Brougham carriage

A brougham (say: broom, or brohm) was a light, horse-drawn vehicle of the 19th century. This carriage is entirely closed. Passengers entered through a center door on its side. It had four wheels. Two people could sit within it, facing each other. A box seat in the front was provided for the driver and a footman or other passenger. There was a glazed front window.

It was designed to be drawn by a single horse.
Upper class families used them during bad weather.
Electric Broughams came later.

Getting to know you...

I discovered this through Chanticleer.
Here's how it works: The rules are simple.
1. Link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.

4. Tag six random people at the end of your blog entry.
5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs.



Six unimportant things about me:
1. I have two cats named Chewy and Marla.
2. I studied French in college.
3. I can name all the presidents-forward, backward, or any before/after.
4. I like every vegetable I've ever tried.
5. When I was little, I lived in a huge, old house behind a mortuary.
6. I'm older than my husband.
I'm tagging:

Chanticleer

Curricle: charming owner driven cart

Popular in the early 19th century (England, France, Italy) with fashionable young men who wanted to drive themselves was the curricle, a light, elegant, two-wheeled chaise or chariot. It could hold the driver and a passenger. This vehicle was drawn by a carefully-matched pair of horses tied together by an "I" shaped curricle bar.

Curricles were known for the accidents-if one horse fell, the other was likely to follow. It had a single axle, and a light dashboard hung with a couple of lamps.
By the mid 19th century, this vehicle began to lose popularity.

The Victoria (carriage)

Victorias are elegant, single-horse, coachman-driven vehicles. It was popular with the wealthy. The body is low, and it has a forward-facing seat for two people. The driver's seat is raised, and it has a calash top.

Odds and Ends

Hello, this week, I'm going to put up some little tidbits concerning carriages.
-Carriages go back to the Bronze Age (such as the two-wheeled cart, wagons etc.)
-Carriages that had glass windows arrived on the scene about four centuries ago in Paris
-At first, two horses drew coaches, but eventually, more were used
-the first hackney coaches in London, used for hire, were used in the early 17th century
-carriages were used on the continent (Europe) as early as the 13th century
-vehicles to transport passengers were first seen in England in 1555
-A coach is a closed four-wheeled carriage with two inside seats and an elevated outside driver's seat and is thought to have come from Hungary
-before steel springs were applied to wheel carriages, bodies of vehicles were suspended by long leather straps
-in 1804, Obadiah Elliot patented plan for hanging vehicles on elliptical springs

Berlin (carriage)

The fast and light Berlin (or Berline) is a big four-wheeled, two-seated, covered travelling carriage. It had a hooded rear seat, separate from the body.

It's suspended body hung from springs. The vehicle's deeply curved perches (cranes)permitted the body to hang close to the ground. Being a lighter vehicle, it was therefore less likely to overturn than other carriages-a convenient way to travel. Hoods let down during inclement weather.

It was popular in Germany during the 17th and 18th centuries, then in England during the 18th century.

Picture found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Royal_Berline.JPG

Barouche: The fancy carriage of the early 1800s

An open carriage, the fashionable 19th century Barouche came from the earlier Calash (caleche). It was shallow and four-wheeled with two double seats inside facing each other.The collapsible hood folding bellows-like came over the back seat, and outside, driver's box seat stood elevated. Horses of quality led it on summer leisure rides.

The terms barouchet or barouchette referred to a light barouche.