough, slippery, or 
 newly made — the horse's head held with a snaffle-bit 
 only — and yet it is very seldom that the horse falls. 
 
 With the growth of our trade and manufactures the 
 system arose of sending commercial travellers through- 
 out England, to call the attention of shopkeepers to 
 novelties in manufactured goods. It was found 
 advantageous to send these travellers in light vehicles 
 
86 TRAVELLING CARRIAGES. 
 
 which could convey samples of the manufactures, and 
 this custom led to the multiplication of gigs in far 
 greater quantities than would have been otherwise 
 required. About 1830 one coach factory in London 
 supplied several hundreds of these vehicles to com- 
 mercial travellers at annual rentals. Now, this sort 
 of travelling to show samples and solicit orders is 
 performed by railway, and the greatest number of two- 
 wheeled vehicles belono- to farmers. 
 
 In 1 8 10 a duty was levied by Government upon 
 carriages for sale. It was repealed in 1825, but the 
 returns give the number of vehicles built for private 
 use in 18 14 as 3636, and in 1824 as 5143, whilst the 
 number of carriages in use in 1824 had grown to nearly 
 29,000 four-wheeled, and 36,000 two-wheeled, besides 
 15,000 tax-carts, a total increase, since 18 14, of 20,000 
 vehicles. 
 
 Travelling carriages had now become very much in 
 demand, and were taken on the Continent. Some 
 noblemen and gentlemen began to travel abroad every 
 year. The fittings had become more elaborate. It 
 was usual to cord the C springs from the top to the 
 bottom to strengthen them, and provide against the 
 jolts of very bad roads ; so that, if one or two of the steel 
 plates broke, the cording would still hold all together. 
 Also long ropes were provided, extending beneath the 
 body from the front to the hind springs, to support it 
 should the body-loops give way under the quantity of 
 luggage stowed in boxes, and imperials, and cap-cases. 
 A dragstaff was provided to prevent the coach sliding 
 back when the horses rested in going up hill, and two 
 
THE PONY PHAETON AND THE DROITSKA. 87 
 
 drag-chains and shoes against going down hill. Not- 
 withstanding these precautions it became usual, at 
 the top of the Alpine passes, from the courier who 
 attended the traveller to procure from the post-houses 
 two sabots or logs of wood hollowed out to fit a 
 wheel, and these were substituted for the iron shoes 
 during the long and steep descent of the Alpine 
 mountains. 
 
 In 1824 a carriage was introduced which has become 
 of almost universal use — the Pony phaeton. In that 
 year King George IV. desired a low phaeton, and 
 one was built for him of a shape and size in which 
 there has been little alteration during the fifty years 
 that have since passed away. It was a cab shape, half 
 caned, with a skeleton bottom side, hung upon four 
 elliptical springs, with crane ironwork back and front, 
 two elbow-wings, bow-steps, and large dasher, and it 
 was drawn by two ponies ; the wheels were only 2 1 
 and 2,3 in. high. 
 
 Another carriage had been introduced from Germany, 
 called a Droitska, an open carriage with a hood, on a 
 perch, and with C springs. The peculiarity was that 
 the body hung very near the perch ; the place for the 
 legs was on either side of the perch, so that the seat 
 was only 1 2 in. above the hind axle-tree ; the chief 
 merit of the Droitska consisted in its lightness com- 
 pared with Briskas and Barouches, and the shortness 
 of the whole vehicle. In appearance it resembled a 
 pilentum, and it is probable that Mr David Davies 
 took his idea of a pilcntuin from the shape of the 
 Droitska. Mr David Davies, a Coachmaker of Albany 
 
8S THE CAB PHAETON AND VICTORIA. 
 
 Street, and afterwards of Wigmore Street, had con- 
 siderable inventive faculties. He orlg-Inated a number 
 of vehicles, the Pilentum phaeton, about 1834, which 
 was an open carnage with the doorway very near 
 the ground, the driving seat was also low, the whole 
 hung upon elliptical springs, and built of different 
 sizes, to carry four or six persons, and adapted for 
 one or two horses. 
 
 The invention of the Cab Phaeton is also attributed 
 to him ; this was a cab-shaped body suspended on four 
 elliptic springs, with a low driving seat and dasher, and 
 shafts for one horse. It was soon generally adopted, and 
 became the pleasure carriage of thousands. The cab 
 phaeton was dispersed throughout England, and also on 
 the Continent, where it became known under the name 
 of" Milord." About 1850 it had become the hack car- 
 riage of several of the Continental cities, and so went 
 out of fashion with the gentry. During the last few 
 years, however, it has been revived under the name of 
 Victoria. In 1S69, I think it was, that the Prince of 
 Wales bought one at Paris of the curved shape, and 
 Baron Rothschild brought another from Vienna of the 
 square shape, and the Victoria became again the popu- 
 lar carriage. Light, low, easy, fit for one horse, and 
 looking very well behind a pair of cobs, it is not sur- 
 prising that the Victoria meets with so much patronage, 
 and it Is pleasant to observe how little difference there 
 is made by different Coachmakers In the size and 
 shape of this useful and elegant vehicle. I have had 
 occasion to notice the influence that certain Coach- 
 builders have had upon the progress of this art, and 
 
DRESS CARRIAGES. 89 
 
 it will not be rig-ht to omit to mention the o-reat 
 influence that Messrs Peters have exercised upon the 
 whole trade by the sound and g-ood workmanship which 
 has for so many years characterised their establish- 
 ment. As early as 1836 their Mail phaetons were 
 noted for the steadiness with which they followed the 
 horses, and the firmness with which they encountered 
 rough roads. 
 
 The year 1838 claims special notice in the annals 
 of Coachbuilding- ; it was probably the climax of the 
 efforts of modern Coachbuilders in what is called 
 " Dress " or " State carriages." "'' These vehicles had 
 long passed the period in which beautiful carving and 
 elegant painting had been used to disguise, as far as 
 possible, the clumsy State carriages of the i8th cen- 
 tury. Ever since the building of the Irish Lord 
 Chancellor's State coach by Hatchett or Baxter in 
 1790, Coachbuilders had endeavoured to produce a 
 graceful outline of body, of a fair size no larger than 
 was necessary, the C springs had been made of a 
 perfect curve, the perch followed the sweeps of the 
 body, the carving was reduced to a moderate amount, 
 the ornamental painting was confined to the stripes 
 upon the wheels, and the heraldic bearings of the 
 owners of the carriages were beautifully emblazoned 
 on the panels. For further ornament they relied 
 upon plated work in brass or silver round the body 
 and on the loops and wheel hoops. In every capital 
 
 * An analysis of the sale of Messrs Cook and Rowley's stock in 1830, 
 and Messrs Hobson's stock in 1838, shows the proportions of 70 chariots, 
 60 coaches and landaus, 32 barouches and briskas, 12 cabs, 6 mail 
 phaetons. Total, 180. 
 
go CORONATION PROCESSION IN I 838. 
 
 of Europe such carriages had superseded the old 
 style, and London and Paris had supplied other coun- 
 tries with most of these State carriages. In this year, 
 1838, was the coronation of our gracious Queen, and 
 the different ambassadors of foreign countries and our 
 own nobility had prepared for the occasion a larger 
 number of court Dress carriag^es than had ever been 
 hitherto seen in London, Of these vehicles it was 
 generally considered that Marshal Soult, the French 
 Ambassador's coach bore away the palm. Engrav- 
 ings of some of the best were soon published. 
 Marshal Soult's coach was built by Mr Dalringen, 
 at Paris. The body had four upper quarter glasses, 
 with a very elegant deep and pierced cornice of 
 silver round the roof, there were four lamps with 
 large coronets on the tops, and the coach bore a 
 coronet on the roof also. The colour of the painting 
 was a lovely blue, such as was then called Adelaide 
 blue ; this had been varnished with white spirit 
 varnish, and seemed almost transparent in lustre. 
 The whole coach was ornamented with silver and 
 was finished in crreat taste. 
 
 About this period a noted Coachmaker named 
 Luke Hopkinson, of Holborn, introduced the briska 
 landau. The peculiar shape is now of little conse- 
 quence, but with this carriage commenced those im- 
 provements upon landaus which have since rendered 
 them so popular. 
 
 Up to this time the Landau head had opened just 
 as it did in i 790, and no more ; the pillars which now 
 lie nearly flat fell usually only at an angle of forty-five 
 
IMPROVEMENT OF THE LANDAU. 9 1 
 
 degrees. Mr Hopkinson cut away the corners of the 
 back rails, which hindered the hoopsticks from lying 
 on the elbows, took away the heavy sqiiabbing that 
 bulged into the body when the head was lowered, and 
 lined the upper quarters with plain cloth only, as in a 
 briska head. He also made the seats and bottom to 
 rise six inches when the landau was open, to give the 
 persons inside more air and freedom. 
 
 To Mr Laurie we must give the high credit of 
 improving upon Mr Hopkinson's improvements, and 
 persisting in seeing that his workpeople kept on 
 improving, instead of, as workpeople used to do in 
 1838, hinder their employers by vexatious objections 
 to all alterations. 
 
 This period was noted also by the patronage by 
 the Duke of Wellington of a vehicle called the equiro- 
 tal, invented by Mr W. Bridges Adams, This was a 
 gig without a head, and a curricle with a head, made 
 so that each could be used with one or a pair of 
 horses, or combined into a mail phaeton by adding 
 two couplings between the two bodies ; the four- 
 wheels being of equal height, give it the name of 
 equirotal. The inventiOii has some very good points, 
 and may be revived some day, with a more perfect 
 connecting joint than Mr Adams attained in 1838. 
 
 But the greatest improvement of this period was 
 the introduction of the brouo-ham. Lord BrouQ-ham 
 and others had for some time used a one-horse 
 chariot. The Pilentum chariot for one horse had 
 already been built at Paris, and several other small 
 close carriages called Clarences had been constructed ; 
 
92 INTRODUCTION OF THE BROUGHAM. 
 
 but none of these, although some were really light 
 enough for one horse, took thoroughly the taste of 
 the public. Mr David Davies introduced some 
 shapes, and Messrs Laurie and Marner perfected 
 them. I think it was in 1839 that the first vehicle 
 which was nearly the shape of the present Brougham, 
 was built by Mr Robinson, of Mount Street, for 
 Lord Brougham. Messrs Thrupp built one in the 
 following year, 1840, of the same shape. In a few 
 years they were built by nearly all Coachmakers, and 
 proved so convenient that they superseded even the 
 cabriolet for o-entlemen's use. The size of the first 
 Brougham was much as is now in vogue, about 4 feet 
 long in the body, and the same breadth outside 
 measure, the wheels 2 feet 1 1 inches and 3 feet 
 7 inches, the driving-boot was made without any arch, 
 in a single sweep from the body to the foot-board ; it 
 was hung on elliptic springs in front, and five springs 
 behind, without any body steps. This was preceded 
 by the pill-box Brougham, as it was called, with 
 straight front pillars, and the body very much con- 
 tracted in front, to look light. A street cab was the 
 forerunner of both. 
 
 In a year or two, Mr Edward Lytton Bulwer 
 (afterwards Lord Lytton) had a small Clarence of the 
 shape called Imperial Clarence which was painted 
 brown with white w^heels, and had a small hammer- 
 cloth of brown and white ; the whole was tastily fitted 
 up and finished, but the attempt to introduce a minia- 
 ture chariot did not succeed, although it was built 
 with considerable care by Messrs Laurie and Marner. 
 
WAGGONETTES. 93 
 
 -In 1845, Waggonettes were built of some size; the 
 first, it is said, was made under the superintendence of 
 the late Prince Consort, and was successful as being 
 the forerunner of a very large number of light, roomy, 
 and useful vehicles. Break waggonettes are also an 
 improvement upon the uncomfortable conveyances 
 called Breaks in early days. The principle of riding 
 sideways was not new. The Irish car, the four- 
 wheeled Inside-car of the Westmoreland Lake district, 
 the old Break, and the Omnibus all contributed to 
 the design of the modern vehicle. 
 
 In the modern Waggonette we have not only a 
 good looking, comfortable carriage, but one which 
 possesses the advantage of carrying a greater number 
 of persons than any other four-wheeled vehicle of the 
 same weight and size. 
 
 In 1846 was introduced and perfected by Messrs 
 Hooper the system of suspending carriages on a 
 single wrought iron perch, supported by horizontal 
 undersprings. The perch being light, and to a certain 
 extent elastic, enabled all the beds and iron stays to 
 be proportionately reduced in weight ; the wheels and 
 axles, having less to carry, were also made lighter. 
 This system at first was only applied to broughams 
 and sociables, but it has gradually been applied to the 
 largest carriages, especially barouches and landaus, 
 not only in England, but In all countries where car- 
 riages are made, so that it is quite the exception for a 
 new carriage to be built with a perch that Is not of 
 solid wrought iron. These connecting perches are not 
 now made quite so light as at first ; it is found that 
 
94 EXHIBITIONS OF CARRIAGES. 
 
 unless the hind wheels follow steadily, not only is the 
 carriage heavier behind the horse, but the perch itself 
 is frequently bent against very small obstructions ; a 
 stronger and stiffer perch is therefore now used, and, 
 it is found both easier to the horse and to the occu- 
 pants of the vehicle. 
 
