The Slower Road

January 26, 2015

at a standstill

Posted by Jennifer under early roads, history, horses & driving
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As often happens with old photos, what is intended as a photo of some building or other ends up showcasing a variety of horse-drawn vehicles as well.

In this case, the buildings in question are the Jefferson County Courthouse and St. Paul’s Church in Birmingham, Alabama, c. 1906. In addition to a couple of bicycles propped up at curbside in front of the courthouse, and a few ghostly pedestrians, we also have two horse-drawn vehicles (and two very well-behaved horses) parked by the curb, a man who appears to be unloading coal onto the sidewalk (while his pair of horses waits), and, farther up the street, what appears to be two men standing on a flat-bed horse-drawn wagon as it’s being driven away.

Enjoy looking around!

December 24, 2014

merry, merry

Posted by Jennifer under history, people
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On this Christmas Eve day, I hope you enjoy this cute photo of the children’s parade (kids! babies! a dog!) during the 1909 Midwinter Carnival in Upper Saranac Lake, New York.

The CAA office will be closed from tomorrow (Dec. 25) through next Friday (Jan. 2), and we’ll re-open on Monday, Jan. 5 … so I’ll see you then!

December 19, 2014

the January CJ issue

Posted by Jennifer under Carriage Journal magazine
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It would seem that I’ve been missing in action for a week or so, while I was laying out the January issue of our CAA magazine, The Carriage Journal. We reviewed the (gorgeous, of course!) proofs of the issue yesterday, and I wanted to go ahead and share the pretty January cover with you here …

December 12, 2014

19th-century carriage puns

Posted by Jennifer under miscellaneous
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These three images are from a booklet titled Silhouettes, published by Valentine & Company in 1876. The original booklet is in the CMA collection.

December 5, 2014

sleighing scenes – guest post from Mindy Groff

Posted by Jennifer under horses & driving, people
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Thanks to Mindy Groff (our occasional guest-blogger from the Carriage Museum of America) for this post on amusing sleighing scenes …

It’s been a week of rain here in Kentucky, but the Christmas music playing on my radio and the ever-present holiday decorations have put me in the mood for snow and for sleighs! Today on the blog I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorite sleighing sketches, taken from the archives of the Carriage Museum of America.

Both illustrations feature Master Reggie, a repeat character with a tendency for getting into trouble. He and his friends certainly have some adventures!

These illustrations were featured in the periodical Harper’s Young People, which began in November 1879 as a weekly illustrated magazine for boys and girls ages six to sixteen. It featured fiction and non-fiction stories, with a variety of illustration styles and subjects. The magazine continued, although with a different format and name, until 1899.

If the drawings look familiar to you, there are a few possible reasons. For one, I believe they were featured in The Carriage Journal a few years ago, so you may be remembering them from that. Or you may just recognize the style, as these were drawn by the famous carriage illustrator Gray-Parker, whose work has been featured many times here on the blog, in The Carriage Journal, on the covers of trade journals, and in countless other carriages resources. His work is incredibly prolific and popular, for good reason.

Want to see more from the CMA? Follow us on Facebook! I feature images and other items from our collection a few times each week. I’m sure there will be no shortage of sleighs this winter!