CARRIAGES.
The Art ofCoachmakingwithin these last Thirty Years, has been improved greatly in Beauty, Strength, and Convenience; and a Carriage is now considered as a distinguishing mark of the taste of its Proprietor.
There are few works of Art which require the aid of so many different Artists as the constructing of a Carriage; there are Wheel-wrights,—Spring,—Axle-tree,—Step,—and Tire,—Black and White Smiths,—Brass Founders,—Engravers,—Painters,—Carvers,—Carpenters,—Joiners,—Trimmers,—Lace Makers,—Lamp Makers,—Curriers,—Collar Makers,—Harness Makers, &c. &c.; and upon the quality of the Materials, and the capacity of these Workmen to execute their respective parts in a perfect manner, and upon the taste and skill of the Coachmaker in combining them, depends the Beauty and the Durability of the Carriage.
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF CARRIAGES.
The best time to bring out a New Carriage, is about April or May, before the extreme heat comes on; moreover, the Taxes are reckoned from one 5th of April to another: and if you enter a Carriage on the 5th of March, you will have to pay for a whole Year, for only one Month’s use of it.
If you have any thing peculiar about a Carriage, it will require much more time in building, than if you are contented with merely ordering “a fashionable Vehicle.” In the former case, do not hope to get it under Three, nor be surprised if you wait Four Months for it.
However, if you have no particular desire to be disappointed, summon to your assistance the aid of those powerful refreshers of a perfunctory Memory, theGoose, theCalf, and theBee;9i. e.takeMr. Jervis’sadvice, and bind the Builder in a written contract, made by your Attorney, and duly Stamped, Signed,Sealed, and Witnessed, &c., to deliver the Carriage, Harness, &c. completely finished on a certain day—or that he shall forfeit, and that day shall pay to You, One Hundred Pounds, and keep his Carriage himself.
Be careful that your Contract contains a full and very particular description of every part; for
Mem.—If you order the least Alteration or Addition afterwards, it will be chargedExtra, unless you discreetly insert a sweeping clause, that the Whole shall be completed to your entire satisfaction, for the Money, and at the Time agreed upon.
An Honest Manwill have no more objection to sign a written Agreement than to make a Verbal Promise, anda Prudent Manwill never take the latter when he can get the former:—the Expense of a written Agreement is Money expended in preventing Anxiety, which is like sacrificing a Pebble to preserve a Diamond:—those who wish to avoid disappointments and litigation, will not stir one step withouta Written Agreement—’tis a pretty bit of Paper, that makes men Honest, and keeps them so.
After you have settled what is to be the price of the NewCarriage—then, before you sign the Agreement respecting it, make your Bargain as to what Sum the Builder shall allow you for your Old One, provided you do not previously otherwise dispose of it.
The Money allowed for an Old Carriage, is less than a Novice will expect. I sold one Chariot, which I had in use only Five years, for only £15., nor could I get more for it, although I kept it for several Weeks.
I sold another Chariot, which had been in wear about the same time, for £30.,—and it is not often that a Builder will allow much more for a Carriage that has been in use for five or six Years:—by that time, the shape of the Body is out of Fashion, the Lining is shabby, and before it can be sold again to a particular person, it must be thoroughly repaired, which will cost a considerable Sum.
The following is an Estimate which was given to the Gentleman who bought my last Chariot.
AN ESTIMATE OF REPAIRING A CHARIOT
Now, if the Body had not been a beautiful piece of Work, it would not have been worthwhile to have bestowed this large sum in renewing the Carriage part: but the whole of the exterior of the Old Body, although it had been built some Years, was more sound and unwarped, than most new Bodies are on the first day they are turned out; it was elegantly formed, and the Interior so admirably constructed for Comfort, that from it I learned the dimensions, &c. which I have given in the following description of what I think a Chariot ought to be.
Coachmakers sometimes shewDrawings of Carriagesfor their Customers to choose from,—itis more satisfactory, not only to see, but to take a ride in a pattern Carriage; this your Coachmaker can take you to see, or, if you see a Carriage which pleases your Eye, your Coachman can easily learn where it is put up; go with your Coachmaker and see it, and havea written Particularof all its peculiarities,an exact Measurementof its dimensions, andan Estimatein Writing of the cost thereof, similar to the one given inChap. I.Estimate No. 9.