Vol. I.

The Coach-Maker's Portrait Gallery.

BIOGRAPHY OF JAMES BREWSTER, ESQ., (WITH PORTRAIT.)

No species of writing is more deeply interesting than that of history, and no composition is of greater interest than that which records the history of a fellow-man. Should the subject of that history be a member of our own craft, that circumstance adds additional interest, and we are led instinctively to inquire: When and where was he born? What were his earlier tastes and predilections? What were his earlier advantages of education? What his peculiar trait of character as manhood developed itself? etc., etc. All these questions, we affirm, are perfectly natural, and often, when they are satisfactorily answered, we discover that, in this country, at least, our most distinguished men are those who, by untiring industry and an honorable course of life, have been the makers of their own fortunes. It is very true there may be exceptions to this rule-some "may have had fortunes thrust upon them"but then they belong rather to the exception than the rule. It has come to be the boasted peculiarity of our free institutions, that all alike—the rich and the poor-may find an open door to the Temple of Fame and the magazines of wealth. This is unquestionably so in a qualified sense.

Among the members of our own profession we know of none more deserving of a niche in our Portrait Gallery than Mr. James Brewster, of New Haven, Conn., not merely because he is one of the oldest living members of our fraternity, and has been one of its most successful business men, but because he has always shown a peculiar interest for the welfare of all with whom business has brought him in connection; but more of this hereafter.

JAMES BREWSTER, whose portrait we present to our readers in the present number, is the second of eight children, five of whom are still living, and is a lineal descendant from Elder William Brewster, a portion of whose family, history informs us, came over from Europe in the Mayflower, with the first installment of the Pilgrims, and who landed in Plymouth Harbor on that cold and eventful morning of November 22nd, 1620. In reference to these Pilgrims

No. 1.

and their immediate ancestors, it has been quaintly said by one of their distinguished descendants-the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher that "under Divine Providence, there had been (in England and Holland) a trunk growing, a leaf growing, a bud growing, and, by-and-by, when God said,Blossom!' the Puritans came (to our shores), and they were the blossom of ages!" Of their distinguished Chief, Elder Brewster, it is said, that once, when on a mission as secretary to Davidson, an English ambassador to Holland from Queen Elizabeth, "he slept one night with the keys of Flushing under his pillow." Among the descendants of this old Puritanic stock, then, is included our venerable and worthy fellow-craftsman.

The subject of this sketch was born at Preston, Connecticut, Aug. 6th, 1788, and is consequently now nearly seventy years of age, and some years retired from the more active pursuits of his former business-although as a silent partner, we understand, he is still connected with a large coachmaking establishment in New Haven; and, amid the abundant fruits of a life of honorable enterprise, and in the enjoyment of all his faculties unimpaired by age, he spends his time in devising modes of usefulness to his fellow-men, especially young men. Educated at the common school of his native place, and early taught the rigid principles of morality characteristic of the earlier settlers of New England, and, although, to use his own language, "feeble in early life, encountering in his minority as many trials as any who heard him-fatherless and with but little outward assistance and laboring constantly for half a century, yet his natural force is not materially lessened," and he attributes it as "all owing to temperance, and practicing upon that trite saying: Habits, good or bad, are powerful things.'

In the year 1804, being then in the sixteenth year of his age, Mr. Brewster was apprenticed to Col. Charles Chapman, of Northampton, Mass., to learn the "art, mystery, and trade" of carriage-making. In this same shop, we believe, Messrs. James Goold, now of Albany, and Jason Clapp, of Pittsfield, Mass., both served their apprenticeships, whose portraits we hope to be able to present in our Gallery at a future day. At the expiration of Mr. Brewster's apprenticeship-to his honor be it said-he received a diploma from

*Address to the Young Men of New Haven, delivered in Brewster's Hall, Jan. 28, 1857, p. 14.

the Hampshire Mechanics' Association, of which Hon. Josiah Dickinson was then the president.

