Phaeton (carriage)
Four wheeled open carriage
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A phaeton (also phaéton) is a form of sporty open carriage popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Drawn by one or two horses, a phaeton typically features a minimal very lightly sprung body atop four extravagantly large wheels. With open seating, it is both fast and dangerous, giving rise to its name, drawn from the mythical Phaëthon, son of Helios, who nearly set the Earth on fire while attempting to drive the chariot of the Sun.
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With the advent of the automobile, the term was adopted to refer to open touring cars,[1] which were in consequence referred to as phaeton-bodied.
Design and variations
The most impressive but dangerous phaeton is the four-wheeled 'high-flyer', the body of which consists of a light seat perched above two sets of springs.[2] It was from one of these that the rising poet Thomas Warwick was thrown to his death near the fashionable town of Bath during the 1780s.[3] The heavier mail phaeton, used chiefly to carry passengers with luggage and named after its construction, uses "mail" springs originally designed for use on mail coaches.[4] The spider phaeton, of American origin and made for gentlemen drivers,[4] was a high and lightly constructed carriage with a covered seat in front and a footman's seat behind.[5] Fashionable phaetons used at horse shows included the Stanhope, typically having a high seat and closed back,[6] and the Tilbury, a two-wheeled carriage with an elaborate spring suspension system, with or without a top.[7] A variation of this type of a carriage is called a Victoria, with a retractable cover over the rear passenger compartment.
A typical phaeton
Phaeton in Mossman Carriage Collection in UK
Basket phaeton engraved by John Henry Walker
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Historical context
Thomas Jefferson owned two phaetons.[8][9] Jefferson and James Madison rode in Jefferson's phaeton during their tour of the Northeast in 1791, a total of 920 miles. They were accompanied by James Hemings.[10][11]
One of the earlier phaetons for the British monarchy was the George IV Phaeton, a small and low pony carriage with small wheels built in 1824 to allow the portly and lame King George IV to enter and exit. A similar pony phaeton was built for Queen Victoria in 1851, and others followed, leading to the modification of adding a iron-framed coachman's seat over the dash and naming that carriage design a Victoria.[12]: 18–20 [13]: 85 [14]: 151, 289
A social statement of a different kind was made during the 1880s by Valerie, Lady Meux, who defied London Society by driving herself in a high phaeton drawn by zebras.[15]
Modern use
The Ivory Mounted Phaeton was built in 1842 for Queen Victoria by Barker and Company, and renovated in 1961. It has ivory fittings and is in the Royal Mews carriage collection.[12]: 18–20 It was used by Queen Elizabeth II from 1978 to 2011 during the official Queen's Birthday celebrations, when she travelled to and from Trooping the Colour.[16]
