Miniature coach
Category
Carriages & other vehicles
Date
1870
Materials
Wood, Metal, Textile, Leather, Rubber, Linoleum, Paint
Order this imageCollection
National Trust Carriage Museum
NT 272914.1.2
Caption
This is a miniature private coach, and it was built for General Tom Thumb while on tour in England with Barnum’s Circus. It was driven by the General himself. It was purchased by Alfred Ash in 1894 for his 5 year old son, Graham Baron Ash. A photo of the carriage during this period is on display by the Children’s Carriages. The builder of this carriage is not known, nor is the exact date, but General Tom Thumb was on tour in England during the 1840s and again in the late 1870s.
Summary
Undercarriage of miniature Road Coach built for Charles Stratton, also known as 'General Tom Thumb' for use in Barnum's Circus during their tour of England in 1865. Road Coach (four wheels) for four very small ponies. This coach is sprung on mail springs. It has a black leather cloth interior trim and two interior and four exterior cushions. Painted in black livery and lined in red.
Full description
This unique vehicle was built for Charles Stratton, also known as 'General Tom Thumb'. Stratton was born in the United States in Bridgeport, Connecticut on 4 January 1838, and died on 15 July 1883 in Middleboro, Massachusetts. Ultimately growing to a height of 40 inches (1 metre), he became famous under the name 'General Tom Thumb' while touring the United States and Europe as a star of P.T. Barnum’s ‘American Museum’. This carriage was probably used by Stratton during one of his four English tours. It was driven by Stratton, and like the full-size private drag, could seat up to twelve passengers on the roof and four inside. This coach was purchased in 1894 by Alfred Ash for his 5 year old son, Graham Baron Ash, later the donor of Packwood House in Warwickshire, to The National Trust in 1941.