Museum Collections

The winter months in nineteenth-century New York were ideal for travel and pleasure driving, as packed snow and ice provided a much preferable surface to the usual rough roads. This elegant sleigh, manufactured by leading New York City carriage manufacturer Brewster & Company, features sweeping lines, a boldly curved dash, and graceful ironwork scrolls, as well as a rumble seat. Accompanied by the ringing of sleigh bells, which alerted pedestrians and other vehicles of its approach and provided a musical backdrop, this one-horse sleigh ferried its driver and passengers around the city in high style.