Design for Rumble Sleigh, no. 3867
1884
Medium
Pen and black ink watercolor and gouache with gum arabic
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 7/16 x 9 in. (16.4 x 22.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.1284
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century luxury transport with *Design for Rumble S, no. 3867* by Brewster & Co., created in 1884. This delicate drawing, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Drawings and Prints, a proposed sleigh from one of America's premier carriage makers. Founded in 1810 in New York, Brewster & Co. crafted bespoke vehicles for the Gilded Age elite, blending functionality with opulent style during the horse-drawn era's twilight. A "rumble sleigh" refers to a light, stylish cutter with an extra rear "rumble" seat for servants or additional passeng...
About the Artist
Brewster & Co.
**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...