Tag Archives: clown car

omnibuses and artistic license

5th Avenue Stage
Fifth Avenue Coach circa 1900 (coachbuilt.com)

The masters and slaves in the GQ books do a lot of traveling by omnibus. The masters sit and the slaves stand in the aisle beside their seats. Historical omnibuses, whether horse-drawn or electric, would not have allowed for standing, or even aisles. Looking at pictures, there’s something of the clown car about them, absolutely crammed full of passengers.

1898 electric 5th
Fifth Avenue Coach electric omnibus 1898 (coachbuilt.com)

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