To decision of character, in the first few days of his apprenticeship, Mr. B. attributes his success in after-life. He says, "When I saw the effects of intemperance in the shop, I was deeply affected, and, but for fear of being laughed at, I would have returned home. As the youngest apprentice, it was my lot to bring the liquor from the dram-shop, and I was entitled to a share gratis; but I resolved that I would not use it. On one occasion, refusing to drink, the oldest apprentice ordered me to stand upon a bench-tantalizingly called upon his shop-mates to look at me-and termed me a 'no-souled fellow.' As quick as thought an expedient occurred to me. I had witnessed indications of kindness in the oldest apprentice, and I resolved to appeal to his feelings. I told him I thought it was hard to be forced to act contrary to my inclinations; but, to show that it was not selfishness that actuated me, I was willing to give up all the money I possessed; and I thereupon did so. I was not mistaken in my appeal. It touched the sensibility of the oldest apprentice-I was permitted to get down from the bench-the victory was gained-and I was never afterwards importuned to drink. I gained the respect not only of my fellow-apprentices, but of my master also, and his kind-hearted lady; yet, sad to relate, most of my associates, as well as my master, became the victims of intemperance." We hope that the example of our sage brother will not be lost on us, his successors.

Having honestly served out his apprenticeship at Northampton, and become a journeyman, he found circumstances rendered it necessary for him to limit his whole personal expenses to forty dollars per year, so as to be able to save something to set up in business with for himself. The economy and liberality of the man are illustrated in the fact that once, when an apprentice, having put up at a public-house, while on a journey to the home of his childhood, his limited means subjected him to the choice of paying the hostler for the care of his horse, or to use the money for the purchase of a meal. A sense of justice to the poor hostler predominated. He paid him, but went without his breakfast, feeling more happy, under the deprivation, than he would have done with the idea of not discharging a just obligation.

Mr. Brewster is an example of what economy of time will do when applied to study. He tells us he made it a rule to read one hour each day, after working his twelve hours; for, during his apprenticeship and while conducting business for himself, it was his custom, from the 20th of September to the 20th of March, to work four evenings every week, and always to average seventy-two hours in the week. In Mr. B.'s case we have another proof that often a very trifling circumstance in a man's history may change the programme he has marked out for himself, and prove to him the flowing of a tide in his affairs, which, if followed, will lead him on to a fortune. In September, 1809, while on his way to New York, the detention of a stage caused Mr. Brewster to stop a short time in New Haven; and, while walking around the city, he accidentally passed a carriage shop in Orange street. Learning that the proprietor was in want of a journeyman, he changed his proposed journey to New York, and commenced work in New Haven, where he has continued to reside for more than forty-six years. He commenced with a debt against

*Address, p. 15.

him of thirty dollars. In 1810, the second year after his location there, he "started" business for himself, in a little shop on the corner of Elm and High streets. Subsequently, his business increasing, he moved into Orange street, where he conducted business for many years. In connection with this New Haven establishment, he had branches of it in other cities of this Union. One was in the city of New York, where he bought out the repository of an old carriagemanufacturer, Mr. Abram Quick, in Broad street, and shortly afterwards united with him in partnership Mr. John R. Lawrence, now the old-established and extensive carriage-mannfacturer in Broadway, the friendship and personal acquaintance of whom the writer is proud to acknowledge.

At one period Mr. B. had considerable trade with the island of Cuba, where he is reported to have furnished a number of that popular vehicle, the Volante, the especial favorite of the fair señoritas of that dependency of Spain. In connection with this period of his life, Mr. B. very frequently discourses of the trials he encountered and the difficulties he overcame, and the economical practices he used in manufacturing and transporting his work to a distant market, which we, from motives of delicacy, knowing his modesty of feeling, omit here, although it gives us great pleasure to say, that, unlike many others, he has never felt himself above his business.

