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Serial No. 1261
F & R Shanks
London
Circa 1880
Type:
Private coaches were first built for some members of the driving clubs
that were formed in London early in the nineteenth century, but only
a small number were built before the time of the “coaching revival”
in the 1860s. The chosen design at that time was based on a larger version
of the Royal mail coach of 1835, and coaches made by the leading makers
differed only in details. These coaches were used by members of the
two London coaching clubs for attending official driving meets. They
were also used for driving to race meetings and other sporting occasions.
Provenance:
The coach was built to the order of E.H. Butler of Buffalo, New York,
about 1880. Edward Butler was born in 1850 in the village of Le Roy,
Genesee County, New York. He became a newspaper proprietor, gaining
his first experience with the Le Roy Gazette and other local papers.
In 1873, he moved to Buffalo and established The Sunday News. Later
he started the Buffalo Evening News. He continued to maintain a house
in Le Roy, using it as a summer residence, and it is assumed that the
coach was kept there. Mr. Seabrook purchased the coach from William
C. Faugh, Jr., of Sky Acres Ranch, Rochester, in March, 1954. It was
repainted by Tom Shelton in 1990.
Builder:
F & R Shanks was one of the two most successful builders of park
drags (private coaches) and road coaches in Britain after the “Coaching
Revival” of the 1860s. The other firm was Holland & Holland
of North Row, Grosvenor Square, and the choice between coaches made
by either of these two was said to be merely a matter of personal preference.
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