for the horses. In the diary of Samuel Pepys there are many
amusing and interesting references to the art of coach-building, which
was beginning to attract much attention at that period.

In the French _Encyclopedie_ (1772) by Diderot there are elaborate
descriptions of the art of coach-building, the workshops and tools used,
and plates of the different carriages in use. The 18th century is
remarkable for the rapid development which took place, more especially
in the manufacture of state carriages of a sumptuous and ornate
character, which were largely in demand by the various courts of Europe.
One of the most beautiful of these is that belonging to the imperial
family of Vienna, which was built in 1696, and is shaped with all the
curves that are familiar to us in cabinets and furniture of the style of
Louis XIV. The panels are beautifully painted with nymphs in the style
of Rubens. There is an unusual quantity of plate glass in the panels,
and on the centre of the roof is a large imperial crown. In 1757 was
built the elaborate state coach of the city of London, and in 1761 the
royal state coach of England, built for King George III. (see COACH).
During the reigns of George II. and George III. all English manufactures
had received an immense impulse from the energy of the men of the time,
in which they were much encouraged by the action of the Society of Arts
in offering money prizes for improvements; and in these coach-builders
largely participated.

In the year 1804 Obadiah Elliot patented his plan for hanging vehicles
upon elliptical springs, thus dispensing with the heavy wood and iron
perch and cross beds, invariably used in four-wheeled carriages up to
that time. Elliot was rewarded by the grant of a gold medal by the
Society of Arts, and extensive orders for the carriages of a lighter
character, which he was thus enabled to produce.

Of carriages much in fashion and characteristic of this period may be
mentioned the "curricle," a cabriolet (see below) on two wheels, driven
with a pair of horses, the balance being secured by an ornamental bar
across the horses' backs, connected by a leather brace to a spring under
the pole. For lack of perfect safety this was gradually superseded by
the "gentleman's cabriolet," for one horse, on C springs, fitted with
folding leather hood and platform behind, on which stood a youthful trim
servant in top-boots, popularly termed a "tiger." To produce this
satisfactorily, the best