 We have now reviewed the principal varieties of 
 carriages introduced into England during the present 
 century ; to enumerate the M'hole would be tedious. 
 At our great Exhibitions in London, Paris, Vienna, 
 and other cities, new shapes have continually appeared, 
 and some have found favour, and some have appeared 
 no more. They are evidence that the ingenuity of 
 Coachbuilders is not less than the ingenuity of the 
 workmen in other trades. The history of the last 
 twenty-five years is, however, sufficiently fresh upon 
 the memory not to require repetition. We have already 
 in the reports of the juries of those several Exhibitions, 
 drawn up by Mr George Hooper, a record of the 
 most noteworthy objects. It would be for the benefit 
 of all persons engaged in Carriage-building if those 
 reports could be reissued with the addition of a report 
 of the interesting Philadelphia Exhibition now in pro- 
 gress. M. Guiet, of Paris, will probably write a 
 report for use in that city. 
 
 In Saint Petersburg the Russian Emperor had an 
 Imperial carriage factory, originally established in 
 1821. At these works, which now belong to Messrs 
 Brautigam, two hundred and fifty men are employed. 
 Fifty new carriages a year are built for the Royal 
 family, besides the repairing and altering of others. 
 
NUMBERS OF CARRIAGES IN I 8 74. 95 
 
 There is a steam-engine on the premises. There 
 is also at St Petersburg a museum, in which repose 
 traveUing carriages on the ground floor, and State 
 carriages on the first floor. There are post-chaises 
 of 1746 and 1762, and seven carriages which were 
 in use by the Empress Catherine, many decorated 
 by well-known painters, such as Watteau, Boucher, 
 Gravelot, &c., and superbly fitted up in the interior 
 with velvet and silk. There are twelve sledcjes of the 
 elaborate build of former davs. 
 
 I will here mention that, by the kind permission of 
 Mr W. H. Smith, of the Treasury, I am able to give 
 some further returns of carriages paying duty. Four- 
 wheeled carriages amounted in 1834 to 49,000; in 
 1844, 62,000; in 1854, 68,000; in 1864, 102,000; 
 and in 1874 there were actually 150,000 four-wheeled 
 carriages paying duty, but these last numbers now 
 include vehicles which were formerly taxed under the 
 Postmaster's and Stage duties, and these vehicles in 
 1864 had amounted to 25,000, still without them the 
 increase in ten years is 23,000, quite as many as were 
 kept in the year 18 14. In 18 14, that is 23,000 four- 
 wheeled carriages paid duty, and in 1874 they had 
 increased to 125,000. 
 
 The return states there were of two-wheeled carriages in — 
 1834 . . 50,000 including the tax carts. 
 
 1844 . . 33,coo „ 
 
 1854 . . 137,000 „ 
 
 1864 . . 170,000 „ 
 
 And in — ■ 
 
 1874 . , 285,000 two-wheeled carnages, including 
 
 basket and other four-wheeled 
 traps under 4 cwt. 
 
q6 numbers of carriages in 1874. 
 
 Carriages of both sorts then have increased from 
 about 60,000 in 18 14 to 432,600 in 1874, a benefit to 
 the general population it is clear, as well as to the 
 workmen. 
 
 It is a satisfaction that our trade contributes to the 
 comfort, happiness, and respectability of the commu- 
 nity in general, and is also a very healthy trade for 
 the workmen. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 ON PUBLIC CARRIAGES. 
 
 Travelling before a.d. 1600 — Great Width of Waggon Wheels— Turnpike 
 Roads — Post Saddle Horses — Hackneys — Stage Coaches — Hackney- 
 Coaches^ — Cheap Rate of Hire — The York Coach — The Manchester 
 Flying Coach — The Post Chaise— The Diligence — Post-Boys — Mr 
 T. Pennant on Travelling — Increase of Mail Coaches — M'Adam's 
 Roads — Four-in-Hand Clubs — Russian TraveUing — Two-Wheeled 
 Street Cabs — Street Cabs need Improvement — Hansom Cabs — 
 Omnibus of Pascal — Omnibus of 1820 — ShiUibeer's Omnibuses — 
 General Omnibus Company — American Coachmaking — Fast Cabs 
 of Vienna. 
 
 T MENTIONED in an earlier lecture that the 
 ^ Romans, during the time of the Emperors Augustus 
 and Tiberius, established a system of public vehicles 
 for hire. These were stationed at inns or post-houses, 
 at intervals of five or six miles, and there were twenty 
 or more horses kept at each inn along the great 
 main roads of Italy, and many of the dependent 
 countries of Europe and Asia. The chief use of the 
 post-houses was to supply the public messengers, but 
 they were found of such accommodation that more 
 horses and vehicles were required for the use of 
 travellers. The essedum, or two-wheeled curricle ; the 
 cisium, or gig ; and the rhediim, a four-wheeled wag- 
 gon, drawn by four or six mules, were the chief 
 
 carriages kept at these stations. 
 
 G 
 
98 TRAVELLING BEFORE A.D. 160O. 
 
 Cesarius, a magistrate in the time of the Emperor 
 Theodosius, went post from Antioch to Constantinople, 
 six hundred and sixty-five miles, in six days, with a 
 speed, allowing for stoppages, of about six miles an 
 hour. 
 
 Coaches, we have already seen, were introduced into 
 England in the sixteenth century, stage coaches in the 
 seventeenth, mail coaches in the eighteenth, and rail- 
 ways in the nineteenth centuries. Each of the four 
 last centuries had added to and improved upon the 
 systems of passenger and commercial transit. The 
 facilities for travelling, prior to the introduction of 
 coaches, were afforded by saddle horses, and by cars or 
 charettes, (vehicles without springs, as I have already 
 described), by waggons, and by strings of pack-horses 
 following each other laden with goods, upon which a 
 passenger occasionally sat. For the sick, and ladies 
 who did not ride, the litter, carried by men on two 
 poles, or strapped to mules or horses, was generally 
 adopted. 
 
 Persons were in the habit of collecting together and 
 travelling in company with these conveyances, or in 
 gangs by themselves, or on horses when they had 
 them, for their mutual protection. Old men can still 
 recollect strings of pack horses traversing Lancashire 
 and Yorkshire, and advertisements for companions 
 desired by gentlemen about to ride to London. 
 
 Laws for the improvement of old roads and the 
 making of new, were passed in the reign of Henry 
 VI IL, and special mention is made of those be- 
 tween St. Clements Danes in the Strand, and Char- 
 
GREAT WIDTH OF WAGGON WHEELS. 99 
 
 ing Cross, Holborn, and Southwark as being then 
 noxious and very jeopardous. In the time of Queen 
 Mary, in 1555, an Act of Parliament ordered the 
 appointment of two surveyors for each parish, and that 
 the roads should be repaired under their supervision. 
 
 Towards the end of the sixteenth century the 
 long broad wheeled waggons were introduced into 
 England, and began to pass regularly between the 
 great towns with goods and passengers. These 
 long waggons first received the name of " Stages." 
 There are continual allusions in old books to their 
 great convenience, although the rate of speed was 
 small. 
 
 About one hundred and thirty years ago there seems 
 to have arisen an extraordinary contest between the 
 owners of waggons and those who repaired the high- 
 ways. It was asserted that the waggon wheels 
 destroyed the road by reason of the great weight of 
 the vehicles and the narrowness of the tyres. 
 
 The question was carried before Parliament, and 
 endeavours were made to widen the tyres to nine 
 and even ten inches, so as to reduce the crush- 
 ing effect of the wheels on soft roads to a mini- 
 mum. On such roads it was said there were ruts more 
 than a foot deep, cut by the narrow wheels. The 
 Legislature endeavoured to promote the use of broad 
 wheels by exemptions from turnpike tolls, by restric- 
 tions and fines upon narrow wheels, and actually 
 recommended tyres 16 inches wide, under the idea 
 that they would roll roads flat, just as gravel walks 
 in a garden are rolled. 
 
lOO TURNPIKE ROADS. 
 
 In the British Museum is a work by Daniel 
 Bourne, dated 1 763, having a design of a waggon 
 with four wheels in which the front axle-tree is very 
 short, so that the track outside the front wheels is 
 made to correspond with the inside of the hind 
 wheels, and they are made like four garden rollers, 
 each 15 inches wide, so that as the waggon moved 
 5 feet of the road should be simultaneously rolled 
 flat. 
 
 After a contest of many years it was generally 
 acknowledged that, to oblige waggoners to carry 
 burdensome wheels to roll the road for pleasure car- 
 riages, was an obvious hardship. Every inch added 
 to the really necessary width for strength to the tyre 
 of the wheels was felt by the carrier as a grievance, 
 and the evasion of the government regulations was 
 sympathised with by the common sense of mankind. 
 It was left to the waggoner to keep the wheel 
 sufficiently narrow to run lightly, and sufficiently 
 wide to prevent its sinking with a heavy load into 
 the road. It was admitted that the chief person 
 interested in the matter was the waggoner, as, if his 
 wheels turned heavily over the road by reason of 
 sinking into the surface, then he would fine himself 
 by being obliged to use more horses, or by travelling 
 very slowly. 
 
 During the whole of the sixteenth century the im- 
 provement of English main and cross-roads con- 
 tinued steadily advancing by the system of turnpike 
 tolls, on the security of which money was borrowed 
 by the parishes in order to make them. Although 
 
POST SADDLE HORSES. lOT 
 
 for a long time there was great opposition, yet the 
 system suited the time, and was probably, in our 
 free country, the only way to obtain them. In 
 France, on the other hand, the nobility made their 
 roads by the forced labour of the peasants within their 
 territory — one of the instances of cruel oppression that 
 led to the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1 786, 
 as the poor peasants were obliged, from time to time, 
 to leave the cultivation of the fields and turn out with 
 carts and horses to labour for two or three weeks 
 together at the repair of the roads, and this, too, with- 
 out any payment. 
 
 ' In 1617, an author named Fynes Morryson relates, 
 that " there were post horses in England, at stations 
 about ten miles apart, that could be hired by travellers 
 on horseback at the charge of 2^d. per mile to 3d.," 
 but, he adds, " most travellers ride their own horses. 
 In some counties a horse can be hired at 3d. per 
 day, finding the food. Likewise carriers let horses 
 from city to city bargaining that the passengers put 
 up at their inns. They will lend a horse for five or 
 six days thus, and provide its food at these inns for 
 about 20s. Lastly, these carriers have long covered 
 waggons in which they carry passengers to and fro ; 
 but this kind of journeying is very tedious ; so that 
 none but women and people of inferior condition 
 travel in this sort. Coaches are not to be hired any- 
 where (this was in 161 7) but in London. For a day's 
 journey a coach with two horses is let for about 10s. 
 a day, or 15s. with three horses, the coachman finding 
 the horses' feed." 
 
I02 HACKNEYS. 
 
 Yet in 1610 a native of Stralsund, in Pomerania, 
 obtained in Scotland a Royal patent giving him the 
 exclusive privilege of running coaches and waggons 
 between Edinburgh and Leith. 
 
 The horses that were hired for travellers were called 
 in France " hacquenee," and in Wales " hacknai," 
 which term extended into England, and after was 
 applied to hired coaches, thence named Hackney 
 Coaches. Samuel Pepys, in his Diary of 1662, speaks 
 of riding his hacquenee to Woolwich, at a period 
 when he did not keep any horse of his own. 
 
 I have already mentioned that long waggons were 
 the first stages ; their use commenced before the year 
 1600, but for the poorer classes there was no other 
 conveyance for many years, and it w^as late in the 
 eighteenth century before stage coaches were able to 
 give any accommodation to persons with a small 
 purse. 
 
 The Stage Coach began to be used in 1 640, the same 
 description of vehicle as that in use for private or 
 hackney work, but of a larger size. The body would 
 hold eight persons at times, but generally only six ; 
 the passengers were screened from the weather by 
 leather curtains. It was not until the year 1680 that 
 plate glass w^as sufficiently cheap to be used for 
 windows. The coachman sat on a bar between the 
 two standard posts from which the body was slung, 
 with his feet upon the footboard fixed to the top of the 
 perch. Behind, between the great wheels, was the 
 basket for luggage, in which the outside passengers 
 also sat up to their knees in straw. The body swung 
 
STAGE COACHES. IO3 
 
 about Upon heavy leather straps through the rough 
 country roads. 
 
