AT AUCTION: BONHAM'S VICTORIAN CARRIAGE AND COACHES

FOOTNOTES

• Designed to convey members of the public in safety and comfort Hansom cabs became a common site of the streets of London. Today Hansom Cabs are strongly associated with late Victorian crime writers and feature in many of the famous Sherlock Holmes books. Several companies built hansom cabs but it was the coachbuilders Forder & Co who developed the best known design of Cab and the award of several medals meant that they were favoured by cab proprietors. Designed to carry two passengers the driver sat high up on the rear mounted external seat.
  
  This Hansom Cab is finished with a light green under carriage and a contrasting dark green line. The upper body panels have been conserved and are painted black. The cab is fitted with patent collinge oil axles and runs on rubber shod warner band type wheels.
  
  The passenger compartment is accessed via double opening doors, these are operated by the driver who would pull the leather window strap thereby 'unlocking' the doors and allowing the passenger out, prior to payment of course!, which would have been made via the small roof hatch to the rear of the passenger compartment. The seat cushion and back are upholstered in a dark green wool cloth with matching broad lace edging. The remaining surface areas are also finished in a dark green wool cloth. The metal fittings in the compartment are silver plated and there is a builders plaque mounted on the rear seat back stating that the cab is 'Public Cab – Patent Number 2209 – Royal Hansom'. There are ivory surrounds attached to two side mirrors and a rare communication whistle is also fitted so that the driver could be alerted.
  
  Externally the driver's seat is upholstered in a green wool cloth. The roof and upper panels have been conserved but they would have originally had a highly japanned finish. The dash board is covered in polished leather and the passenger boarding platform is fitted with a pyramid rubber mat. The cab would have been drawn by a single large horse and the shafts are ash with supporting ironwork. On the underside of each step there are extended supports that the cab would have rested on when not in use. Original correct type lamps are fitted to the Cab but they do not bear the builders name.

FOOTNOTES

• This outstanding carriage has been the subject of one of the most impressive restorations carried out in recent years.
  
  Adams and Hooper were founded in 1805 and soon built up a reputation for building the finest carriages. From their premises in Haymarket, London, carriages were built for wealthy patrons the world over. By 1830 the company held the Royal Warrant.
  
  Travelling Landaus were used by the nobility on extended tours throughout Britain and Europe. Designed to carry their owners in comfort over long distances they proved to be an ideal carriage prior to the introduction of the railways.
  
  Ordered by the Royal Mews from Adams and Hooper for King William IV the Landau was delivered in 1835. The carriage would have been used by trusted representatives and possibly the King himself when undertaking long journeys. Other carriages and out riders would have formed part of the travelling entourage to carry luggage, servants and official documents. It is likely that the Landau was delivered with a detachable coachman's seat and hammer cloth, however over the course of time this has been lost. In its current configuration the Landau is arranged to by driven by postilion riders. It is uncertain why postilion riders came into being but one theory is that it allowed the occupants of the carriage to have 'open' conversations without fear of being overheard by the coachman. The Landau was sold by the Royal mews in the early part of the 20th Century. Following its sale from the Mews its history is uncertain but it was probably saved because of its 'Royal' history and provenance. Eventually it was acquired by the famous American collector James Coson and is featured in the book of his collection published in 1989, complete with a foreword from His Royal Highness Prince Philip. When the Coson collection was sold its new owner decided to restore the Landau to its original specification. The carriage was sent to the renowned restorers Stolk of Holland who over a period of time returned the Landau to its rightful former grandeur.
  
  The Landau is resplendent in its Royal Colours of red under carriage with gold leaf lining and black flank detail, deep royal claret body panels with Royal crests and insignia and leather front and rear boots. Mounted on 'C' springs with leather braces the body has additional rope through braces allowing the carriage to cope with the roughest of roads. Strong grease axles are fitted and the Landau runs on iron shod English pattern wheels.
  
  Access to the passenger compartment is made via double folding steps and doors from either side. A footman would have first lowered the windows or shutter, opened the door and then unfolded the carpeted steps, once safely inside the footman would have folded the steps back into position and then closed the door making sure that the glass strings were not caught in the step recess. Inside the carriage the seat cushions and back are upholstered in a deep blue brocade with surface buttoning. The doors, seat falls and hood linings are finished in a dark blue wool cloth, and beautifully woven bespoke 3 inch broad laces are used to edge the cushions, door surrounds and glass strings. Each door contains a blue wool cloth trimmed window and separate shutter with a brass makers name plate. The louvres for each shutter can be adjusted by a small brass ratchet set into the varnished frame. The individual shutters are finished in red with a broad gold leaf line with fine black flank lines.
  