Finally Mr. B. removed from Orange street into what was then called "The New Township," then a suburb of the city, and which he mainly has been instrumental in building up, thereby making a large addition to the city of his successes. In 1855 he erected an Orphan Asylum, which, with his characteristic benevolence, he afterwards presented to the city of New Haven. He has very recently erected a very fine edifice, which is known as BREWSTER HALL, in which place he recently delivered an address to the apprentices and employés of his, in his former business. This address has been given to the public in pamphlet form, from which we intend hereafter to give our patrons some extracts, the advice of which, if followed, must conduce to produce a higher aim of life. On the occasion of this reunion, a number of gentlemen from different States, and now of different professions, assembled and enjoyedthey say-one of the pleasantest times of their lives. The ties of attachment manifested in the address of Mr. Andrews, and exhibited in the countenances of those there assembled, are evidence that Mr. B. has been singularly fortunate in advancing the best interests of his former employés, and in securing that degree of good feeling desirable between the employer and the employed.

Such has been the luck of Mr. B. (we would call it industry, prudence and economy), that now in his advanced years his personal happiness is promoted in having it in his power to assist others. We may sum up all in the words of a letter to us, from one intimately acquainted with him for more than forty years: "In my judgment, Mr. Brewster stands unrivaled by any man living, or that has ever lived in this city (New Haven), for public enterprise and philanthropy-he is a practical Christian of a noble stamp." May he long live to enjoy the fruits of his labor and the esteem of his fellow-citizens.

S.

A CHANCE FOR A CARRIAGE MAKER.-A recent traveler in says that at Islamabad, in Cashmere, there is not a single wheeled carriage to be found.

Miscellaneous Literature.

THE STATE CARRIAGE OF MAB, QUEEN OF THE FAIRIES.

COACH-MAKING WITH THE POETS. "That power allied to poets' fame,

Which language ne'er has dared to name-
The soul's creative might."

WASHINGTON ALLSTON.

SINCE the advent of the Messiah, whose mission-as sung by the angels to the watchful shepherds on the plains of Judea-was announced as being one of peace and good-will to man, the chariot, as an instrument of warfare, seems to have gradually gone out of use. As a vehicle of pleasure, it has been succeeded by other formations, and, as the Bible emphatically declares, "old things are done away, and all things have become new," and brought about, with these changes, new carriages as well.

Yet, notwithstanding this general disuse of the chariot, &c., as above stated, still the mind of man had, at the period of which we write, become so chariotically imbued with the glowing descriptions of such old poets as Hesiod, and Homer, and Virgil, et id omne genus, who had sung of phætons, and chariots, and other fanciful creations in former days, that, judging from the productions of Chaucer and his successors, they were very unwilling to relinquish so trite a theme for the exercise of their ingenuity; and, since the thing no longer existed, their inventive minds, with more poetry than truth, have discovered that they were still in use in the fairy-land. This discovery was made about 400 years ago, at a time when carriages were about as scarce as white blackbirds.

From the days of old Chaucer unto the present time, we find that, occasionally, some Muses, favored with visionary visits from the fairy climes, where more sober prose writers are never suffered to intrude, have been initiated into the "charmed circles," and, regardless of every injunction to the contrary, have amused an unbelieving world with their "thrice-told tales." Being but of a prosaic turn of mind -a matter-of-fact man ourself-and, consequently, somewhat slighted by those in the "undiscovered land," we have taken this subject in hand with some reluctance, but with a firm determination to do justice to the veracity of our informants, the Poets, in their revelations.

Chaucer, in a dark age of the world, has told us, in his story of The Flower and Leaf, that

"Whan that Phoebus his chaire of gold so hie
Had whirled up the sterry sky aloft,
And in the Boole was entred certainely,"

and thus given us reason to think that his optics were unu

sually penetrating, or else he was especially invited
to be "
one of the party" where mortals are seldom
seen. We would not judge incredulously, but yet
we are forcibly impressed with the idea, that the
old Monk has plagiarized his story from Ovid, with-
out, in this case, proving that "ars inveniendi ado-
lescit cum inventis"-that the art of invention in-
creases with the exercise of the process. The Latin
Poet has seated a fast youth-with a god for a
parent-in his golden chariot; Chaucer, "a world
of ladies" in his chaire, too numerous to mention,
and, though he is non-committal as regards the
horses, tells us that their "harness was all white,"

"And every bosse of bridle and partelle

That they had, was worth, as I would wene,
A thousand pounds."