 In 1649 Chamberlayne, in a work entitled " The 
 Present State of Great Britain," speaks up for coaches. 
 " Besides the excellent arrangement of conveying men 
 and letters on horseback, there is of late such an admir- 
 able commodiousness both for men and women, to 
 travel from London to the principal towns in the 
 country, that the like hath not been known in the 
 world ; and that is by stage coaches, wherein any 
 one may be transported to any place sheltered from 
 foul weather and foul ways, free from endamaging of 
 one's health and one's body by hard jogging or over- 
 violent motion on horseback ; and this not only at the 
 low price of about a shilling for every five miles, but 
 with such velocity and speed in one hour as the foreign 
 post can make but in one day." 
 
 In 1662, when there were but six stage coaches, 
 another writer of the day condemned them. " For," 
 he says, " these coaches make country gentlemen 
 come to London on small occasion, which otherwise 
 they would not do but upon urgent necessity; nay, 
 the conveniency of the passage makes their wives often 
 come up, who, rather than make such long journeys on 
 horseback, would stay at home. Here, when they come 
 to town, they must be in the fashion, get fine clothes, 
 go to plays and treats, and by this means get such a 
 habit of idleness and love of pleasure that they are 
 uneasy ever after." 
 
 Another writer in 1673 opposes stages. " Is it," 
 he asks, "for a man's health to be laid fast in foul 
 
I04 HACKNEY COACHES. 
 
 ways, and forced to wade up to the knees in mire ; 
 and afterwards sit in the cold till fresh teams of horses 
 can be procured to drag the coach out of the foul 
 ways ? Is it for his health to travel in rotten coaches, 
 and have their tackle, or perch, or axle-tree broken, 
 and then to wait half the day before making good 
 their stage ?" 
 
 This gives us some idea of the badness of the roads, 
 and the imperfection of the vehicles. These last, 
 however, were not improved in the time of Hogarth, 
 who, in 1 730, painted a stage coach waiting in an 
 inn-yard. 
 
 In the Diary of Sir William Dugdale we find records 
 of his journeys by stage coaches between 1659 and 
 1680, to the towns of Norwich, Coventry, Chester, St 
 Albans, Bedford, and Birmingham during the reign 
 of Charles 11. 
 
 Hackney coaches were first used in England in 
 1605 [Plates 13, 14, and 22]. These were similar 
 to the coaches used by the gentry ; at first they 
 did not ply for hire in the streets, but remained at 
 the hiring-yards until they were wanted. As, how- 
 ever, many more persons wished to hire than could 
 afford to keep a coach of their own, the demand 
 increased rapidly. In 1635 the number was restricted 
 to fifty. Still they increased in spite of the op- 
 position of the court and king, who thought they 
 would break up the roads, till, in 1650, there were as 
 many as three hundred. In Paris they were introduced 
 by Nicholas Sauvage, who lived in a street at the sign 
 of St Fiacre, and from this circumstance hackney 
 
CHEAP RATE OF HIRE. IO5 
 
 coaches were called in France " Fiacres," and they 
 became very common and popular. In 1772 the hire 
 of fiacres in Paris was a shilling the first hour, and 
 tenpence the second. In London, in 1662 there were 
 four hundred hackney coaches, and the government 
 began then to levy a yearly duty upon them of ^5 
 each, in 1694 the number had increased to seven 
 hundred, a substantial proof of their usefulness. Mr 
 Pepys, in his amusing Diary, continually speaks of 
 hiring coaches for use in London, and to go to 
 Deptford and Woolwich, in his journeys to the dock- 
 yards in his business for the Admiralty. 
 
 Many of these were the old coaches of the nobility 
 and gentry, and it is not until 1 790 that we hear 
 from Mr Felton that the hackney coaches were 
 generally built of a smaller size, and much shorter in 
 the under carriage than those of the gentry. Their 
 hire appears to have been very moderate, to judge 
 by the records of Dean Swift, who resided in 
 London for three years in the days of Queen Anne 
 (17 10 to 1713), and who made frequent use of hackney 
 coaches, and on wet days did not venture out without 
 a coach or a sedan chair. It would seem he could ride 
 from the city to the neighbourhood of St Giles for one 
 or two shillings. 
 
 To return to stage coaches, we are told that in 1673 
 there were coaches from London to York, to Chester, 
 and to Exeter, having each forty horses on the road, and 
 carrying each six inside passengers. The coach occu- 
 pied eight days in travelling to Exeter, but the fare 
 was only forty shillings in the summer and fine 
 
I06 THE YORK COACH. 
 
 weather ; in winter the same coach was nearly ten 
 days on the road, and the fare was increased to forty- 
 five shilHngs. There were four-horse stage coaches 
 going daily to places within twenty or thirty miles 
 of London, and others that went to places within 
 ten miles and returned the same day. 
 
 In 1703, a stage coach went from London to Ports- 
 mouth, when the roads were good, in fourteen hours. 
 
 In 1706, a coach went from London to York every 
 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which performed 
 the journey in four days, allowing each passenger 
 fourteen pounds of luggage free, and above that 
 weight the charge was threepence per pound. 
 
 In 1742 the Oxford stage used to leave London at 
 seven in the morning, reaching High Wycombe at 
 five in the evening, and, resting the night, proceeded 
 to Oxford the next day. 
 
 In the same year there was a coach from London 
 to Birmingham, starting on Monday and arriving on 
 Wednesday, forty miles a day, but the coach usually 
 stopped half one day at Oxford. 
 
 In 1 75 1, a stage coach went to Dover, arriving at 
 Canterbury the same night, reaching Dover early the 
 next day, and starting on its return to London the 
 same afternoon. The advertisement states that there 
 is a conveniency behind the coach for baggage and 
 outside passengers. This implies that it was not, 
 even at this late date, usual to carry passengers on 
 the roof, and that the general structure of the vehicle 
 was similar to the stage coach of 1640; one change 
 had been made : the driving box on the fast coaches 
 
THE MANCHESTER FLYING COACH. lOJ 
 
 was placed high above the horses on a narrow 
 boot, something Hke what is called a Salisbury boot ; 
 this was placed upon the beds or timbers of the 
 carriage, with a tolerably comfortable seat for two per- 
 sons upon it. But the jolting and shaking over rough 
 bits in the road must have been very trying. In the 
 hall of the Coachmakers' Company, in Noble Street, 
 Cheapside, is a picture of Hyde Park Corner in 1796, 
 painted by Dagaty, in which is an old stage coach ; 
 the hinder part has a boot and guard's seat attached 
 to the body as in modern stage coaches, but the box 
 is detached from the body and on the beds, as 
 described above ; the panels of the body are very 
 deep, and on the upper quarters are painted two large 
 stars, from which we may conjecture that it is a mail 
 coach.* 
 
 From the Ipswich Joiirnal, Atigust 1754. 
 This is to give Notice 
 " That a handsome Machine, with steel springs for the ease of 
 passengers and the conveniency of the Country, began on Monday, 
 the 8th of July 1754, to set off from Chelmsford every morning at 7 
 o'clock, Sunday excepted, to the Bull Inn, Leadenhall Street, to be 
 there by 12 o'clock, and to return the same day at 2 o'clock to be at 
 Chelmsford by 7 o'clock in the evening. Fresh horses will be taken 
 at the White Hart at Brentwood and the Green Man at Ilford. To 
 be performed, if God permits, by Tyrrell & Hughes." 
 
 In 1754 a coach was started from Manchester called 
 " the Flying coach." The advertisement states, "how- 
 ever incredible it may appear, this coach will actu- 
 ally arrive in London in four days and a half after 
 leaving Manchester." 
 
 * See Plate 34 for a similar stage coach. 
 
Io8 THE POST-CHAISE. 
 
 The sort of vehicles stage coaches usually were in 
 those days will appear from the following : — 
 
 "In 1755 stage Coaches are described* as covered 
 with dull black leather, studded, by way of ornament, 
 with broad-headed nails, with oval windows in the 
 quarters, the frames painted red. On the panels were 
 displayed, in large characters, the names of the places 
 w^hence the coach started and whither it went. The 
 roof rose in a high curve, with an iron rail around it. 
 The coachman and guard sat in front upon a high 
 narrow boot, often garnished with a spreading hammer- 
 cloth with a deep fringe. Behind was an immense 
 basket, supported by iron bars, in which passengers 
 were carried at lower fares. The wheels were painted 
 red. The whole coach was usually drawn by three 
 horses, on the first of which a postillion rode with a 
 cocked hat and a long green and gold coat. The 
 machine groaned and creaked as it went along with 
 every tug the horses gave, and the speed was fre- 
 quently but four miles an hour." 
 
 The first Post-chaise built in England was only on 
 two wheels, and was open in front. This corresponds 
 with the description of the chaise de poste of France. 
 In 1765 the stage coaches from Dover to London 
 were drawn by six horses ; the fare was a guinea. 
 Servants paid half a guinea, riding either in the basket 
 behind or on the box, which held three persons. In 
 1775 stage coaches are stated in the Annual Register 
 to carry eight passengers inside and ten outside, 
 and that there were (including vehicles called flys, 
 
 • By Sir Walter Scott — preface to a novel. 
 
THE DILIGENCE. IO9 
 
 machines, diligences, and stage coaches) four hundred 
 altogether. In 1779 a licence duty was first levied 
 by government on stage coaches. Increased accom- 
 modation was provided by seats on the top. It 
 must have been at this time that the front and hind 
 boots began to be framed to the coach body, or there 
 would have been no rest for the feet of the roof 
 passengers. 
 
 In 1798 a stage coach ran from Gosport to London, 
 86 miles, in 19 hours: 4^ miles per hour. It is not 
 until 1754 that we have a reliable account of any stage 
 coach being upon springs, but in that year, in the 
 newspaper called the Edinburgh Coiirant, appears the 
 following advertisement : ■ — " The Edinburgh Stage 
 Coach, for the better accommodation of passengers, 
 will be altered to a new genteel two-end glass coach 
 machine, being upon steel springs, exceeding light and 
 easy, to go in ten days to London in summer and 
 twelve in winter, every other Tuesday." This coach 
 rested all Sunday at Burrowbridge. 
 
 In 1757 a coach was started to run in three days 
 from Liverpool to London ; Sheffield and Leeds 
 followed the examples of Manchester and Liverpool, 
 and set up "speedy coaches," so that in 1784 coaches 
 became universal at the speed of eight miles an hour. 
 
 In France, we learn from M. Roubo's work, that in 
 1760 the Diligences (their stage coaches) were con- 
 structed much as ours, with large bodies having three 
 small windows on each side and hung by leather 
 braces on long perch carriages, with high hind wheels 
 and low front wheels, without any driving box, and 
 
I lO THE DILIGENCE. 
 
 fitted with large baskets, back and front, for pas- 
 sengers or luggage ; they were drawn by five horses, 
 and driven by a postilion on the off wheeler instead of 
 the near wheeler, as in England. One of their Dili- 
 gences running to Lyons had springs [Plate 35], 
 and it is noted by M. Roubo as the only Diligence in 
 France with springs, and also the most speedy. It 
 performed the journey to Lyons, about three hundred 
 and twenty miles, in five days during the summer 
 and six in winter. Deducting the time allowed for 
 refreshments, changing horses, and resting at night, 
 the speed of the Diligence appears to have been between 
 five and six miles an hour. M. Roubo also describes 
 a laree sta^e coach called a Gondola, holdinor twelve 
 persons inside, ten sitting sideways and one at each 
 end ; this vehicle may be considered as the grand- 
 father of the omnibus, which was first made at Paris. 
 Another coach was called a coupe Berlin, having 
 four doors and three seats, the middle seat corres- 
 ponding to the third inside seat of the so-called stage 
 coaches used in America at the present time. There 
 was, however, a backboard to lean against, but I 
 believe that in the American stage coach the back of 
 the middle seat is only a wide strap. The other 
 travelling public carriage in France was the " chaise 
 de poste" upon two wheels [Plate 25], which I 
 have already described in a former chapter. I re- 
 member to have seen one of these at Amiens thirty 
 years ago painted yellow like so many of the English 
 post-chaises. There are probably many of these 
 vehicles still in France. They are much like our 
 
POST-BOYS. Ill 
 
 g-entlemen's cabriolets, but larger and heavier, and are 
 drawn by one stout horse in the shafts, with a second 
 horse ridden by the postillion, attached to an out- 
 rigger-bar on one side of the shafts. The chaise de 
 poste was first made in France in 1664. 
 
 To return to our own country. Stage coaches 
 had increased so much in speed that in 1 780 they 
 were quicker than the post which carried the 
 letters. 
 
 For a long time letters had been entrusted to the bags 
 of the post-boys, who travelled on horseback at the 
 rate of about three and a half miles an hour. Mr John 
 Palmer, the originator of mail coaches, in the year 
 1 784 gave the following statement to the Govern- 
 ment : — " The Post at present, instead of being the 
 swiftest, is almost the slowest conveyance in the 
 country ; and though, from the great improvement 
 in our roads, other carriers have proportionably 
 mended their speed, the post is as slow as ever. 
 Rewards have been frequently offered by the Post- 
 master-General for the best constructed mail-cart, or 
 some plan to prevent the frequent robbery of the 
 mail, but without effect." Palmer, who resided at 
 Bath, went on to state, " that the coach diligence, 
 which left Bath at four o'clock on Monday afternoon, 
 would deliver a letter in London about ten on Tues- 
 day morning, whilst the post would not deliver a letter 
 until Wednesday morning. The only advantage of 
 the post was its greater cheapness. The post charged 
 only fourpence from Bath to London for each letter, 
 whilst one by the coach diligence cost two shillings. 
 
