Carriage Tour

Cutters, to differentiate them from sleighs, are considered light sleighs, with only one seat, and usually pulled by one horse. It is a distinctly American term that does not appear to have been used prior to 1800. Cutters are usually broken down into two additional categories -- Albanys and Portlands. The Portland varieties have rather straight angular lines. The Albany cutter has a slightly swelling body and curved, rounded lines. This cutter is a Portland style with doors. Doors are unusual in cutters and were a very late development -- probably an influence of automobile designers. It was manufactured in Maryland, by J.D. Eckenrode, sometime in the first or second decade of the 20th century.