Chaucer flourished in an age which, perhaps, may not be inappropriately denominated a transition era, when the chariot of his predecessor brother Poets, who had sung of celestial antagonisms, were about to sing of milder themes, and so he has consistently introduced the "chaire," the coach, &c. Chaucer, inspired, or rather influenced by the spirit of his times, was afterwards improved upon, and imitated by Shakspeare and Drayton, both contemporaries of Spenser, and other less ingenious poets, to our day. Thus a train of poets have manufactured for the literary feast the fairy coach, with spokes of spider legs, and "wheels composed of crickets' bones," and other light materials, thereby showing that our light carriages-those we call suchare far behind those manufactured four centuries ago.

After Chaucer, the next successful poetical coach-maker is Shakspeare, who has painted the fairy-the mild benignant being,

"Who i' the colours of the rainbow

And plays i' th' plighted clouds,"

and who lunched on "the brains of nightingales," the unctuous dew of snails, stewed between two nut-shells, a gnat's thigh or a pickled maggot, and other easily digested dainties of the same nature-as riding in a coach, the body of which was made from the shell "of an empty hazel-nut," for everyday use; but, on state occasions, when Queen Mab wished to show out, the body of her coach was a snail-shell, whose former tenant had been unceremoniously ousted the hammer-cloth being composed of the wing of a pied butterfly, and the wheels covered (tired?) with thistle-down to prevent their rattling over the pavement. An English writer, who assumes to be posted, says, this "snail-shell carriage of Queen Mab bore the same comparative appearance to her everyday one which the London Lord Mayor's state coach does to his private one."

Michael Drayton, who wrote some twenty five years after Shakspeare, says, Nymphidia, the gentle fay, who met him one night, told him what he has told us-that the chariot of King Oberon, which his unfaithful queen, with her maids of honor, rode away in one evening on a stolen visit to that fast chap, Pigwiggen-the king, by-the-by, seems to have been of a weak mind, in other words, jealous of Queen Mab's conduct, and, pursuing, found himself in a misunderstanding with "Pig," the end of which found him "second best," and nearly "kilt," as Paddy would saywas drawn by four nimble gnats with "harness of gossamer," and driven by fly Cranion, as charioteer, "upon the coach-box getting." But we must let the poet speak for himself. He says:

"Her chariot of a snail's fine shell,
Which for the colors did excell,
The fair Queen Mab becoming well,
No lively was the limning:

The seat the soft wool of the bee,
The cover (gallantly to see)
The wing of a py'd butterflee,

I trow 'twas simple trimming.

The wheels compos'd of crickets' bones,
And daintily made for the nonce,
For fear of rattling on the stones,

With thistle down they shod it:

For all her maidens much did fear,
If Oberon had chanced to hear

That Mab, his queen, should have been there,

He would not have abode it."

The fairies since Drayton's time seem to have undergone a great change in character, until most people have come to think that they can only be found in hoops and crinoline, and, although probably more tangible than the poetical prototype, still none the less bewitching.

Before dismissing Drayton's Nymphidia and his fairy coach, we would remark, that, living in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, at the period he wrote-coaches having been just introduced into England-he has, no doubt, been influenced by the popular mind, and so given vent to his fancy in a poetical fiction.

Passing by other poetical coach-manufacturers, we come down to the days of the Pilgrim Fathers, when, as Josselyn says, in his Rarities of New England, "There be no beggars in this country, but witches too many;" yet too poor to ride in coaches in a country where none were built. It has been charged that some Irish Presbyterians, who settled in New Hampshire, about 1720, brought from the "ould counthry" both witches and potatoes; but, while the latter took root and grew, the belief in the former was soon "played out," or else the "fairies," finding no peace from seeing so many horse-shoes nailed to the door-lintels of the Yankees, suddenly decamped. These "sprites," in latter days, instead of playing in the meadows among the tall grass in the summer evening, seem to have betaken themselves to more airy regions, where, as Drake says, the culprit Onphe, after having broken his vestal vow by "loving an earthly maid," was summoned to judgment, and sentenced for his crime to follow a shooting star

"To follow it fast, and to follow it far;"

a very hard sentence, we opine, and so probably thought the fay, who immediately

[Translated from the Mercure Universel, for the New York Coach-maker's Mag.] ON THE CENTRALIZATION AND MANUFACTURE OF CARRIAGES.

