Hackney carriages were first introduced into France 

 in the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV. by one 

 Nicholas Sauvage. In 1650 Charles Vilmere secured the 

 exclusive right to hire out carriages in Paris, and for this 

 privilege he paid 5,000 livres. The first vehicle similar 

 to our modern omnibus commenced running in Paris on 

 the 1 8th of March, 1662. The fare was five sous. 

 Hackney carriages were first established in London in 

 1625, twenty-five years before their introduction into 

 France. In 1634 there were about 20 such vehicles plying 

 for hire from the " May-pole"; in 1637 there were 50 > 

 in 1652 they had increased to 200; and in 1654 to 300. 

 In 1694 they were limited to 700, but in 1715 the limit 

 was extended to 800. The Hackney carriage maintained 

 its place till superceded by the more modern vehicle the 

 Cabriolet de place, better known by the shorter title of 

 "cab." In 1834 Mr. Hansom introduced the vehicle 

 which bears his name, and upon which several improve- 

 ments have been made. The oldest coach in the kingdom 

 is the Lord Mayor's coach, which was built 1757 for Sir 

 Charles Asgil, the Lord Mayor elect that year. The next 

 oldest is Her Majesty's state carriage, which was built 

 in 1761, from designs by Sir William Chambers. From 

 the official description of this carriage, which is said to be 

 the most superb ever built, it appears the body of the 

 carriage is richly ornamented with laurel and carved 

 work, and beautifully gilt. 



Such, then, is a brief history of carriages from the 

 earliest ages to the present time ; but to give a detailed 

 account of all the various descriptions of vehicles would 

 be impossible in a work like the present. Indeed, to 

 enumerate all the improvements that have been made in 

 coach building would occupy too much space. There are 

 however two very important improvements which cannot 