112 MR T. PENNANT ON TRAVELLING. 
 
 Nevertheless, many persons, both at Bath and Bristol, 
 sent by the dearer and quicker mode, and all over 
 the kingdom, wherever diligences * were established, 
 they obtained the patronage of the public." 
 
 At first any improvement on the Post, was warmly 
 opposed by the officials and committees of the Houses 
 of Parliament, and it was declared impossible that 
 letters could be brought from Bath to London, only 
 one hundred and eight miles, in eighteen hours, i.e., 
 six miles an hour. After some careful experiments, 
 and a struggle of two years, Mr Palmer's system 
 was adopted,, and his new-fashioned mail coaches 
 were accepted to convey the mails. For some years 
 the mail coaches did not run at more than six miles 
 an hour : they were built in a cumbrous form to carry 
 six persons inside. In this same year (1786) the Prince 
 of Wales, afterwards George IV., began to erect the 
 pavilion at Brighton, bringing fashionable company 
 into the mere fishing hamlet which it then was. The 
 effect upon the traffic was very great, and led to the 
 reform of the whole of the south and south-western 
 roads, and in 1820, thirty-five years later, no less 
 than seventy coaches daily visited and left Brighton. 
 
 Mr Thomas Pennant, the celebrated antiquarian, 
 writing in 1782, says, "that in March 1739, he 
 travelled to London in a Chester stage, then no des- 
 picable vehicle for country gentlemen. The first day, 
 with much labour, we got from Chester to White- 
 church, twenty miles ; the second day, to the Welsh 
 Harp ; the third, to Coventry ; the fourth, to North- 
 
 * Here we have the French name of diligence instead of stage coach. 
 
INCREASE OF MAIL COACHES. II 3 
 
 ampton ; the fifth, to Dunstable ; and, as a wondrous 
 effort, on the last, to London before the commence- 
 ment of night. The strain and labour of six good 
 horses, sometimes eight, drew us through the sloughs 
 of Mireden, and many other places. We were con- 
 stantly out two hours before day, and late at night ; 
 and in the depth of winter proportionably later." 
 
 " Families who travelled in their own carriages 
 contracted with Benson & Co., and were dragged 
 up in the same number of days, by three sets of able 
 horses." 
 
 " The single gentlemen, then a hardy race, equipped 
 in jack-boots and trowsers up to their middle, rode 
 post through thick and thin, and, guarded against the 
 mire, defied the frequent stumble and fall ; arose and 
 pursued their journey with alacrity ; while in these 
 days their enervated posterity sleep away their rapid 
 journies in easy chaises, fitted for the conveyance of 
 the soft inhabitants of Sybaris." 
 
 In 1799 His Majesty's mails were paraded in pro- 
 cession past St James's Palace to the General Post- 
 Office, and it is said that the custom was kept up for 
 thirty-six years on the king's birthday. Each coach 
 was new, or turned out to look like new, and was 
 painted red with the Royal arms on the door panel, 
 and on the smaller panel above the name of the town 
 to which the coach went, on the boot the number of 
 the mail, and on each upper quarter one of the stars 
 of the four orders of the knighthood of the United 
 Kingdom, the Garter, the Bath, the Thistle, and St. 
 Patrick. The coaches were built just big enough to 
 
 H 
 
1 14 m'adam's roads. 
 
 contain four inside and three or four outside, and 
 coachman and guard. The body was hung upon a 
 perch carriage and eight telegraph springs, the under- 
 works being both sohd and simple in construction. 
 At first the number was about eighty, but more were 
 added as time went on, until there were at length 
 seven hundred mail coaches in the year 1835. Only 
 a small quantity, however, left London, the rest were 
 dispersed all over Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
 These mail coaches were at first built and kept 
 in repair by contract in London. The experience 
 gained by watching these vehicles was very advan- 
 tageous to the coach trade; anything faulty in timber 
 or iron, steel or paint, was soon discovered by the 
 vigilant contractors and remedied, and their plans 
 and devices spread through the trade to the benefit of 
 masters and workmen. 
 
 The improvement of stage coaches and their multi- 
 plication kept pace with the mails. Turnpike roads 
 also had been much improved by Mr M'Adam's 
 system. He substituted on roads hitherto laid with 
 gravel of all sizes, and round or carelessly broken 
 stones of other qualities and materials, the improved 
 surfaces of granite and other hard stones and flints, 
 carefully broken into small angular pieces, which during 
 the passage of heavy traffic dovetailed into one another, 
 and made the surface firmer, whereas the round pebbles, 
 under the old system, would slip from under the wheels 
 and leave the surface of the road still uneven. 
 
 The factories for building stage coaches grew to be 
 of large size and Importance. Coach proprietors were 
 
FOUR IN-HAND CLUBS. I 1 5 
 
 often very successful, and their business increased 
 until Mr Chaplin had two hotels, five yards, and 1300 
 horses at work. Messrs Home and Sherman had 
 700 horses each ; and Mr Nelson, of the "Bull Inn," 
 Aldgate, rivalled these. Stage coaches, as they car- 
 ried more luggage and more outside passengers, were 
 necessarily built stronger and rather heavier than the 
 mail coaches. The cross roads, however, became 
 gradually filled up with old mails re-painted, and 
 stage coaches were also built upon elliptical springs 
 in front, and generally three springs behind. 
 
 Gentlemen took to driving coaches for amusement, 
 and vehicles were built with high coach boxes and 
 high hind servants' seat ; of different forms, it is true, 
 and upon different sorts of springs. Two coaching 
 clubs were formed of noblemen and gentlemen, who 
 took an interest in four-in-hand driving and in vehicles 
 in general. Several clubs of this kind are now flourish- 
 ing, to encourage a manly sport, and with the capacity 
 to promote improvements in the build and form of 
 the " drag," as it is now called. 
 
 In Ireland, Mr Bianconi established a good system 
 of travelling upon long four-wheeled cars of a light 
 construction. The passengers sat back to back, and 
 the luggage was piled between, and frequently so high 
 that the traveller had only the opportunity of seeing 
 one side of the road along which he passed. These 
 vehicles would give more satisfaction now-a-days if 
 better horses were used, and for shorter stages, on 
 those routes where passengers are plentiful, but pre- 
 fer to travel at more than five miles per hour. 
 
Il6 RUSSIAN TRAVELLING. 
 
 In Switzerland and some parts of the continent, 
 the use of large diligences still continues. Some of 
 the old shape [Plate 36] recently performed the 
 journey from Geneva towards Chamounix. The 
 shape of modern diligences varies very much, many 
 are like omnibuses ; but almost all are without a 
 perch and upon elliptical springs. In Continental 
 travel may also be seen large family travelling car- 
 riages, as well as very light one-horse vehicles for 
 mountain roads, and the further eastwards the travel- 
 ler proceeds, the rougher and more simple the vehicle. 
 In Russia may be found very rough, cheap, fast 
 waggons, as well as the " Tarantas," which is a very 
 comfortable travelling carriage for the wealthy, and 
 with its numerous boxes and appliances, its bed and 
 store cupboards for food, is almost a small house upon 
 wheels. 
 
 Thus, whilst in our history we have enumerated 
 the various methods of travelling used by our fore- 
 fathers, we may, in passing from England to Persia 
 overland, still have personal experience of almost all 
 of these methods. All travelling dependent upon the 
 speed of a horse has been, on good roads, almost the 
 same in all ages. It is only since the introduction 
 of locomotion by steam on railroads that we have 
 attained any great advance upon ancient times. The 
 years during which rapid stage coach and post chaise 
 travelling seemed such a remarkable advance to Eng- 
 lishmen, only lasted from about 1 8 10 to 1840. Since 
 then the triumph of steam has in many places para- 
 lysed the improvement of stage coaches and posting 
 
ELATE 34t AN ENGLISH STAGE COACH, 1787, after kowlandson 
 
 PLATE. 35 DILIGENCE FROM PARIS TO LYONS. 
 
 PLATT: ."^fi K/innrRw rRf-Mrn nii inrMrr 
 
TWO-WHEELED STREET CABS. I I 7 
 
 upon ordinary roads, even where steam does not 
 compete. 
 
 In France two-wheeled vehicles for public hire had 
 been in use for some years previous to the commence- 
 ment of the present century ; but it was not until 
 1823 that London possessed a two-wheeled cab. In 
 that year Mr David Davies built twelve two- wheeled 
 cabs. The body was a little like a hansom cab, but 
 smaller ; it had a head of which the hinder half was 
 stiff and solid, the fore part would fold. This ar- 
 rangement was probably an imitation of the gentle- 
 man's cabriolet, the hood of which was rarely put 
 down altogether, as the groom had to hold on by 
 it.* Outside the head on one side was a seat for the 
 driver of the cab, and the whole was hung upon stiff 
 shafts. They were, I think, painted yellow, and stood 
 for hire in a yard in Portland Street, close to Oxford 
 Street. At this time the stands in the streets were 
 occupied by hackney coaches, which certainly were 
 all old coaches of the gentry ; many still bore the 
 arms of the former owners, and the drivers wore 
 great coats with a large number of capes, one over 
 the other, to keep in warmth and keep off the rain. 
 It was not long before the two-wheeled cab became 
 popular, and came on the ranks with the coaches. 
 
 * From a Newspaper, April 23, 1823 : — " Cabriolets were, in honour 
 of his Majesty's birthday, introduced to the public this morning. They 
 are built to hold two persons inside besides the driver (who is par- 
 titioned off from his company), and are furnished with a book of fares 
 for the use of the public, to prevent the possibility of imposition. These 
 books will be found in a pocket hung inside the head of the cabriolet. 
 The fares are one-third less than hackney coaches." 
 
I I 8 STREET CABS NEED IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 Mr Davies' cab was copied, but with little variation 
 from his pattern, and the total number of cabs in 
 1830 was one hundred and sixty-five. After this 
 came Mr Boulnois' patent one-horse cab with a door 
 behind, like a slice of an omnibus, the two passengers 
 sitting face to face, the driver sitting on the roof — 
 this cab it was hoped would succeed, but the 
 shafts were too short, and the passengers always felt 
 uneasy in case the horse should kick, and the vehicle, 
 otherwise light and useful, fell out of fashion. 
 
 Mr Boulnois' cab was followed by a larger sort in- 
 vented by Mr Harvey^ and at last, about 1836, came 
 the brougham cab to hold two persons ; this was rather 
 smaller than that afterwards built for Lord Brougham, 
 and of plainer outline, with straight fore pillar. From 
 this we derive our present clarence cab on four wheels, 
 which we may pronounce as the lightest of all four- 
 wheeled close cabs, but it is certainly anything but 
 satisfactory. It carries, it is true, a large quantity of 
 luggage on the roof, besides six persons, and runs 
 along faster than the cabs of most other cities, but it is 
 abominably noisy, and very rough in motion, uneasy 
 and uncomfortable. Whoever will produce an improved 
 four-wheel cab will deserve the thanks of his country- 
 men. The first step to this, I consider, would be the 
 authorisation by law of two classes of fares. Let the 
 present cab remain at the present fare, but allow a 
 first-class cab to charge a higher fare, and appoint a 
 proper person or persons to inspect the cabs, and to 
 license the first-class cabs to charge a higher fare. 
 The second step would be to insist on the first-class 
 
HANSOM CABS. IIQ 
 
 cabs having patent or mail axles, and covered glass 
 frames to lessen the rattle, and to adopt a regulating 
 spring, which would assist in carrying a heavy load. 
 Regulating springs can easily be made; they are 
 unsightly on a private carriage ; but this would be no 
 objection in a public conveyance. It might be in the 
 form of a buffer in the centre of the elliptical spring, or 
 a second elliptic within the first, but the ingenuity of 
 our spring makers would soon surmount the difficulty 
 if the proper authority insisted upon the attempt. 
 
 The Hansom patent safety cab is an immense im- 
 provement upon the old high two-wheeled cab. We 
 owe the invention to a Mr Hansom, the architect of 
 the Birmingham Town Hall. The safety consisted in 
 the arrangement of the framework at the nearest part 
 to the ground, so as to prevent an upset if the cab 
 tilted up or down. It has since been improved by Mr 
 Evans, of Liverpool; Mr Marston, of Birmingham; 
 and others, until the recently built hansoms are really 
 convenient, easy, and comfortable conveyances, and 
 receive the patronage of many ladies in preference to 
 the four-wheelers. 
 