ENGLAND, AMERICA, FRANCE.

In view of what this Journal has frequently had to encounter, we are compelled to pen the following article. We intend to speak of an enterprise based on extensive operations, and on a large scale, to induce the belief that, in the face of such large establishments, small manufacturers would have nothing to do but to fold their arms, or to come, in all humility, asking for situations in them.

When the like attempt was made in Paris, the persons in possession of the establishments in this line of business could not find much employment, but the fear of a ruinous opposition has never lasted long here, and even those who were not as yet frightened, soon found out, by the failures of these inconsiderate enterprises, that this mode of invasion is not so much to be feared as one might suspect, where the matter is not thoroughly investigated. In England these fears might have been, or appeared, more serious under some circumstances, on account of the elementary means not being the same in many things. However, in spite of many circumstances, the enterprises of this line on the other side of the channel have never been able to annihilate the small manufacturers of private carriages.

A period of time is within our remembrance, when these small manufactories were more seriously threatened in their existence. It was in 1834. The English carriage-makers were alarmed. They thought themselves on the verge of ruin, in consequence of the centralization which was organizing in certain parts of the kingdom, for the manufacture of private carriages. They loudly exclaimed, "Was it not sufficient that we should have submitted to the influence of new fashions in circulation by railroads, without these organizations being formed to give us opposition?" They said, "See those manufactories which are established at Sheffield, Wolverhampton, and in many other places; their object being to construct pony chaises for parks, and cabs with low wheels for cities, it being known that in England vehicles with low wheels do not pay any duty-they intended to have them manufactured by the hundreds and thousands, and then sell them at low prices, because they will find, in the manufactories and elsewhere, springs, axletrees, &c., and then we shall have nothing more to do." It was soon seen who was to be most pitied. M. Guillon, who was among those gentlemen at that time, even saw some fall into a state of despondency. Some thought of letting part of their factory; others were waiting to see if the moment of their entire ruin had not commenced. But, as it generally happens in such oppositions, these persons had been frightened without a cause.

The following has proved that it is not the same with carriages as with railroads, and that the railroad cannot create itself a new existence to the detriment of the more ancient mode of travel in usage before it. A large carriage manufactory is different from one resting on smaller developed proportions.

These reasons are attributable to causes which do not enter into the plan of our publication. Let us confine ourselves to say, that, to exercise the art of carriage manufacturing in perfection, one must, at least, be an artist in that line; and that the greatest merchant in the world,

if he takes a fancy to found a factory of this kind, will find himself mistaken, which has been the case with many extensive carriage-makers.

After having had misfortunes, these large establishments have gradually been seen going behind-hand; the second year they built omnibuses; the third agricultural wagons, so as to work up their materials and tools; and the fifth they emigrated to Louisiana, for the purpose of dissimulating or lessening their misfortunes; so as to leave the English practitioner, who was more fitted to discharge the difficult trade. For these reasons these strengthened themselves in their position.

The general exhibitions of 1851 and 1857 have shown the progress which has been made in the years since the departure of the great contractors who emigrated. These carry on their operations on a smaller scale.

Let us here continue the subject of these large manufac tories on the American Continent, and try to show to what point this mode of proceeding will quickly tend, and show that it will prove as unfortunate as well in the countries they emigrated to, as certain admirers of all that is charming, who carry their money like fascination, led away by the seductive music of the prospect, generally losing it in inevitable troubles of various kinds. At New Orleans, -the principal city of Louisiana, built on the oriental banks of the Mississippi (this city is very unhealthy, but commercial)—has already commenced, in imitation of New York, the manufacture of carriages suited to its locality.