  Externally the Landau has been beautifully coach painted, period coach painting books often describe the finished panels of carriages as having a 'glass like depth' to them and ground pumice would have been used to polish out small particles of dust. The panels on the Landau are a true reflection of the finish achieved by the very best coach painters some 150 years ago. The lower claret body panels and doors feature hand painted royal coats of arms and insignia detail. Each will have been painted directly onto the panel by hand and will have taken several hundred hours to complete; they have then been varnished over for protection. To the front of the carriage there is a leather covered 'Salisbury boot' adorned with four brass crowns, access is via the front hinged lid and it would have been used to store spares for the coach and harness when travelling
  
  Beautifully detailed lamps are attached directly to the front folding hood, they have been silver plated internally and have a small royal crown on each candle font, larger brass crowns sit atop each lamp.
  
  The folding leather hoods are held in position by black hood jacks and three brass royal insignias are fitted along the top edge of each hood side panel. The leather hood covering has been hand stitched into position, the raw leather seams have been 'plain bound' in the correct fashion and the whole structure is fastened in position with brass pin bead. To the rear of the main body there is a leather covered 'sword case', gentlemen travelling in the Landau would have been expected to remove their swords and to have placed them within the 'sword case' which is accessed via a hinged rear seat back panel.
  
  At the back of the Landau there is a leather covered Rumble seat where two footmen would have sat, the seat is mounted on leaf springs to give some comfort during long journeys and is upholstered in a dark blue wool cloth. The area underneath the seat provides additional storage and is accessed via the hinged rear flap.
  
  The under carriage is finished in red with gold leaf detail, on each corner there is a large 'C' spring. Hand stitched leather braces run around the outside of each spring to support the body, the height of which is adjusted on large ratchet adjusters. Additional leather covered rope bracing runs the length of the Landau to control the front to back movement of the body, whilst on the underside of the body there are two further leather straps that control the side to side 'sway'.
  
  Hanging from the perch there are three separate devices to control the Landau when descending or ascending hills and stopping. The first is a drag shoe that would have been used as a skid to lock up the rear nearside wheel when descending a hill. The second is the small hinged red pole, called a drag staff, that would have been lowered onto the ground when ascending a hill, if the Landau had to stop for any reason the pole would have dug into the road surface to stop the carriage from rolling back. The last item is the leather covered hook, this would have been used as a parking brake with the hook placed around a wheel spoke.
  
  The Landau is a truly wonderful piece of early Royal transport and the restoration work carried out to return it to its former glory is unlikely to be ever repeated again.

Lot 228

C.1905 HEARSE

Coachwork by H. Topig Wagenbau, Leuba stritz, Germany

£5,000 - 8,000
US$ 7,500 - 12,000

c.1905 Hearse
Coachwork by H. Topig Wagenbau, Leuba stritz, Germany

No Reserve

FOOTNOTES

• The use of horse drawn hearses reached its peak in the early 1900's. European hearses tended to be more 'gothic' in design, often featuring heavily carved timber hammercloths, more elaborate head pieces along the upper edges of the body and seldom had glass side panels.
  
  The hearse is finished in black throughout with silver leaf applied to the ornate carvings and lining detail. The hearse is fitted with patent collinge oil axles and runs on iron shod wheels.
  
  The rear coffin here has been lined out with black wool cloth. The side openings feature black wool cloth swags and drapes that are edged with a silver and black bullion fringe. The here is accessed via a folding rear step and a hinged section of steel grating and is fitted with a runner mounted coffin plate.
  
  Externally the solid timber hammer cloth and coachman's seat are upholstered in black wool cloth throughout. The coachman's toe board is fitted with a rubber mat. The roof features a decorated silver leaf urn that is fitted over a faux leather oil cloth covering. Original hearse lamps are fitted to the coachman's seat.
  
  The hearse has been completely restored by Stolk of Holland and presents an ideal opportunity to purchase useful carriage for future use!
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