 Cabs of other towns of England and foreign countries 
 have all their peculiar features. Many English towns 
 allow a higher charge per mile than in London. In Ply- 
 mouth, Southampton, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and some 
 other towns the cabs are light, easy, and quiet. In Bristol 
 they were recently heavy and slow, large and clumsy. 
 In Paris, the cabs are chiefly old broughams of the 
 gentry, with poor, slow horses; but during a great part 
 of the year the stands have abundance of light, open 
 
120 OMNIBUS OF PASCAL. 
 
 victorias, some of which are satisfactory, being easy and 
 clean. In Rome, nearly all the cabs are open victorias, 
 with hoods and a leather apron, which is, however, but a 
 poor protection in heavy rain ; the drivers are generally 
 civil and intelligent. In Naples the cabs are also 
 victorias of a smaller size, and hunof higher from the 
 ground, with little horses generally of a very sorry 
 description. Milan has very good cabs, and the best 
 omnibuses I have ever ridden in, quite like our private 
 omnibuses, and they are kept up in very good condi- 
 tion. The streets are paved at Milan very evenly, and 
 have tracks or tramways for the wheels, of long blocks 
 of granite, on a perfect level with the rest of the pave- 
 ment. These were first laid down at the beginning of 
 this century, and have probably contributed to the 
 general excellence of the carriages built at Milan. 
 This city was one of the first to make improved car- 
 riages, even before France and England. 
 
 In the year 1662 a remarkable attempt was made to 
 furnish a method of transport which should be within 
 the reach of all, a sort of Omnibus carriage. It was 
 originated and managed by Blaise Pascal, the well- 
 known author of the Lettres Provinciates. He was 
 assisted by several noblemen, who obtained a patent 
 from the king for the privilege. The design was to 
 run public coaches, carrying six persons each, along 
 certain streets in Paris, each coach keeping to its own 
 route, for the sum of five sous each passenger for the 
 whole journey. 
 
 This was commenced in March 1662 with seven 
 coaches, the drivers in a blue uniform, with the king's 
 
OMNIBUS OF 1820. 121 
 
 and city's arms embroidered upon it. The coaches 
 bore golden JleiiJ' de lys on the panels. At first they 
 were a great success, and the sister of Pascal wrote to 
 a friend, " I heard the blessings that were called down 
 on the authors of an institution so advantageous and 
 useful to the public." This was a general opinion. 
 Two more lines of route were chosen, and the number 
 of coaches increased. They were called "the carriages 
 of the five soldi." It was, however, found necessary 
 to raise the fare to six soldi, and this, with the increas- 
 ing number of hackney coaches, the prohibition of the 
 use of the omnibus by soldiers, servants, or any one in 
 livery, and probably the death of Pascal himself, at the 
 early age of thirty-nine, brought the enterprise to a 
 premature end after the coaches had run nearly two 
 years. 
 
 Stage coaches at the beginning of this century were 
 used in London to bring men of business into the city, 
 and the fare was ordinarily two shillings from Padding- 
 ton or Clapham ; they were slow and unpunctual, being 
 usually an hour over the five miles. The first 
 Omnibuses were built at Paris in 1820, were drawn 
 by three horses, and soon became much in vogue ; they 
 were never very fast, and still are slower than our 
 omnibuses, not because they cannot be driven fast, for 
 occasionally they keep up a good speed, but because 
 our neighbours attach so much importance to the way- 
 bill, and stop at certain stations to take up passengers, 
 or exchange some for the branch lines, and tickets are 
 given at these stations beforehand bearing numbers 
 which entitle the bearers to be first served. These 
 
122 SHILLIBEER's OMNIBUSES. 
 
 regulations detain the omnibuses very much ; the same 
 remarks apply also to the tramways, on which the pro- 
 gress is still slower than by the omnibuses. There is 
 at Paris an excellent service of omnibuses for the con- 
 veyance of passengers and luggage from the hotels to 
 the railway stations. They hold eight inside, and are 
 quick and easy. All over the Continent the hotels 
 have the best omnibuses ; some of them are of large 
 size, well stuffed, and lighted at night with good lamps. 
 Sometimes each hotel has its own 'bus ; sometimes one 
 will serve several hotels. 
 
 The first Omnibus was started in London in July 
 1829, by the enterprising Mr Shillibeer, who had been 
 for a short time a coachmaker at Paris. His first 
 omnibuses were drawn by three horses, and carried 
 twenty-two passengers, all inside. They ran in a 
 shorter time to the city than the old stages ; the fare 
 was a shilling from the " Yorkshire Stingo," near the 
 bottom of Lisson Grove, to the Bank. 
 
 We can imagine how unwieldy these carriages ap- 
 peared even compared with the stage coaches and 
 hackney coaches of the day, yet they soon proved a 
 success ; they followed the horses so easily that the 
 drivers were astonished. The passengers were pleased 
 by the speed, and the scheme should have been very 
 profitable to Mr Shillibeer. The first omnibuses 
 were thought too large for the streets of London, 
 and they were superseded by a smaller pair-horse 
 omnibus, carrying twelve passengers inside, and an 
 extra one or two at the end of the omnibus, by the 
 driver, but it was a very unpopular position. 
 
GENERAL OMNIBUS COMrANY. I 23 
 
 In 1849, an outside seat was added along the centre 
 of the roof, and by 1857 the omnibus had been im- 
 proved nearly to what we now have, and this was 
 chiefly done by Mr Miller, of Hammersmith. 
 
 Our present omnibus is probably the lightest and 
 strongest vehicle in the world for carrying twenty- 
 eight persons, at a speed of nearly eight miles an hour. 
 If tried with four horses on a country road they easily 
 beat the old-fashioned stage coach, either in weight, 
 capacity for carrying, durability, or safety. 
 
 Laree omnibuses are in use in GlasTOw and Man- 
 es o 
 
 Chester, and other towns where speed is not so much 
 an object as it is in London, and they have been re-in- 
 troduced in London between Charing Cross and Port- 
 land Road, and there are a few small one-horse 
 omnibuses for short distances. It is not necessary to 
 describe these vehicles at any length; it is sufficient to 
 notice that they must be light and strong for the work 
 they have to perform, and the peculiar shape enables 
 the builder to secure this. 
 
 The London General Omnibus Company has con- 
 tributed greatly to the improvement of the system of 
 public conveyance. It was founded in 1856, when 
 it took over five hundred and eighty omnibuses 
 previously in use, and belonging to a large number of 
 different owners. The company had 6,400 horses 
 the first year. Although many of their omnibuses have 
 been superseded by the metropolitan and district rail- 
 ways, and the establishment of tramway cars, they 
 have still 560 omnibuses and 6000 horses to work 
 them. Each omnibus runs about sixty miles a day. 
 
I2| AMERICAN COACHMAKING. 
 
 The company builds for its own use about thirty 'busses 
 each year ; the average weight of an omnibus is 24 cwt. 
 Most of the vehicles are now provided with brake 
 retarders, which are set in action by the foot of the 
 driver, and check the speed down hill, or help to stop 
 the omnibus to take up a passenger without so much 
 strain upon the horses as formerly. 
 
 In Vienna the public omnibuses are longer, and are 
 divided into two compartments, entered by separate 
 doors; they carry twelve inside and six outside. The 
 speed is rather slow and the appearance of most very 
 shabby. In summer other omnibuses are also used, 
 which are constructed without sides or windows, and 
 in hot weather are agreeable from the free admission 
 of air without draught. 
 
 American stage coaches began in 1 786. As early 
 as 1697 an innkeeper, named John Clapp, at the 
 Bowery, New York, kept a hackney coach for the 
 accommodation of the public; and in 1699 a law was 
 made forbiddino- fast drivinof of " slees " througrh the 
 streets of New York. The first private coach owned 
 there appears to have been in i 745 by a Lady Murray. 
 In 1786 there were but three Coachmakers' factories 
 in New York : Mr Steel, in Pine Street, Mr Jones, 
 and James and Charles Warner, in Broadway. 
 
 In 1789 six more factories had been opened in the 
 coach trade, and five livery yards had begun to keep 
 hackney coaches. In 1790 a coach was built in Phila- 
 delphia for eight hundred dollars, and there were eight 
 Coachbuilders in that city. But the usual vehicle 
 was a sort of wheel chair upon wooden springs, and 
 
FAST CABS OF VIENNA. I25 
 
 from recent accounts It seems that gigs, hung upon 
 long wooden springs, are still In use in the United 
 States and Canada. 
 
 The Historical Magazine states that In 1805 the 
 English chariot was copied in America, but that it was 
 found cheaper to order these carriages from Europe, 
 on account of the high price of material, and the ex- 
 cessive cost of wages. In 18 10 there were twenty- 
 eight factories occupied by Coachmakers in New York. 
 In 1822a New York Coachmaker, named Miln Parker, 
 had begun to make a name by building " volantes " for 
 the Cuban and Mexican markets. These volantes are 
 gigs, with hoods, perched upon two very high wheels, 
 much used by the ladles of Spanish America. 
 
 I should have mentioned that the cabs of Vienna 
 are of a superior description, consisting of victorias, 
 broughams, and landaus, as well built and finished as 
 those used by private persons. Many of these cabs 
 are drawn by two horses, and are driven at a rapid 
 rate. It would be a great benefit to London if we 
 could procure such conveyances at a shilling, or even 
 more, per mile. 
 
k 
 
 ^^' 
 
 {^, 
 
 T>^ , 
 
 
 /v^, 
 
 "^■V 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Writers on Carriages — Periodical Publications on Coaches — Tight Har- 
 nessing — Height of the Driver's Seat — Cover to the Driver's Seat — 
 American Buggy — American Trotting Waggons — Labour-Saving 
 Machines — Machines Save Time — American Magazines on Car- 
 riages — Principles of Draught — Disadvantages of Two- Wheeled 
 Vehicles— Track of Wheels— Utility of High Wheels— Side Thrust 
 and Vibration of Wheels — Pitcli of Axles and Dish of Wheels — 
 Springs — Elliptic Springs — Brake Retarders — India Rubber Brake 
 Blocks — A Load Should Rest on the Highest Wheel — Danger to a 
 Stage Coach in Low Front Wheels — Carriage Drawings of Full 
 Size — Value of being a Good Draughtsman — Mr Gladstone on 
 Design — Coachmakers Company's Library. 
 
 'T^HERE are not many books upon the art of Coach- 
 building. There is a small one in the French 
 language by F. A. Garsault, in the year 1761, which 
 contains designs of the first improvements of the 
 century in carts and carriages. 
 
 " There is also Monsieur Roubo's work entitled " The 
 Carpenter's, Cabinetmaker's, and Coachmakers Art," 
 published by the French Academy of Arts and Sciences, 
 very carefully written, with numerous illustrations ; it is 
 certainly a perfect history of the art of Coachbuilding 
 as it existed in the middle of the eighteenth century. 
 
 Nearly equal to that work is the article on car- 
 riages in the French Encyclopaedia of 1770, by Dide- 
 rot ; both deserve study and examination by modern 
 Coachbuilders. Mr Felton's work of the year 1 790 I 
 have already mentioned ; also that on ancient Greek 
 and Roman carriages by Herr von Johann Christian ' 
 Ginzrot, of Munich. This is charming for an antiqua- 
 
WRITERS ON CARRIAGES. I 27 
 
 rian, but contains no information useful to a Coach- 
 builder of to-day. 
 
 *>^ Dr Richard Lovell Edgeworth published in 1817 a 
 work upon " Public Road and Wheel Carriages," which 
 contains much that is valuable and useful to Coach- 
 builders, and it should be studied carefully by every 
 student in our art. There is in it an account of 
 the experiments he made for the Government of Great 
 Britain at Dublin, to ascertain the necessary height of 
 wheels, length of a carriage, and other important rules 
 of Coachbuilding. 
 
 n Mr T. H. Markland read an interesting paper on 
 the origin of carriages to a learned society, which is 
 published in the twentieth volume of the " Archaeo- 
 logia," accompanied with several interesting copies of 
 old pictures of carriages. 
 
 In the " History of Inventions," by Beckmann, is an 
 interesting article on coaches, which has been taken as 
 the best authority by all succeeding writers. The dates 
 he gives are not all accurate. 
 
 The next published was, I believe, that by Mr 
 W. Bridges Adams, in 1837, by Messrs C. Knight & 
 Co., of Ludgate Street, entitled, " English Pleasure 
 Carriages." This book should certainly be possessed 
 by all Coachbuilders who desire Information as to the 
 best method of forming and completing a good car- 
 riage. It is full and accurate in the rules given, and 
 the theories and mechanical principles expounded, 
 giving very ample details as to materials to be used, 
 and the manner of making the best use of them. Mr 
 Adams, who was for a time In the firm of Hobson & 
 Co., has given a description of the different carriages 
 
128 PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS ON COACHES. 
 
 used in his time, which will form a reference for future 
 ages, as M. Roubo's descriptions serve for the previous 
 century. 
 