Possessing iron, steel, and a good quality of wood that can be easily used, without doubt the carriage-makers of New Orleans would have made beautiful work, if those adventurous negotiants had not gone and carried mercantilism among them, to take the place of the comfortable, strong and solid, so that the carriage manufactories of that city resemble the shops of tinsmiths. In them you see shelves, with hooks, on which carriages are hung, and others are suspended upon the ceilings, if it is allowable to give the name of carriages to such imperfect vehicles, which persons only buy when they are on the eve of a voyage, without stopping to ask if they are strong enough to support a few persons. For example, should you wish to have yourself transported to Nashville, or into the interior, you enter a bazaar, you choose a carriage, they lower it down, and if it does not suit they hoist it up again; and this is repeated until you have chosen one to suit you.

The price of the whole concern is never very high; you can easily obtain a carriage, harness and horse, all new (excepting the horse) for 250 francs, which is equal to fifty dollars. As the roads are bad, precautions are taken; there are placed in a little box a few ropes, which will enable you to refasten the parts that may break on the road. Experience has demonstrated that steel springs are very susceptible of being broken; they will tell you for that reason they have made them of ordinary iron, and the axles of cast, and other different parts of the same material; the whole put together by a stroke of the hammer. The parts which are made of wood are considered the best in the world. It is from thence that New York draws that good beech which is used in cabinet making. The quality is superior to the fagus procera of Naples, and to the beechtree of England and France. The rims of the wheels in New Orleans are made of lance wood (bois de lance) or live oak. We must not compare it with the lance wood of England, which is nothing but ash, nor with that of the Bouchesdu-Rhône. The difference is worthy of note. The hubs

of the Louisiana wheels are made from the yoh elm tree, similar to the elm of France, and the carpinus of the Two Sicilies. The spokes are of chestnut, resembling the chestnut of France. These wheels are very light and high, tired with bolts, which renders them elastic, and prevents one from being jolted while traversing the inequalities of the road. Such is, according to our judgment, the state of carriage-making in America. When a rich man of that country wishes to get a superior vehicle, it is generally at Paris that he addresses himself to find what he wants.

. We make these reflections on a rumor, well founded or not, which is circulating on the subject, that there are going to be grand establishments on a new plan, which will start with a large capital, just like a fearful rival for the establishments already in operation. We have our eyes open to these leviathanic projects, and we shall continue to notice in our paper the events which may follow on this subject.

We shall have occasion to pass in review the different enterprises in this category, which only appear and disappear; the subject being well digested and properly conducted.

In concluding this article, let us say, in giving assistance to its publicity, that by a competition between carriagemakers we are laying the foundation for a permanent construction, on a rational basis. The Editor of the Mercure Universel does not intend to give up his liberty to criticise. He ought to retain it. He will know how to preserve it for the interests of the art. We shall continue, then, to second the artist and the conscientious practitioners, always resolutely defending them against speculative susceptibilities, and the lessening of the good taste which distinguishes our nationality in all things.

For the New York Coach-Maker's Magazine. THE THREE-FOLD NATURE OF MAN. BY CHARLES C. KEYS.

NO. I.

THE greatest variety and complexity exist in the works of creation. This is apparent in every department of nature. The earth, the sea, and the air teem with the countless productions of Infinite skill, and, under ten thousand forms, exhibit the perfections of Him "by whom all things subsist." The mineral strata, forming the crust of our globe, is constituted of many essential parts, materially differing from each other, and serving the different purposes which accord with the design of the Great Contriver. The same diversity is to be found in the vegetable kingdom. Trees, plants and shrubs, of every size and every hue, and serving a multitude of purposes, are to be found in every direction upon the face of the earth. Every land and every climate help to make up the beautiful variety which this department of God's works presents to our view. And the animal kingdom equally, if not to a greater extent, abounds with the multitudinous productions of Almighty power and Divine wisdom. Organized life, in the greatest multiplicity of forms, everywhere appears, from the meanest insect or reptile, up to the more noble creature which was made in the image of God." And when we come to consider our own nature, we do not find it to be a unit, strictly speaking, a simple whole, but a most curious piece of mechanism, made up of many parts, extremely intricate in their arrangement and construction, exhibiting at every turn the contrivance and design of their Author, and fulfilling ends

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