Design for Brougham, no. 3775a

Art Historical Context

Step into the elegant world of 19th-century carriage design with *Design for Brougham no. 3775a*, a meticulously crafted drawing from 1882 by the renowned New York firm Brewster & Co., with design attributed to Herman Stahmer. This sheet (6 7/16 x 8 13/16 in.) captures the blueprint for a brougham—a sleek, enclosed four-wheeled carriage by the Gilded Age elite for its refined style and privacy, complete with an exposed driver's seat. Brewster & Co., established in 1810, was America's premier carriage maker, crafting bespoke vehicles for tycoons, presidents like Ulysses S. Grant, and European royalty. This design exemplifies their mastery during the horse-drawn era's twilight, just before automobiles reshaped transportation. Donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1923 by William Brewster, it offers a window into an opulent vanishing world, highlighting the fusion of craftsmanship and status. Rendered in pen and black ink with watercolor, gouache, gum arabic for luster, and metallic ink for gleaming accents, the work showcases virtuoso drafting techniques. These mixed media not only convey precise proportions and luxurious details—like polished panels and ornate hardware—but also evoke the shimmer of real varnish and brass, bridging technical drawing with artistic flair in the Drawings and Prints collection.

About the Artist

Brewster & Co.|Herman Stahmer · 1837–present

**Brewster & Co.** Brewster & Company, a premier American coachbuilder renowned for its exquisite carriage designs, was established in 1810 in New Haven, Connecticut, by James Brewster (1788–1866). Born in 1788, Brewster trained as a wagonmaker's apprentice starting at age 16 in Northampton, Massachusetts, before relocating to New Haven, where he set up his workshop and quickly gained acclaim for...