 Since Mr Adams' work we have a valuable contri- 
 bution to the history of the art of Coachbuilding in 
 ^ the treatise by the Count Giovanni Gozzadini on " The^ 
 Origin of Coaches," published in 1864 at Bologna. • 
 This is in the Italian language ; a copy is in the 
 British Museum. We find in it a spirited defence of 
 Italy from the charge of deriving their knowledge of 
 Carriage-building from France ; and the author proves, 
 from the archives of different towns and noble families, 
 that Italy was second only to Germany in its wealth 
 and number of carriages during the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries. Besides these, we have had 
 the Carriage Builders Art Journal, which commenced 
 in 1859 and lasted for four years, a journal which 
 reflected great credit upon its editor, and is full of 
 information still worthy of our study ; the Art du -^ 
 ^Carrossier, published at Paris ; two American peri- 
 odicals ; and the Saddlers and Coachbuilders Gazette ^ 
 " in London. 
 
 The carriaees of America are so different from our 
 own, and from those of Europe, that they require 
 special attention. It is possible that their style may 
 influence in an important degree the carriages of future 
 ages. We see in them primarily " lightness." That 
 lightness in their larger carriages is carried to excess 
 most Coachbuilders will agree. We are supported in 
 this view by the fact that for some years these, such 
 as landaus, broughams, and coaches, have been materi- 
 ally modified by European types. The Americans 
 
TIGHT HARNESSING. I 29 
 
 have adopted some of the shapes of Europe, and the 
 mode of constructing the under carnages, retaining 
 their own methods of making the pole and spHnters, 
 or Whipple trees, as giving greater freedom to the 
 horses. I think this principle of allowing the horse 
 greater scope for exertion is particularly worth the 
 attention of Coachbuilders. The manner in which our 
 horses are confined by tight heavy strapping and traces, 
 by tight pole chains, by bearing reins, and the indis- 
 criminate use of blinkers to the bridles has been much 
 overdone in England. If a horse with a heavy load, 
 driven fast over slippery roads should stumble, it 
 is most difficult for him to recover himself — he falls, 
 is sometimes pushed along by the impetus of the 
 carriage, and is more or less injured in his limbs or 
 nerves by the accident, whilst it is difficult for him to 
 rise again until the harness is unstrapped, and the car- 
 riage is removed from above him. We also harness 
 our horses too closely to their work in the two-wheeled 
 carriages. We have thought only of the ease of turn- 
 ing and moving the whole vehicle in crowded or narrow 
 ways, without observing the advantage of the long 
 shafts over short shafts. If the shafts are considered as 
 levers by which the horse supports and moves the weight 
 behind him in a two-wheeled cart, it will be at once ob- 
 vious that (although whilst those levers are parallel with 
 the road) it does not so much signify whether they are 
 long or short ; yet the moment they point upwards, and 
 especially when they point downwards, the difference 
 between long and short levers is felt severely by the 
 horse. We can all of us lift a weight or support a weight 
 
I 30 HEIGHT OF THE DRIVER S SEAT. 
 
 more easily with a long lever than with a short one, and 
 it is the same with a horse. Those who have travelled 
 abroad must have noticed the great weights placed 
 upon two-wheeled carts in France and Belgium, and 
 the greater comparative distance at which the horse is 
 placed from the wheels, and yet how little the horse is 
 distressed. He manages his load more easily because 
 he does not feel the weight so heavily upon his back. 
 Many drivers in England seem to have observed this, 
 and try to ease the horse and lessen his chance of 
 stumbling by tipping the shafts up in front, but in this 
 way the horse is made to feel a pressure on the under 
 part of the body which is neither natural nor healthy. 
 I think therefore that, in future years, the growth of 
 public opinion will be in favour of longer shafts and 
 poles. This will also tend to preserve good carriages 
 from the damage they at ^present suffer from the heat 
 of the horses, and the quantity of mud which is thrown 
 by their heels upon the front of the vehicle. The 
 reins will of course have to be longer, but this cannot 
 be of much consequence ; the driver of a brougham 
 is further from the horse than the driver of a mail 
 phaeton, but we do not consider that the brougham 
 is more difficult to drive than the mail phaeton on 
 that account. 
 
 Another fashion prevalent in this and in some other 
 countries, may prove, in the opinion of the drivers of 
 the future, to be a fallacy; I mean the supposed necessity 
 for the driver to sit nearly upright, which necessitates 
 a deep boot and a clumsy thick coachman's cushion. 
 In America, Russia, and in parts of Germany the driver 
 
COVER TO THE DRIVERS SEAT. I3I 
 
 sits low, but places his feet against a bar In front of 
 the footboard, which In their carriages Is longer than 
 in ours. I have seen four horses driven very well 
 and easily in a low landau, and very powerful fast- 
 trotting pulling horses held in with apparent ease. It 
 has seemed to me that our coachmen are often in 
 danger of being pulled over by their horses ; and cer- 
 tainly, when an accident happens In a collision they are 
 easily thrown from their boxes. They do not have the 
 purchase and security that the Russian drivers especially 
 seem to possess. 
 
 Perhaps we shall learn from the American carriages 
 a few useful hints in this respect. 
 
 • The American carriage, called, I believe, a " Rock- 
 away," has a projection over the driver's seat, to shield 
 him from sun and rain. Some of the Asiatic carriages 
 have an awning for the same purpose. In Italy 
 travelling carriages often had a hood over the driver. 
 In Instances where the master of the household Hkes 
 to drive his own family carriage, it would certainly add 
 to his comfort, and that of any one sitting by him, to 
 have some useful addition of this nature. 
 
 The greatest novelty Introduced by the Americans 
 of the United States Is the light waggon, called also 
 " buggy," a name first given In England a hundred 
 years ago to a light two-wheeled cart carrying one 
 person only, and which we call a " sulky." These 
 American waggons were modelled from the old Ger- 
 man waggon, but they have been so much Improved 
 as to be scarcely recognised. The distinctive feature 
 of the German waggon was a light shallow tray, sus- 
 
132 AMERICAN BUGGY. 
 
 pended above a slight perch carriage on two grasshopper 
 springs, placed horizontally and parallel with and above 
 the front and hind axle-tree ; on the tray one or two 
 seats were placed, the whole was light and inexpensive, 
 and well adapted to a new rough country without good 
 roads. These waggons may still be found in Germany 
 and Switzerland. They were doubtless formed as a 
 development of the V-shaped agricultural waggon 
 already described in the second chapter. 
 
 American ingenuity was lavished upon these wag- 
 gons, and they have arrived at a marvel of perfec- 
 tion in lightness. The two grasshopper springs have 
 been replaced with two elliptical springs. The perch, 
 axletrees, and carriage timber have been reduced to 
 thin sticks. The four wheels are made so slender as 
 to resemble a spider's web ; in their construction of the 
 wheels the principle of the patent rim used in England 
 in 1790 has been adopted. Instead of five, six, or 
 seven felloes to each wheel, there are only two, of oak 
 or of hickory wood, bent to the shape by steam. The 
 iron work of the American buggy is very slender, 
 yet composed of many pieces, and, in order to reduce 
 the cost, these pieces of iron are mostly cast, not forged, 
 of a sort of iron less brittle than our cast iron. The 
 bodies are of light work, like what we call cabinet 
 work. The weight of the whole waggon is so small 
 that one man can lift it upon its wheels again if acci- 
 dentally upset, and two persons of ordinary strength 
 can raise it easily from the ground. The four wheels 
 are of nearly the same height, and the body is sus- 
 pended centrally between them. There are no futchels ; 
 
AMERICAN TROTTING WAGGONS. 133 
 
 the pole or shafts are attached to the front axletree 
 bed, and the front of the pole Is carried by the horses 
 just as they carry the shafts ; the splinter-bar and 
 whipple-trees are attached to the pole on swivels. 
 Some are made without hoods and some with hoods. 
 These are made so that the leather of the sides 
 can be taken off and rolled up, and the back leather 
 removed, rolled, or fixed at the bottom, a few inches 
 away from the back, the roof remaining as a sunshade. 
 The leather work is very thin and of beautifully supple 
 enamelled leather. 
 
 The perfection to which the American buggy or 
 waggon has been carried, and every part likely to 
 give way carefully strengthened, is marvellous. 
 Those made by the best builders will last a long 
 time without repair. The whole is so slender and 
 elastic that it " gives " — to use a trade term — and 
 recovers itself at any obstacle. The defect in Eng- 
 lish eyes of these carriages consists in the difficulty of 
 getting in or out by reason of the height of the front 
 wheel, and its proximity to the hind wheel — it is often 
 necessary to partly lock round the wheel to allow of 
 easy entrance. There is also a tremulous motion on 
 a hard road which is not always agreeable. It is 
 not surprising that, with the great advantages 
 of extreme lightness, ease, and durability, and with 
 lofty wheels, the American waggons travel with 
 facility over very rough roads, and there is a great 
 demand for them in our colonies. It must be remem- 
 bered that the price is small, less than the price of 
 our gigs and four-wheeled dog-carts. This cheapness 
 
134 LABOUR-SAVING MACHINES. 
 
 is attained by making large numbers to the same 
 pattern, by using cast-iron clips and couplings, and 
 stays, by the use of machinery in sawing and shaping, 
 grooving and mortising the timbers, and by the 
 educated dexterity of the American workman always 
 ready to adopt any improvement. An educated man 
 will make a nimble workman, just as an educated 
 man learns his drill from the military instructor more 
 quickly than a clown. An educated man finds out 
 the value of machinery and desires to use and im- 
 prove it. Instead of fearing its rivalry he welcomes 
 it ; he remembers that all tools, even the saw and the 
 hammer, are machines, and that the hand, the human 
 hand that guides those tools is but a perfect machine 
 obeying the guidance of the brain more quickly and in 
 a more varied manner than any man-made machine. 
 The American workman therefore uses machines 
 more and more. 
 
 In England machinery for wood-shaping is used at 
 Derby, Newcastle, Nottingham, Worcester, and other 
 towns ; and in Paris some beautiful machinery is at 
 work in coach factories. In London, I believe, it is 
 chiefly confined to patent-wheel factories. We use 
 also a few steam-driven saws, some paint-grinding 
 mills worked by hand, and drilling and punching 
 machines. But until the use of machinery is adopted 
 more generally in London it is probable that the 
 trade of building carriages for export will drift more 
 and more to the provinces and to the Continent. 
 The saving of machinery in omnibus and cab-building 
 would be great, because the patterns vary so little, 
 
MACHINES SAVE TIME. 135 
 
 and all other parts of one carriage could correspond 
 with another, and counterchange when repairs were 
 needed. 
 
 The Coachbuilders of the future will look to steam 
 and hand machinery as their great assistant in 
 cheapening the cost of first-rate carriages, in multiply- 
 ing them for the probably increased demand, and in 
 building carriages more speedily. It now takes from 
 two to three months in building a brougham, of which 
 at least five weeks are consumed simply in preparing 
 the wood and iron work, a period which might easily 
 be shortened by machinery. 
 
 With regard to the American waggons, they are so 
 completely a carriage of themselves, there is so little 
 to work upon, that we do not look for great beauty ; 
 that each of its parts should be gracefully shaped must 
 be sufficient. The shape is conventional, affording no 
 great opportunity for style. 
 
 The larger carriages of North America in which 
 there is plenty of room for style and grace are, 
 to an European eye, deficient in both. The ex- 
 tremely ugly straight and abrupt lines of the upper 
 parts of the bodies, the wriggling, uncomfortable 
 sweeps of the lower parts, the want of proportion, the 
 scanty room for the legs of the passengers, must 
 astonish all who have seen the carriao^es of other 
 countries. American wheeled carriages seem to say, 
 " We are made for lightness, and nothing else." On 
 the sledges grace, comfort, and elegance seem to 
 have been lavished, and, to use an American term, 
 " pleasing lines " and sweeps abound in the sleigh. 
 
I ^6 AMERICAN MAGAZINES ON CARRIAGES. 
 
 o 
 
 \ 
 
 In all carriages the proportions of the different 
 parts, to please permanently, must harmonise. If at 
 one time the fashion of the day is for deep quarters, 
 deep rockers, and very shallow panels, it is cer- 
 tain that the eye of the man of taste will sooner or 
 later correct this, and return to the proper depths of 
 each. If at one time the wheels are too high, a 
 Hobson will arise and cut them lower. If the curves 
 grow too rampant, and the scrolls and foliage too 
 abundant, a more cultivated taste will modify all this 
 sooner or later. It is certain that our American 
 cousins will alter the shapes of their larger carriages, 
 and continue to improve them. In Australia — where 
 the admiration for American and English carriages is 
 nearly equal — there are native carriages built which, 
 we are told, combine the lightness and durability of 
 American vehicles with the grace and comfort of 
 English carriages. It may not be so yet, but it is 
 cheering, at any rate, to hear of the attempt, and all 
 true lovers of the craft must rejoice if it succeeds. 
 
