Brougham, 1895. Brewster & Co., New York City. The prototype of the brougham was designed by Lord Peter Henry Brougham of England in 1838, and first made by the London coach builder Robinson. These four-wheeled, enclosed vehicles remained popular in Europe and the US throughout the carriage era.

 

The Carriage Era in New York

History and Aesthetics at PaineWebber

NEW YORK CITY - The history and aesthetics of the horse-drawn carriage are explored in PaineWebber Art Gallery's new exhibition, "The Carriage Era in New York." On view through September 10, the exhibition is organized by The Museums at Stony Brook on Long Island, New York. The show features eight historic horse-drawn vehicles as well as vintage photographs, prints, and artifacts drawn from the museum's permanent collection.

In Nineteenth Century New York City, a variety of horse-drawn carriages, from simply constructed buggies to opulent Broughams, filled the streets. The construction of Central Park between 1857 and 1876, with its newly laid carriage drives, gave city dwellers the opportunity to enjoy the scenery and to be seen in their carriages. Hansom cabs and horse-drawn omnibuses vied for space along Broadway, and lightweight road wagons engaged in informal races along Harlem Lane.

The exhibition invites the visitors to experience New York's carriage era through the different styles of carriages, coaching appointments, photographs, horse clothing and accouterments, and historic posters and prints on view.

Personal Carriages

Until the middle of the Nineteenth Century, a carriage for personal transportation was a luxury limited to wealthy patrons. However, the introduction of machinery into carriage shops and factories enabled workers to produce standardized parts in high volume, reducing the cost of a certain class of vehicles and making carriages affordable to a larger portion of the population.

Vehicles such as the buggy were mass-produced and sold for as little as $25. Referred to as "emblems of wheeled democracy," light-weight buggies and road wagons were not only practical and affordable for sensible commuters, but also favored by "trotting cracks," those with a love of speed. When harnessed to a fast horse, these buggies were used for informal racing. On view in the exhibition is an 1880 Road Wagon made by John Curley of Brooklyn and an early lightweight skeleton wagon.

Symbols

Carriages also were symbols of social position and taste, and the design of the profiles was the aesthetic criteria. Carriage manufacturers produced beautifully designed conveyances that created an impressive public display and showed the owner as a person of cultivated taste.

On view is an elegant turn-of-the-century Park Phaeton carriage as well as a Currier & Ives print (1869) of Central Park.

Commercial Carriages

The streets of Nineteenth Century New York also were filled with commercial vehicles. Public horse-drawn coaches provided transportation for the masses, and market wagons, business wagons and other trade vehicles distributed goods and provisions around the city. The exhibition will feature a Perfume and Extracts Wagon (1900) and a painting of the famous St Nicholas Hotel that illustrates Broadway's commercial horse-drawn stagecoach traffic.

Coaching As Sport

The New York Coaching Club, formed in 1875 by Col Delancey Astor Kane and William Jay, elevated the sport of driving to an art. The club's first meet was held in 1876 at Madison Square. The Club, which thrived for decades, began excursions at the Hotel Brunswick (Fifth Avenue between 26th and 27th Streets) and drove north on Riverside Drive to Pelham or east to Long Island. The costumes and coaches, the clatter of horses' hooves on the pavement and the skill of the drivers made the Coaching Club meets dramatic and popular public spectacles.

Coaching clubs were not limited to men. Formed in 1901, the Ladies' Four-in-Hand Driving Club held meets that began at the Colony Club. Renowned members included Mrs Thomas Hastings, Marion Hollins, Harriet Alexander and Mrs Arthur Iselin. The Club took regular trips to the Bronx and to Greenwich, Conn. Photographs of the Coaching Club will be on view, as well as a coaching coat made for Joseph Wilshire.

Carriage Manufacture

In 1859, there were more than 40 carriage manufacturers in the city, selling an average of 5,000 vehicles a year. Of all the carriage making firms in America, none surpassed the reputation for quality vehicles, elegant design and superior finish held by Brewster & Company. Prominent members of New York society attended the spring openings at Brewster's display showrooms at 14th Street and Fifth Avenue to view fashionable vehicles of the season. Orders were placed for carriages with custom features such as monograms or crests, rain aprons or parasol tops and other specifications.

The exhibition features three carriages built by Brewster & Company; a Brougham (1895), a Park Phaeton (1900), and a Peters Phaeton (1880). Also on view will be rare photographs from the firm's collection and archives from one of its designers, Herman Stahmer.

Carriages are composite objects, and structural and decorative skills were required in building the parts. The body maker was charged with creating the style of the carriage, and fashioned wood framing and panels to provide the coach with strength and durability. The smith was responsible for the mechanical parts, including the springs, axles, axle beds, and the fifth wheel on which the front axle pivoted. The wheelwright constructed the wheels from wood, iron and steel, and the painter united the various parts using ornamental or representational designs. Upholstery and other interior details were organized under a central factory system or subdivided as separate industries. The exhibition will include specialized tools used in carriage manufacture, including spoke augers, hub borers, and carriage painting implements.

In addition to carriage manufacture, accessories trades flourished in New York. Horse clothing, harnesses, livery, stable fixtures and other requisites were made and sold, and entire department stores such as Kauffman's on East 24th Street and C.R. Roseman and Brother on Chambers Street were devoted to selling horse goods of every description. Featured in the exhibition are horse blankets made by William Menger of Brooklyn, stable fixtures made by J.L. Mott of New York, and various buggy whips.

The Museums at Stony Brook own an internationally acclaimed collection of horse-drawn vehicles. The Carriage Collection, which numbers 275 vehicles, hundreds of related artifacts from harnesses to tools, and a library of rare books, prints, archives, and other primary materials is considered the finest of its type.

The Museums at Stony Brook are in the village of Stony Brook on the north shore of Suffolk County.

PaineWebber, at 1285 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan, sponsors four to five exhibitions each year, organized by arts and cultural institutions and presented in the PaineWebber Art Gallery in the lobby of PaineWebber's world headquarters.

Exhibition hours are Monday through Friday from 8 am to 6 pm. Admission is free. Telephone 212/713-2885.