Carriage Tour

The Omnibus was a popular commercial carriage in both North America and Europe. It was a public vehicle designed to carry large numbers of persons at one time. They were manufactured in a wide variety of sizes. Its name (from the Latin omnis, meaning all) was born in Paris where a bath house operator ran one that he called L’Omnibus. Some even included roof seats to enable even more passengers to board. A 1902 history of the Omnibus by H.C. Moore (Omnibuses and Cabs, Chapman and Hall, Ltd., London) contains a great deal of important information about the development and use of this carriage. This photograph is taken from the CALGARY CARRIAGE COLLECTION, published by the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company, Ltd., and used with their kind permission.