 In America the principles of draught have been 
 carefully considered and discussed in a magazine 
 specially published for Coachmakers, and which maga- . 
 zine does the greatest credit to its able editor, Mr/ 
 Ezra N. Stratton, of New York ; it is beautifully 
 illustrated, and is full of information for all branches 
 of the craft. There is another magazine in the same 
 city called the " Hub," edited by Mr George Hough- 
 ton, who visited Europe to see the recent display 
 of carriages at the Exhibitions at Vienna and London 
 in 1873. 
 
 / 
 
PRINCIPLES OF DRAUGHT. I37 
 
 The principles of draught are in these works 
 first set out with reference to the sledge. We are 
 told that, from long experience, it is found if the 
 traces are attached to the sledge so hi^h that the 
 trace is horizontal or parallel with the ground, and the 
 sledge meets with any obstacle in a rough track, the 
 runners will bite into the obstruction so as almost 
 to stop the team, but if the traces are fastened 
 lower, so as to form a straight line from the horse's 
 collar to the hind end of the runners of the sledge, then 
 they will lift, as it were, at the obstacle, and glide 
 ^easily over it. This theory appears quite correct. 
 It is more readily discovered in a sledge than in a 
 carriage upon wheels, but the principle is the same in 
 each. Again, if the runners project in advance of the 
 sledge it follows easier than if they begin to turn 
 upwards beneath the weight of the sledge. This in 
 wheel carriages is the same as if the weight of the 
 carriage were mostly on the low front wheel, instead 
 of upon the higher hind wheels. 
 
 In the New York magazine we are asked, "Why 
 will a team haul a load on a vehicle of four wheels 
 easier than the same load upon two wheels ? " and 
 " Why will a team haul a load in a circle, which they 
 cannot move straightforward ? " The obvious answer 
 is, that the same load presses on the ground in two 
 places heavier than it does upon four places, and, 
 
 * 
 
 secondly, that when moving in a circle the obstacles 
 are less felt by the inner wheels than by the outer. 
 But the magazine gives further ingenious reasons. 
 When a load is resting upon a two-wheeled vehicle 
 
138 DISADVANTAGES OF TWO-WHEELED VEHICLES. 
 
 it is very seldom placed so as to balance just right. 
 If correct for level ground, as soon as it ascends a hill, 
 or descends, the balance is unsettled. When the 
 wheels come to a hole, or a big stone, all the load 
 must be raised with two wheels and only half when 
 on four wheels. Again, an uneven road twists the 
 horse that is between the shafts from side to side, 
 when the load is on two wheels, more than when, on 
 four wheels, the fore-carriage rotates on the perch-box. 
 Again, on an incline the four-wheeler moves by its 
 own gravity, whilst the two-wheel gives additional 
 weight at once on the horse's back. To the second 
 question the magazine writer remarks that an experi- 
 enced driver takes his load up hill zigzag, and not 
 straight, and what is lost in time is gained in power. 
 On the question of the height of the splinter-bar and 
 whipple-trees, he gives his experience of twenty years 
 that they should be, as a rule, a foot below the point 
 of traction at the hocse's collar. He explains the 
 advantage of splinters (like our leading-bars) for all 
 the horses of a team, and not only the leaders, to be 
 this — that if one horse is lazy, then the others draw 
 their bars forward, and, consequently, his bar going 
 back brinors his traces tieht aofain. 
 
 With reference to the method of attaching the 
 horses close to their work in England, and some dis- 
 tance from their work on the Continent, I wish to 
 have it understood that I do not consider the Con- 
 tinental custom absolutely superior to the English 
 custom, but I consider we might adopt a middle course 
 with great advantage to the horses and passengers. 
 
TRACK OF WHEELS. I 39 
 
 It is certain that on the Continent the horses have, in 
 many instances, their traces too long, as it is that we 
 have them often too short. 
 
 There has been much controversy about the differ- 
 ence in the leno^th of the front and hind axle-trees. 
 It has been usual to make no greater difference than 
 will allow the higher wheel to follow in the same 
 track as the lower. In France it has been the 
 practice, from the year 1 846, to make the front axle- 
 tree of broughams six inches shorter. The object 
 has been to allow the front wheel to be placed nearer 
 to the body. As the front wheel of a brougham ^ 
 must turn entirely in front of the body, the 
 additional gain of three inches was very desirable. 
 Some Endish Coachbuilders have followed the 
 example of the French. There is a decided gain. 
 The eye is pleased with the proportions. The horse 
 is eased, and upon hard roads the difference of track 
 is of no consequence. On the other hand, in country 
 roads, the well-worn ruts make the running of the 
 carriage uneasy, whilst in town the driver often forgets 
 that the curbstones will strike his hind wheels sooner 
 than the front wheels, and lastly more mud is thrown 
 upon the panels. It is probable that the French style 
 will not find favour. 
 
 In coaches built in 1750 it was customary to lower 
 the hind part of the inside seats about two inches, by 
 degrees this was changed to a level seat ; recently the 
 seat has been again lowered behind, and the back 
 squabs made more upright than formerly. The 
 height of the top of the cushion to the bottom of the 
 
140 UTILITY OF HIGH WHEELS. 
 
 body has varied during the same period from four- 
 teen to eighteen inches. These sHght changes belong 
 more to the taste of the individual who uses the 
 carriage. It is useless to lay down any general rule 
 on these subjects. 
 
 If carriages had always to move along perfectly 
 smooth roads, such as a tramway of wood, iron, or 
 stone, the use of wheels in overcoming friction would 
 be their sole utility, and the height of the wheels 
 would be of small consequence. But as carriages are 
 drawn along roads with loose stones and uneven sur- 
 faces, wheels are further useful in mounting over 
 these obstacles, and it is plain that a high wheel does 
 this more easily than a low one. To demonstrate "^ 
 this, let us suppose a shallow ditch or gulley of a foot 
 wade and two inches deep, a wheel two feet high 
 would sink into this and touch the bottom, but a 
 wheel three feet high would only sink an inch, and a 
 wheel four feet six inches high would sink only half 
 an inch, on account of their greater diameters. Con- 
 sequently, whilst the large wheel would have to be 
 lifted by force of pulling only half an inch, the smallest 
 wheel must be lifted two inches, and with the wheel 
 must also be lifted a portion of the load of the entire 
 carriage. Again, the long spoke acts as a longer 
 lever, the point of draught being the axle, which is 
 higher from the ground in the higher wheel, and 
 again assists in overcoming the obstacle, as the angle 
 of incidence is so much less. 
 
 To learn that the leverage power of a high wheel 
 is very great we need only consider the advantages 
 
SIDE THRUSr AND VIBRATION OF WHEELS. I4I 
 
 gained by a large wheel in locomotives and in bicycles. 
 In practice we find that wheels from 4 feet to 5 
 feet are sufficient for large carriages, and from 3 feet 
 upwards for ordinary vehicles. 
 
 The present method of constructing all wheels 
 which have to carry considerable weight will doubt- 
 less continue to prevail. The timbers of which they 
 are composed, viz., elm for the stocks, ash and hickory 
 for the rims, and oak or acacia for the spokes in 
 Europe and America, have been found the best for 
 many years. Wheels of the present make must also 
 be dished. The tendency of a wheel is always to 
 become upright, and when it becomes so by the 
 gradual hammering out of the tyre to a greater length, 
 and the gradual sinking of the spokes further into the 
 nave and rim by wear and tear, then the wheel goes 
 to pieces. If any one will watch the manner in which 
 the materials of a mop become straight as it is twirled 
 round, he will understand that the same centrifugal 
 force compels wheels to become upright. Secondly, 
 as a wheel runs along a road it is forced from side to 
 side by the uneven surface, the uneven draught of the 
 horses, and the rapid motion, which latter frequently 
 causes the wheel to jump over the road instead of 
 pressing equally over all its circumference. Then we 
 dish our wheels, not only to keep the tyre tight as 
 long as possible, but also to resist the lateral thrust, 
 which in a perfectly upright wheel would soon 
 force the spokes out of the naves. There is one ex- 
 ception to this rule in the American spider wheel ; in 
 this the spokes are not larger than a man's finger, 
 
142 PITCH OF AXLES AND DISH OF WHEELS. 
 
 and being of elastic wood, bend like a reed under the 
 lateral thrust, and recovering themselves again will 
 endure, whilst the unbending oaken spoke would be 
 unrooted. 
 
 The late Lord Palmerston, whose vigorous common 
 sense grappled many a problem which would be sup- 
 posed quite out of his line, was fond of talking about 
 carriages. He considered that wheels should have 
 the spokes dished, but that the arm of an axle-tree 
 should be nearly straight, so that the outside rim of 
 the wheel should be upright ; and would illustrate the 
 soundness of his views by quoting the wheels of 
 artillery waggons and pony phaetons. It became 
 necessary to remind his Lordship that we pitch the 
 arms of the axles for two reasons ; first, in order to 
 keep the box of the axle pressing against the strong 
 shoulder instead of against the weak linch-pin ; and 
 secondly, because the wheels, when they are wider at 
 the top of the tyres than at the bottom on the road, 
 will throw the mud away from, instead of into the 
 carriage, or on the panels. 
 
 There is no absolute rule for the dish of the wheel 
 or the pitch of the arm of an axle. Experience and 
 custom point out to a builder what is best for different 
 carriages and different countries. It is sufficient to say 
 that a spoke two feet in length will last longest when 
 not dished more than its own width in its length, and 
 that the pitch of the axle arms, to ensure chiefly the 
 duration of the wheels, should not be more than will 
 leave the spokes pointing towards the ground, not 
 upright, but narrower at the naves than at the rims by 
 
SPRINGS. 143 
 
 three-quarters of an inch when the spokes are two feet 
 lono-. This rule is simply for the duration of the 
 wheel as long as possible, without reference to any 
 other consideration, which the Coachbuilder, however, 
 may find overrule what I have said. 
 
 If the axles of a carriage are rather stronger than is 
 necessary — having regard to their length between the 
 shoulders, and the weight they have to carry — it will 
 be found to have a considerable influence upon the 
 carriage, which will follow more steadily and quietly 
 for the additional strength. 
 
 I do not propose to enter in this series of lectures at 
 any length upon the subject of Springs. I think we 
 are far from, having attained perfection either in the 
 manufacture or shape of springs for carriages. 
 
 It may have been remarked that the first springs 
 were all elbow springs, placed in different positions, 
 for different carriages. A double elbow or hori- 
 zontal spring of a length of four feet seems to give 
 the most easy play of any shape, and if made nearly 
 straight at first wears little in the course of time 
 compared with the elliptical shape. 
 
 In perch carriages we have abandoned the nearly 
 upright spring for the C spring, chiefly because the C 
 spring is of a more elegant shape, and also resists wear 
 better than the elbow or whip spring, which was found 
 to break away from its supports. 
 
 In elliptical springs the action of the steel plates is 
 precisely contrary to the action in the C spring ; in both 
 the back plates are similar in shape, but the shorter 
 plates in the C spring are on the inner side of the 
 
144 ELLIPTIC SPRINGS. 
 
 curve, and in the elliptical they are on the outer side 
 of the curve. A careful consideration of the effects of 
 this variation may lead to a new combination which 
 will be more satisfactory in its results. The elliptical 
 springs made by Hobson were doubly compassed, and 
 the same shape may be seen on some of the public 
 omnibuses. A carriage may be hung to be very easy 
 by using double horizontal springs, one under the 
 other. At the Exhibition at Brussels this year (1876) 
 the most easy hand ambulances on wheels were con- 
 structed in this manner. 
 
 In one elliptical spring you do not have the advan- 
 tage of two horizontal springs, because the ends are 
 in the elliptical spring united, and if a coupling is 
 substituted at the hind end it is found in practice 
 difficult to keep it upright. 
 
 Mr Adams, in his work on " Pleasure Carriages," 
 considers it a mistake to hollow out each steel plate of 
 a spring. I am quite of his opinion that this process 
 of hammering leaves the inner surface of a steel plate 
 very uneven, thereby harbouring moisture and dirt, 
 and rendering the plate liable to fracture. I should 
 recommend, on the -contrary, that each plate should be 
 ground or filed quite smooth on both sides. If careful 
 tempering were generally the rule among Coach- 
 builders, I am convinced that there would be fewer 
 broken springs, and less complaint of rust accumulating 
 between the plates. 
 
 The use of brake Retarders to the hind wheels has 
 now for some years superseded the use of drag-shoes. 
 It is evident that the action upon two wheels is better 
 
BRAKE RETARDERS. 145 
 
 than on one only; the brake can be appHed or removed 
 without stopping the carriage, which had to be done 
 with the dragshoe; it can be relaxed in its hold in an 
 undulating country, and the horses can proceed at 
 speed up the next hill without the check formerly 
 necessary whilst the drag-shoe was removed. 
 
