Existing comment:
Carriage
This vehicle was made 1827–30, probably in the Northeast, possibly by Lawrence, Bradley & Pardee of New Haven, whose "Caleche Coach" it resembles in some ways. One account says it was purchased "before 1830" in Winchester, Virginia, by John Glasgow of Rockbridge County, who had forty-two slaves in the 1850 census. The carriage is unlikely to have been made in Winchester, however, as there was very limited demand outside large northeastern cities for vehicles of such opulence.
About 1860 the carriage was refurbished and overhauled by John Hardy and Son of Staunton, Virginia, who then affixed a plate with their names to the rear, rococo-carved panel, which drops for the footman to stand upon. The carriage was used by the Glasgow family of "Tuscan Villa," which was five miles from Lexington, Virginia, until automobiles supplanted carriages. In 1964 it was purchased by another local family, but plans to restore it went unfulfilled. The Virginia Historical Society purchased it in 2001 with funds provided by Nicholas F. Taubman. It was conserved by Woodlyn Coach Company of Millersburg, Ohio.
The windows can be raised or lowered and the sides panels can be removed for summer driving. The mounts are polished nickel that in the 1800s was called German silver. Two horses sufficed to pull the carriage, but for show an additional front pair of high-stepping horses would be used. It is said that troops of Union General David Hunter, who burned Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, plundered the fine original harness. |