Berlin (carriage)

Berlin (carriage)

A Berlin (or Berline) carriage was a type of covered, fast and light, four-wheeled, travelling carriage with two interior seats and a separate hooded rear seat for a footman, detached from the body. It had a distinctive two-perch running gear and thoroughbrace suspension, with the body hung high between the perches by shafts to leather braces.

The Berlin was a more convenient method of transportation, being lighter and less likely to overturn than other carriages. A stirrup or footstool made boarding more convenient. Instead of side windows, there were hoods to let down in bad weather.

The carriage was designed around 1670 by a Piedmontese architect in the service of the Elector of Brandenburg. It took its name from Brandenburg's capital city (and now the capital of Germany), Berlin, where it was first used and became fashionable in the late 17th and 18th centuries. It became popular in England in the 18th century after it was imported by a German officer.

Later, the term came to be used for an enclosed automobile body having at the rear of the driver's seat a glass partition with usually one movable window.

References

#1728 [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistSciTech/HistSciTech-idx?type=turn&entity=HistSciTech000900240247&isize=L]

External links

* [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Berlin_(Carriage) Berlin (Carriage) - LoveToKnow 1911] 1911 Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
* [http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/2900/2960/coach_7.htm Berlin coach Clipart] Educational Technology Clearinghouse, University of South Florida. Sketch.
* [http://www.giacomo-casanova.de/catour4.htm#Berlin The Casanova Tour - by Pablo Günther - Travelling Carriages 2 - Casanova Magazine] Illustrations and text.
* [http://longislandmuseum.pastperfect-online.com/31410cgi/mweb.exe? The Long Island Museum of American Art, History & Carriages - Collection Database.] Search "berlin carriage", record type "Objects" (photo and text).
* [http://www.museudoscoches-ipmuseus.pt/en/subs/coleccao/aaberlindas.htm MNC - Colecção: Berlindas] National Coach Museum ("Museu dos Coches"), Lisbon (Portugal). Illustrations and text.
* [http://www.kreml.ru/window.asp?ID=159&lang=en Музеи Московского Кремля] Moscow Kremlin Museum. Photo.


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  • Berlin (disambiguation) — Berlin is the capital of Germany.Berlin may also refer to:People* Irving Berlin, composer and lyricist * Isaiah Berlin, political philosopher and historian of ideas Things* Berlin (album), an album by musician Lou Reed * Berlin (band), a 1980s… …   Wikipedia

  • Berlin — Ber lin, n. [The capital of Prussia] 1. A four wheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin. [1913 Webster] 2. Fine worsted for fancy work; zephyr worsted; called also… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Berlin black — Berlin Ber lin, n. [The capital of Prussia] 1. A four wheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin. [1913 Webster] 2. Fine worsted for fancy work; zephyr worsted; called… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Berlin blue — Berlin Ber lin, n. [The capital of Prussia] 1. A four wheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin. [1913 Webster] 2. Fine worsted for fancy work; zephyr worsted; called… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Berlin green — Berlin Ber lin, n. [The capital of Prussia] 1. A four wheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin. [1913 Webster] 2. Fine worsted for fancy work; zephyr worsted; called… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Berlin iron — Berlin Ber lin, n. [The capital of Prussia] 1. A four wheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin. [1913 Webster] 2. Fine worsted for fancy work; zephyr worsted; called… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Berlin shop — Berlin Ber lin, n. [The capital of Prussia] 1. A four wheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin. [1913 Webster] 2. Fine worsted for fancy work; zephyr worsted; called… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Berlin wool — Berlin Ber lin, n. [The capital of Prussia] 1. A four wheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin. [1913 Webster] 2. Fine worsted for fancy work; zephyr worsted; called… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Berlin work — Berlin Ber lin, n. [The capital of Prussia] 1. A four wheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin. [1913 Webster] 2. Fine worsted for fancy work; zephyr worsted; called… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • berlin — old type of four wheeled covered carriage, 1690s, so called because it was introduced in Brandenburg, c.1670; see BERLIN (Cf. Berlin). Hence berline (from the French form) automobile with a glass partition behind the driver s seat. In reference… …   Etymology dictionary

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