Gig (carriage)
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A gig is a light, two-wheeled open carriage with large wheels, a forward facing seat, and shafts for a single horse. The gig's body is constructed above the shafts, and it is entered from step-irons hanging from the shaft in front of the wheels. Gigs are enclosed at the back, and have luggage space under the cross-seat. Early gigs were crude and unsprung; later gigs were elegant for town driving and were constructed with springs. The term "gig" is short for "whirligig".Template:RTemplate:RTemplate:R
The Oxford English Dictionary gives the date of first known reference to a horse-drawn gig as 1791, and they were ubiquitous by the early 1800s.[1]
Gigs were typically named after their designers, builders, or their shape.Template:R There are several types of gig, including:[2][3][4]Template:R
- Dennett gig: Early 1800s resembling the Stanhope gig but with three springs, one crosswise and two horizontalTemplate:R
- Skeleton gig: Very light; no luggage space.Template:R
- Spider gig: Very high gig, French version had high outward curving dash and curved shafts.Template:R
- Stanhope: typically having a high seat and closed back; designed and built by Fitzroy Stanhope around 1814.Template:R
- Stick-back gig: designed with the seat back made of sticks or ribs.Template:R
- Suicide gig: Very high gig popular in Ireland. Dangerous to drive or mount.Template:R
- Tilbury or Seven-spring gig: designed by Fitzroy Stanhope, but named after builder Tilbury. Heavier than the Stanhope because it had seven springs and two braces. Popular where roads were rough.Template:RTemplate:R
- Whiskey or whisky: lightweight, often constructed with canework. Named for whisking over the road.Template:RTemplate:R
Gigs travelling at night would normally carry two oil lamps with thick glass, known as gig-lamps. This led to the formerly common slang word "giglamps" for "spectacles".[5]
Nineteenth century literature frequently recounted "romantic tales of spills and hairbreadth [e]scapes" from these vehicles, but is equally fulsome on the fearful thrill experienced in driving them.[6]
References
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- ↑ Newlin, A. (1940). An Exhibition of Carriage Designs. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 35(10), 186-191.
- ↑ McCausland, Hugh. (2013). The English Carriage. Read Books Ltd.
- ↑ For descriptions and definitions see: Berkebile, Donald. H. (2014). Carriage Terminology: An Historical Dictionary. Smithsonian Institution. Template:ISBN
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Further reading
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