148 WHIPS 



this period. Other whips of Charles II.'s time 

 may be seen in private collections. 



An important change was effected when whips 

 were constructed with bent tops, as we use them 

 now, for driving. Apparently this fashion came 

 into vogue about the eighteenth century, when 

 whip-making became a recognised industry. 

 Hunting-whips in the earlier half of the century 

 were made with bent tops, like a short-handled 

 carriage whip, as we learn from the pictures of 

 James Seymour and his contemporaries. 



The huntsman's whip of a later date, if clumsy, 

 was a very formidable weapon. There is in Sir 

 Walter Gilbey's collection at Elsenham Hall the 

 whip which belonged to Hoswell, who was hunts- 

 man to Mr. Maynard, the Countess of Warwick's 

 grandfather. It is a large and heavy whip, con- 

 structed in much the same fashion as the plaited 

 gut crops of the present day, with a long and 

 stout thong and a hammer head of steel or iron, 

 whose face suggests frequent and vigorous use 

 upon obstructive gate locks. 



About this time whip-handles were covered 

 with "shagreen," i.e. fish-skin, dressed in a 

 peculiar way, and fastened on to the stock in a 

 manner with which no livino- workman is 

 acquainted, for the manufacture of "shagreen" 

 is, unhappily, a lost art. 



In order to show at a glance the connection 

 between ancient and modern whips, we give the 

 following list, and regret that it seems impossible 

 to satisfactorily fill the gap between the Roman 

 period and the last century : — 



