64 CARRIAGES. 



As an art, carriage building is successfully carried on by 

 only a few firms ; as an industry, it offers profitable invest- 

 ment for many millions of dollars. Discouraging proof of 

 the mediocre standard is afforded by the relatively small 

 proportion of conservative firms producing carriages of the 

 best material after lines from well chosen models. Most 

 coach builders know what designs are good and what are 

 bad. They are also quite as well aware that good materials, 

 workmanship and design are secondary considerations with 

 an ignorant customer, to the attractions of vanishing seats, 

 sweeping curves and the " tallyho for one horse," in produc- 

 ing the impression that the purchaser is "getting his money's 

 worth." For this reason dealers are forced to carry a stock 

 of " our latest novelty " creations, though they would prefer to 

 sell only what they know to be of good design. 



Before purchasing a carriage it is advisable to become 

 familiar with the general principles of carriage construction, 

 together with the different names of the parts and the various 

 types as represented by standard designs. A general knowl- 

 edge of the construction enables the prospective buyer to 

 discern differences between two apparently similar vehicles 

 that otherwise would be unobserved. The purchaser, in order 

 to intelligibly express his appreciation of these differences to 

 a coach builder, must become conversant with the technical 

 nomenclature. By having the various types definitely sepa- 

 rated in his mind, he is the better able to detect in what de- 

 tails and to what extent the vehicle he is inspecting differs 

 from the best design of the same type. In order that the 

 reader may form some idea of wherein lies the true worth of 

 a vehicle, the following description of carriage construction 

 is briefly given : 



