Lilian Baker Carlisle

“ Considerable knowledge was required as to style of harness, liveries, purpose, details and customs. The description of one of the most costly late 19th century stables here in the United States reads like a tale from the Arabian nights. The town coach barn of this owner contained a coach, a brougham, a hansom, a runabout and an opera wagon, but the carriage house at his country estate was awe-inspiring. It sheltered [iv] dozens of vehicles of every sort, and a corps of stablemen was employed to maintain these vehicles in first class condition. ”

“ Although most of the carriages that once crowded the roads have disappeared, some fine examples still exist in America on large estates in hay-filled barns and dusty carriage houses, and it is to be hoped that these few remaining vehicles will be rescued and placed in museums where they will be preserved for the generations that come after us as living mementoes of our past. Even the printed material, old carriage maker’s catalogues, plans, illustrated magazines, scrapbooks, wall charts, technical and account books—once present in every carriage maker’s shop, has all but disappeared. ”

“ The trot is the most comfortable for the driver and the easiest gait for the horse in harness, and then too the New England Puritan conscience could be quieted with the explanation that light harness racing was in reality an attempt to improve the breed of trotters. Races at local fair grounds gave breeders a chance to see their home-grown stock in action and competition with the “experts” on tour. A prize-winning performance on the track always influenced prices, and many a farmer dreamed of raising a trotter that would one day bring him real fame. ”

“ PARK DRAG Body painted dark olive green, green gear. Interior trimming is in green leather; exterior trimming is in tan cord.
The park drag resembles the road coach but is a lighter vehicle and is intended for four-in-hand driving by the owner-coachman for his own amusement and that of his friends.
The Coaching Club of New York each year sponsored Meets for their members. Sometimes these drives occupied an hour or so and the coaches returned to point of departure and there separated; on other occasions the coaches went to some out-of-town place for lunch or dinner and returned independently. ”

“ When warm weather came, society moved out of the city en masse, and their [v] carriages went along too. The summer carriage parade at Newport, Rhode Island was reputed to be even finer and more glittering than the New York “promenade on wheels.”
In the United States, it was not only the people of wealth and fashion who owned carriages, and herein lies one of the great differences in our attitude and that of the countries abroad. We developed the rockaway, surrey, buggy and buckboard; vehicles that could be produced inexpensively ”

“ Francis W. Ware, author of Driving agreed, for as he said, a four would keep each other straight, but any bungling with the reins would surely be communicated to the tandem team and upset their work.
Gift of the Webb family in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Seward Webb
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TANDEM DRIVING
“Let anyone while he is young and has strong and steady nerves, a quick eye and patience to learn his business thoroughly, try it, and perhaps he will not repent. Let him begin by learning the uses, places and combination of the harness to the last buckle. ”

“ The true buckboard has been defined as a light four-wheeled vehicle in which the body and springs are replaced by long, elastic boards, supported at the ends directly by the axles. The driver’s comfort, as well as that of his passengers, depended upon the resiliency of the boards themselves, and the buckboard proved a far more comfortable vehicle for long trips than might be expected. ”

“ As today there is an automobile for each American, no matter what his financial standing, so in those days there was a carriage manufactured especially for his needs, and one of the mail-order houses advertised that its volume of business was so great that it expected to make only $1 profit on its least expensive model. ”

“ Also known as outside car, Irish side car, jogging cart. In 1889, the Duke of Beaufort writing his volume on Driving for the Badminton Library Series pointed out that “the outside car, so common in the land of Ireland itself, has made little way elsewhere. It may be described as a dog cart body hung sideways, but the similitude goes no further, for it is suspended on a pair of low wheels which revolve inside, or rather under the body.... The driver sometimes sits on a separate seat in front and at other times on one of the side seats. ”

“ Forder, another coachbuilder, redesigned it in 1873 and it became a popular carriage for hire, both in this country and in even greater numbers in England where it was known as the “gondola of London.” Limited amounts of luggage could be carried on top of the cab and in the space between the apron and dashboard.
This hansom, as evidenced by the baggage rail on the roof, was a public conveyance, but these vehicles also found a place in town stables as private cabs during the latter years of the 19th century. Essentially a man’s carriage for town use, they were often finished in flash colors. ”

“ In 1883 a lever permitting the whole body of the vehicle to be moved backwards or forwards was patented. This simple device, located directly below the driver’s seat, allowed the driver to change the center of gravity of his dog cart, depending upon whether two or three persons were riding as passengers, thereby easing the load on the pony or cob drawing the cart.
This dog cart was built by Fred F. French, carriage maker of Boston, Massachusetts. ”

“ The harness was elaborate and included breeching (that part of the harness which passes around the hind quarters of the horse) and loin straps.
This calèche was ordered in Paris, France by Dr. and Mrs. Webb in 1890 from the famed French carriage maker, Million et Guiet. It was used in New York until about 1900 with the two superb Webb horses “Chilcat” and “Chilcoot,” (17.1 and 17.2 hands respectively) . After the death of one of these perfectly matched big horses, the calèche stood unused in the Webb coach barn for many years. ”

