Brougham (carriage)
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A brougham (pronounced "broom" or "brohm") was a light, four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage built in the 19th century.[1] It was either invented for Scottish jurist Lord Brougham or simply made fashionable by his example. It had an enclosed body with two doors, like the rear section of a coach; it sat two, sometimes with an extra pair of fold-away seats in the front corners, and with a box seat in front for the driver and a footman or passenger. Unlike a coach, the carriage had a glazed front window, so that the occupants could see forward. The forewheels were capable of turning sharply. A variant, called a brougham-landaulet, had a top collapsible from the rear doors backward.[2]
In 19th century London, broughams previously owned and used as private carriages were commonly sold off for use as hackney carriages, often displaying painted-over traces of the previous owner's coat of arms on the carriage doors.
The special characteristics of the brougham bear a distinct similarity to the London Public Carriage Office's "Conditions of Fitness" for a vehicle intending to be licenced as a taxi cab.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The OED gives a first usage in 1851, but the original design dates from about 1838, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Brougham died in 1868.
- ^ Compare the landau.
Pronunciation of this word is correct as two syllables, \ˈbrü:(-ə)m, ˈbrō:(-ə)m\, but be can pronounced as one syllable although considered "Americanized" or "slang."
[edit] See also
- Clarence (carriage) - a larger version of the Brougham
- brougham (car body), inspired by the brougham carriage
- landaulet, car body style inspired by the landaulet carriage
[edit] External links
- 1871 Advertisement for William Kilross & Sons and Kinross Brougham Illustrations and text
- 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Brougham - Wikisource
- CAAOnline: Carriage Tour Carriage Association of America. Illustration and text
- Horse Drawn Brougham, The Henry Ford. Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan. Photo and text.
- The Long Island Museum of American Art, History & Carriages, Stony Brook, New York: Collection Database. Search brougham; illustrations and text.
- Victorian Brougham carriage and The Victorian Brougham at the Institute of Texan Cultures TTM web. Texas Transportation Museum, San Antonio. Photos
- Articles about Horse-drawn Carriages