 The brake was invented very early, and was in use 
 in the coal trucks upon the first tramways in Nor- 
 thumberland, long before steam was used to draw 
 them. They are now of two sorts : screw brakes, 
 which are used on railways in England and all sorts of 
 carriages on the Continent, and the old lever brake, 
 which was the original form, and which is still the 
 favourite amone Enelish coachmen. In Scotland the 
 lever handle is often superseded by the treadle, or 
 foot-brake, w^hich has been selected by the General 
 Omnibus Company. 
 
 In deciding upon the exact size and shape of the 
 details of the brake a Coachbuilder is necessarily 
 guided by the shape of the vehicle to which it is 
 to be applied. It is necessary to attend to the fol- 
 lowing points : the lever arm that presses upon the 
 rim of the wheel should be short, both for quick action 
 and also for strength. The handle should be long, 
 that the coachman may have greater power in applying 
 the brake. The whole of the handle and the connect- 
 ing-rod irons should be made somewhat weak to allow 
 a little spring in them. If they are made too strong 
 they wilt be rigid, and not fit with and favour the 
 motion of the carriage and play of the springs. If a 
 quick action is desired, the inner half of the levers on 
 
146 INDIA RUBBER BRAKE BLOCKS. 
 
 the wheels should be short, or long if a slow action is 
 preferred. The blocks which press upon the wheels 
 have been variously made of cast-iron, wrought iron, 
 brass, wood, india-rubber, and leather. The wood 
 is the best for hold on the iron tyre and freedom from 
 noise and smell, but it wears out fast. India-rubber, 
 especially for light carriages, seems most satisfactory. 
 
 The use of the brake is very much overdone on the 
 Continent, especially in Germany, — it is put on for 
 such sliofht declines that the unfortunate horses are 
 always kept up to their collars, and never get the ease 
 that we 8five them oroino- down hill. 
 
 There is an error which is deeply rooted among 
 Coachbuilders and the public who use carriages, which 
 consists in the idea that the draught is diminished 
 by placing the front part of the under-carriage as 
 far back as possible. Intelligent men who have thought 
 on the subject, and watched the actual working of this 
 idea, have long been convinced of the error, but much 
 remains to be done to convince everyone of its fallacy. 
 We have already seen that with large wheels the 
 draught is less. If a load has to be placed on a 
 four-wheeled vehicle it should be placed in relation 
 to the front and hind wheels, so as to place the heavier 
 part of the weight upon the higher wheels. To obtain 
 this result it is sufficient to bring the hind carriage 
 part as far under the body as it will work with comfort 
 and safety, in order that as little weight as possible 
 shall rest on the fore carriage part. English Coach- 
 makers have been working at this for thirty years, but 
 for the most part blindly. They have copied well-known 
 
A LOAD SHOULD REST ON THE HIGHEST WHEEL. 1 47 
 
 builders in construction as well as shape; they hear 
 that these well-known firms' carriages run and follow 
 very lightly, and if they would copy accurately they 
 would obtain the same reputation. One firm should 
 be specially mentioned as having for years been careful 
 to build carriages to run lightly. As long ago as 1 846 
 Messrs Laurie and Marner brouofht the hind wheel of 
 their carriages well forward, and advanced the position 
 and raised the height of the fore wheel, thus balancing 
 the weight properly, or rather as properly as the shape 
 of the landau and barouche will allow. 
 
 There are many carriages, however, such as stan- 
 hope and mail phaetons, omnibuses, waggonettes, and 
 pony phaetons, in which it is easy to advance the hind 
 wheel, so as to carry the principal part of the whole 
 weight of the body. This has been done, but then 
 many persons have erroneously imagined that the car- 
 riage followed the horse easily, not because the weight 
 was on the higher wheel, but because the wheels were 
 so near together, and they have pressed the Coach- 
 builder to keep the front wheels backwarder, instead 
 of rather placing them forwarder, as they should have 
 done. In the stage coach we see a conspicuous 
 example of this great error, and some of the drags 
 more recently built are the worst. If the roads round 
 London were not so good as they are, or if the roofs 
 of drags were loaded with luggage, we should hear of 
 more accidents to the summer amateur coaches than 
 we do at present. Most of the weight of the stage 
 coach or drag is upon the front wheel, which is much 
 the lowest, and it is so far back under the body that if 
 
I4S DANGER TO A STAGE COACH IN LOW FRONT WHEELS. 
 
 the horses gallop the coach begins to swing, and a very 
 small obstruction is sufficient to upset the whole. 
 Compare this with a similar load upon an omnibus, 
 with four horses at a rapid pace on a bad road. The 
 comparative security and safety of the latter vehicle is 
 at once apparent. If a coach and omnibus could be 
 fairly tried together, it would be found that the omni- 
 bus with three horses could beat the coach with four 
 horses, besides doing its work with much greater 
 safety, and turning in a much narrower road. It is 
 right to mention that the idea, or a great part of the 
 above, has been contributed by a foreign Coachbuilder, 
 in whose views I entirely concur. It is as easy to make 
 a stage coach as safe and nearly as light in running 
 as an omnibus, by making it with much higher front 
 wheels, and carrying them more forward. If it is 
 considered essential to be able to turn in a narrow 
 road, it would be easy to cut a small arch in the boot, 
 which would allow the wheel to turn as far as the perch, 
 Instead of only half way to the perch as at present. 
 
 The reason given why drag-coaches are made with 
 the front wheel so far back is, that it was necessary in 
 order to bringf the horses close to their work, to use 
 a phrase that has been much misapplied, and also to 
 bring them under the driver's hands, who prefers the 
 reins short, but it would be quite possible to build a 
 coach in which the driver might be over the horses, 
 and yet have the advantage of higher front wheels, 
 and properly placed for carrying the load. 
 
 The Coachmaker may often gather a useful hint by 
 studying the construction of carts, which have to carry 
 
CARRIAGE DRAWINGS OF FULL SIZE. 1 49 
 
 heavier loads than carriages, often at an equal speed, 
 and certainly not with better horses. 
 
 If the wheels of a vehicle are of equal height, the 
 load should rest in the middle of the wheels. When 
 the front wheels meet with an obstacle in the road the 
 horse will only have to lift half the weight of the 
 load, the other half being on the hind wheels. When 
 the hind wheels come to the same obstruction again 
 only half the load will have to be lifted, the other half 
 being on the front wheels. But, as in English car- 
 riages, the wheels are very rarely of equal height, we 
 should proportion the load more upon the higher 
 wheels than upon the lower. As long ago as 1770 a 
 Coachmaker, named Joseph Jacob, of St. Mary Axe, 
 wrote thus: — " A load should always be placed in a 
 waggon over the highest wheels, and as low as possible." 
 This was the Mr Jacob who assisted at some experi- 
 ments made at that time in the Strand, by direction of 
 the Society of Arts, for the purpose of ascertaining the 
 proper height of wheels. Mr Cuthbert Clarke was 
 rewarded with a fifteen guinea gold medal. Mr Jacob 
 had also received a twenty guinea medal for improved 
 carriage springs. 
 
 During my lectures I exhibited some full-sized draw- 
 ings of carriages made by M. Dupont, of Paris, to 
 show how completely a Coachbuilder at a distance 
 might be guided in building carriages by his designs. 
 These drawings are quite works of art, and by means 
 of them M. Dupont is educating the artistic taste of 
 every manufactory which procures his aid. How much 
 better our carriaees would be if we worked from draw- 
 
I 50 VALUE OF BEING A GOOD DRAUGHTSMAN. 
 
 ings as carefully planned out and executed as these. 
 Many of our artisans could, with a little instruction, 
 draw quite as well, and by degrees would learn to draw 
 with as much artistic taste and sense of the beauti- 
 ful. Some artisans are now being instructed in the 
 art of design, and I trust the day is not far distant 
 when every workman will see that his son learns draw- 
 ing as part of his education, and as the essential 
 preliminary to any technical education which is to 
 follow. The power of producing on paper the images 
 figured on the brain is an important part and factor in 
 all the arrangements of our social life, whether those 
 images and imaginations, and reasons and problems, 
 are traced with the pen in writing or with the pencil 
 in a drawing, by both we record, we discipline, and we 
 clear up more or less the busy thoughts that nature or 
 surrounding circumstances have gifted and endowed 
 us with. On the Continent, and especially in Paris, 
 this has long been understood, and workmen have been 
 carefully educated for this work. And, thanks to the 
 department of Science and Art of South Kensing- 
 ton, thousands of students have past through the 
 schools of desio-n scattered all over EnMand. If the 
 artisans of the Coach Trade would follow the example 
 of those engaged in the china and pottery trades, 
 they would meet with the same success, and restore 
 their fame for Coachbuilding to its former great- 
 ness. 
 
 Last year, in November, Mr Gladstone gave an 
 address at Greenwich upon the study of science and 
 art. I may be permitted to record here how in 
 
MR GLADSTONE ON DESIGN. I5I 
 
 that address he eloquently pressed upon his hearers 
 that : — 
 
 " Beauty could and should be combined with economy and utihty 
 in all our industrial products ; beauty was indeed a great element of 
 utility ; the trade of France was founded upon the beauty of that 
 which it produces, and the economical application of means to ends ; 
 and that is due to the long culture and traditional application of the 
 national mind to beauty in their products. The human nature in 
 which we are cast was not endowed with all its marvellous faculties 
 for nothing, and it is the due development of those faculties that 
 constitutes the true and full idea of the duty of man in this world. 
 It has been too much the habit in this country to regard beauty of 
 production as something quite apart from usefulness of production, 
 and at the same time to look upon the beauty which may result from 
 human labour as a luxury reserved for the rich alone. But beauty 
 has a commercial value, and its multiplication should form part of 
 human education. We are all still at school, both young and old. We 
 should then endeavour to work all things into beautiful forms, as did 
 the ancient Greeks, so that artistic skill and love of the beautiful 
 became an inheritance with them, formed part of their nature, accom- 
 panied their daily life, and entered into every kind of production. 
 This is a time when all who are concerned in the welfare of the 
 country feel it to be desirable that efforts should be made to give 
 instruction, so as to improve the knowledge of the British artistic 
 workman, and enable him to hold his position in the markets of 
 the world. I confess," said Mr Gladstone, " I should like to see a 
 great deal of this work done by the London Companies. That they 
 should strive to make themselves illustrious in the country by ful- 
 filling the purpose for which they were founded, namely, developing 
 the crafts, trades, and mysteries of this great country (as the Society 
 of Arts has laboured to do for so many long years) to promote beauty 
 and economy in the production of works of industry. But I believe," 
 Mr Gladstone continued, " that it is really in the individual that the 
 secret of the whole matter lies. It is not as a body that you fill the 
 benches of this room ; you are here as individuals, and it is your 
 thoughts and convictions, your own resolute efforts to improve, and 
 energetically to direct your labours to the attainment of the highest 
 end that constitutes the real resource to which we have to look. No 
 auxiliaries can supplant, they can only aid individual exertion. Each 
 
152 COACHMAKERS COMPANY'S LIBRARY. 
 
 individual worker may have a notion of doing his work in the way 
 which is most useful, but he ought also to have a sense of the differ- 
 ence between what is more useful and less useful, and what is more 
 beautiful and the less beautiful. Now the sense of beauty is not, 
 under natural circumstances, the favoured inheritance of a few only, 
 it is meant to be, should be, and may be the universal inheritance ^of 
 civilised mankind. It ought, therefore, to be the aim of the humblest 
 artisan to acquire by study and thought such a sense of beauty as 
 may elevate the character of the work he performs. And it will at 
 the same time be found that as he developes beauty in his work he 
 will raise his self-respect, he will raise himself, his family, and his 
 class infinitely more than by any effort to get out of his position, either 
 for himself or his children." 
 
 I trust I shall be excused for making- this long 
 extract from Mr Gladstone's speech, but it expresses 
 so much and in such true and kindly language, that I 
 felt I ought to add his well-considered words to my 
 History of the Art of Coachbuilding. 
 
 The fine series of photographs of State and other 
 Carriages, and the valuable library of the Coach and 
 Coach-harness Makers Company are open every 
 Saturday afternoon. Tickets of admission may be 
 obtained at the principal Coachbuilders of London. 
 
 London ; Kerby & Endean. 190 Oxford Street, 
 Printers aiid Publishers. 
 
NEW BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED 
 
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 KERBY & ENDEAN. 
 
 LENDING UNTO THE LORD; 
 
 Or, Three Days in the Life of Christian Furchtegott Gellert, Poet and 
 Professor in Leipsic University. By Baron Conway and J. 
 EussELL Endean. Illustrated from Oi'iginal Designs by the Hon. 
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 A Poem. By Robert Blake. Crown 8vo, toned, cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
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 DAILY DEVOTION: 
 
 Or, Prayers Framed on the Successive Portions of the New Testament 
 as Appointed in the New Lectionary, to which are added Forms of 
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 CHRISTIAN CONSOLATION: 
 
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 DISCOURSES ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
 
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