The Americans love the memory of the stagecoach, a symbol of the harmonious spread of their civilization across the continent in the nineteenth century, less expensive to implement than the railway.
Wheel maker and leather craftsman, Lewis Downing helped to create the definitive shape to this vehicle whose opulence was required to offer enough comfort to the bold travelers. Based in Concord, New Hampshire, he was associated from 1826 with the younger coachbuilder JS Abbot.
From 1827 to 1899, about 1,700 carriages of Concord Coach brand were manufactured by Abbot-Downing (the 'Abbott' spelling is sometimes used but is wrong). Three basic models were available for 6, 9 or 12 passengers, pulled by 2, 4 or 6 horses.
On October 10 in Hershey, RM Auctions sells an Abbot-Downing stagecoach, lot 256 estimated $ 225K.
This specimen in the middle size for four horses had been delivered in 1860 to a company in Kalamazoo, Michigan to ensure a regular transportation with the neighboring city of Grand Rapids.
The family workshops of Abbot and Downing were organized into separate companies from 1847 until their logical reunification in 1865. Their co-operation had remained close, so that it makes no sense to try to guess which one made and delivered the Abbot-Downing stagecoach of Kalamazoo.
Wheel maker and leather craftsman, Lewis Downing helped to create the definitive shape to this vehicle whose opulence was required to offer enough comfort to the bold travelers. Based in Concord, New Hampshire, he was associated from 1826 with the younger coachbuilder JS Abbot.
From 1827 to 1899, about 1,700 carriages of Concord Coach brand were manufactured by Abbot-Downing (the 'Abbott' spelling is sometimes used but is wrong). Three basic models were available for 6, 9 or 12 passengers, pulled by 2, 4 or 6 horses.
On October 10 in Hershey, RM Auctions sells an Abbot-Downing stagecoach, lot 256 estimated $ 225K.
This specimen in the middle size for four horses had been delivered in 1860 to a company in Kalamazoo, Michigan to ensure a regular transportation with the neighboring city of Grand Rapids.
The family workshops of Abbot and Downing were organized into separate companies from 1847 until their logical reunification in 1865. Their co-operation had remained close, so that it makes no sense to try to guess which one made and delivered the Abbot-Downing stagecoach of Kalamazoo.
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