Carriage

The classic definition of a carriage is a four-wheeled horse-drawn private passenger vehicle with leaf springs (elliptical springs in the 19th century) or leather strapping for suspension, whether light, smart and fast or large and comfortable. Compare the public conveyances stagecoach, charabanc, and omnibus.

Types of horse-drawn carriages

An almost bewildering variety of horse-drawn carriages existed. Ingram's book lists 325 types with a short description of each. By the early C19 one's choice of carriage was only in part based on practicality and performance, it was also a statement status and subject to changing fashions. The types of carriage included the following:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The names of many have now been relegated to obscurity but some have been adopted to describe automotive car body styles: coupé, victoria, Brougham, landau and landaulet, cabriolet, (giving us our cab), phaeton, and limousine— all once denoted particular models of carriages.

Related Topics:
Car body style - Brougham - Landau - Cab - Phaeton - Limousine

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~