General Information

Serial #

8352 186101/ 10

Part Number

1

Total Parts

5

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

wood body, wheels, seat framework, window frames, parts/ metal undercarriage, springs, parts/ leather covered coach section exterior sides & roof/ leather? dash/ leather covered interior/ leather seat coverings with fabric trim, straps, tassles & pom-poms/ caned seat bench/ glass windows/ silk roller window shades & pulls/ glass & metal lamps/ rubber tires

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

315.0 cm

Width

170.0 cm

Height

195.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Non-motorized Ground Transportation

Category

Animal powered

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Demarest

Country

United States of America

State/Province

New York

City

New York

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Quebec

Period

circa 1903-1928

Canada

An American made vehicle owned throughout its history by a prosperous Montreal family. This vehicle belonged to engineer and businessman James Thomas Davis, originally of Ottawa and the family contracting business W.T Davis and Sons. In 1898 he moved with his wife Gertrude and family to Montreal, and in 1909 moved into a home on prestigious Drummond St. It included a stable, coach house and residence for the coachman. Among the vehicles in the coach house were a Victoria, sleighs, a spider phaeton (2005.0009), and this brougham. Mr. Davis died in 1928 and the carriages were retained by his widow. Upon her death in 1955, Miss Diana Davis, granddaughter of James Francis Davis, received the spider phaeton and the brougham. They were stored in a barn on her property in Hudson, Quebec.

Function

A coachman driven closed vehicle for two passengers, with one passenger seat inside & an outside driver's seat.

Technical

An example of a bachelor brougham. The brougham was a type vehicle owned by the affluent, driven by a coachman & carrying two passengers. It was developed in 1838-1839 by Englishman Lord Peter Henry Brougham & first constructed by the London carriage maker Robinson. Soon after its development, other types of brougham appeared; this one is a "bachelor" brougham because of its single interior seat for two people. The brougham was adopted rapidly by the upper middle classes in Europe as well as North America, especially in Canada. It was also used as a taxi in Canadian cities. Several well known Canadian carriage manufacturers, such as Ledoux, produced broughams. In 1860 Aaron T. Demarest established a carriage enterprise on Park Place in New York. In the early 1870's Demarest & his brother Cornelius formed a partnership to manufacture carriages in New Haven, CT, & subsequently all carriages sold in New York were made in New Haven. In this era, that city was one of the most important centres for the manufacture of high quality horse-drawn vehicles in the U.S. In 1889, the showroom of A.T. Demarest & Co., moved to 5th Ave., New York & in 1916 the company ceased carriage production in New Haven.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

label under seat cushion reads "A.T. DEMAREST & CO.,/ Carriage Builders,/ Warerooms/ Fifth Avenue,/ Cor. 33D Street,/ New York." & "Established/ 1860/ Certificate/ of/ Manufacture"/ lettering on hub caps reads "A.T. DEMAREST & CO., N.Y., 5TH & 33D ST."/ lettering on tires reads "THE GOODRICH SOLID TIRE MFD. BY THE B.F. GOODRICH CO. AKRON O. MADE IN AMERICA 1 1/2" with logo reading "G/ TRADEMARK"

Missing

possibly watch from interior toilet case

Finish

black & maroon painted body/ black leather covered upper coach section/ undercarriage finish obscured by corrosion/ lamps originally painted black/ maroon fabric covered exterior driver's seat, window frames/ black leather interior upholstery on seats, cushions, door interiors/ figured maroon trim, straps, tassels & pom-poms in interior/ black fabric interior shades/ colourless transparent glass/ grey rubber

Decoration

red painted monogram on each door reads "JTD"