Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID # |
1973.096.002 |
Object Name |
Brougham |
Title |
Butchart Brougham |
Lexicon category |
7: Distribution & Transportation Artifact |
Date |
19th-century? |
Made |
Unknown |
Place of Origin |
Unknown |
Description |
Black brougham vehicle on sleigh runners. Underneath the driver's seat is a battery system. It looks like it used dry cell batteries. The brake is disconnected. There is glass on either side and in the front for the passengers to see out. The driver's seat is upholstered in navy velvet, and is not enclosed in the passenger compartment. There are brown decorative handles on the doors to get inside the vehicle. The walls and ceiling are cushioned in black silk, in a lattice pattern. Two seat cushions have been removed, but are still with the vehicle. The inside of the doors have ivory handles, and on the proper left door, there is a small match holder (?) also made of ivory. The floor of the compartment is covered in blue velvet; however it may have faded from its original green colour. There are green blinds on all of the windows, and decorative fabric trim on the doors with tassels. There is a small, oval window in the back of the carriage. The outside body of the carriage has attachments for two lanterns, which are missing. The wood body is in fair condition, with some knicks, and the black paint faded in some areas. On the side of each door "DMB" is painted in red cursive, likely standing for David Martins Butchart. The back of the body has some faded red pin-stripping as well. The black leather piece of the carriage, in front of the driver's seat, is severely cracked and bubbling. The body sits on sleigh runners, attached via decorative curled wood. |
Provenance |
This vehicle belonged to David Martins Butchart of Owen Sound and Balmy Beach, Grey County. He was descended from a hardware store-owning family, but made his fortune in the cement industry. He established a showplace "Butchart Gardens" at Balmy Beach (along the shore northwest of Owen Sound), that was featured on photographic postcard images in its heyday. Last owned by Walter Legate of Owen Sound, Grey County. |
Collection |
Transportation, Land: Animal-Powered |
Material |
Wood/Metal/Glass/Ivory/Silk/Finish |
Dimensions |
H-48 W-66 L-130 inches |
Found |
Owen Sound, Grey County |
People |
Butchart, David Martins |
Subjects |
Grey County Industry Grey County Industries Cement Industry Brougham |
Function |
An 18th to 20th century method of horse-drawn transportation. A four-wheeled, one-horse carriage. As originally designed (c. 1838) by Henry (later Baron) Brougham, a former lord chancellor of England, it had a low coupé body, appearing as if the front were cut away, that enclosed one forward-facing seat for two passengers; a coachman's seat was attached to the front, where a third passenger could also ride. There were many variations on this design, such as the country brougham and depot brougham, and many broughams were later converted into hacks called growlers. One style of carriage had a folding child's seat inside, facing backward, but such a vehicle was called a coupé. Another was slightly longer, having a full-framed seat inside the front of the body, and was called a clarence. In the United States both the coupé and the clarence were also known as extension-front broughams. |