“ The body of this two-wheeled Canadian example rests upon leather braces which are suspended from C-shaped supports.
This vehicle displays an extensive use of striping for decoration, but in a restrained manner. “The variety of styles in striping are limited,” said I. D. Ware in his instructions to carriage painters in 1875, “When we discard those which lessen rather than increase the beauty of the work. We first had the fine line enlivened by being dotted at the ends of each stripe ... gradually changes took place in the quantity of striping run on as the desire arose for gaudy colors. ”

“ This type of vehicle is also known as a Slat-side Phaeton and is described by Francis C. Underhill (Driving for Pleasure) as a modification of a vehicle used on the other side of the water in a lighter construction. It is intended for private use in the country with a team or a pair and would have been found among the vehicles in the coach barn of a connoisseur of carriages. The body work on the shooting cart is similar to that found on the four-wheel dog cart.
This cart was built in 1894 for Dr. Webb by Brewster and Company of New York. ”

“ This buckboard was used by the Webb children and was pony-drawn. It was made by J. B. Dubuc who was the Shelburne town blacksmith, and whose smithy is now located at the museum, having been moved to the grounds in January of 1956 from its location next to the railroad tracks.
Dubuc came to Shelburne in 1869 from Canada and with his capital of $55 and his trade as a blacksmith set himself up in business. He was the owner of a livery stable, paint shop, harness and carriage shop and operated the meat market here in Shelburne as a sideline. ”

“ Americans have adopted some of the shapes of Europe and the European mode on constructing the under-carriages, retaining their own method of making the pole and splinters, as giving greater freedom to the horses. ”

“ SHELBURNE, VERMONT
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BY THE LANE PRESS, BURLINGTON, VERMONT
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Can You Remember ...
In the 1900 United States census, there were listed 4,571 vehicle-constructing concerns. They employed 126,000 men and paid yearly wages to the amount of $70,000,000. Fifty years later one or two specialists still manufacture a limited variety of vehicles, but during our lifetime the carriage trade has vanished.
Persons now living rarely conceive of themselves as a part of history and seldom make provisions for the perpetuation of examples and data of their era. ”

“ The concord wagon was the name given to this type of vehicle, although companies other than the Concord, New Hampshire firm of Downing and Abbot manufactured them. In 1813 Lewis Downing started building vehicles in Concord. He formed a partnership with Stephen Abbot, which was later dissolved. Abbot continued manufacturing vehicles and later a new company, Abbot-Downing Company of Concord, New Hampshire was formed. Stage coaches, mountain wagons, horse-drawn barges, even horse-drawn street railway cars were manufactured at the Abbot-Downing shops over the years. ”

“ Trimmed with leather seat, green satin roof interior and padded seat back.
The rockaway was a popular close carriage of both the affluent and not so wealthy American family; in the year 1900, for instance, only 846 broughams (a comparable close carriage) were built as compared with 3,166 rockaways turned out that year.
This vehicle is elegantly fitted out with leather card case, as well as clock case built into the interior lining. It was used by the Wells family of Burlington, Vermont, and was a product of Kimball Brothers Company, Boston; Z. Thompson & Bros. Builders, Portland, Maine. ”

“ This light racing cart was found in Westford, Vermont and shows the webbed seat and pencil-slim spokes of the early skeleton wagon.
Rural communities here in Vermont have enjoyed harness racing for many years, and Bertha Oppenheim (Winged Seed) depicted the Fourth of July races held in the early years of this century in Ferrisburg, a small community just south of the Shelburne Museum. ”

“ The racing carts, decorated with many colors, lined the track. The “trots” were exciting, but the free-for-all race was the climax of the celebration.
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TUB CART Natural color varnish; metal-rimmed ties. Trimmed in brown leather.
Each of the Webb children in turn learned to drive in this little cart dating from about 1883 and made to Dr. Webb’s specifications by a local wheelwright. Wheelwrights often made entire vehicles and served as village carpenters.
Wheel-making consisted of several processes—the hub was first turned by hand lathe and then mortised to take the spokes. ”

“ Located on Route 7, just seven miles south of Burlington, Vermont, the Shelburne Museum is open each year from May 15th to October 15th.
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CARRIAGES FOR AN OWNER’S DRIVING
MAIL PHAETON Dark green; cane work at back of seat. Trimmed in eggshell broadcloth.
Styles in carriages, like women’s fashions, changed continuously. Speaking of the mail phaeton, a massive, masculine pair-horse carriage, the Duke of Beaufort in 1899 said: “They are much in use by noblemen and gentlemen and frequently employed by bachelors for long posting journeys in England as well as the Continent. ”