Grand Tour

Thus the “ business class” of the Grand Tour was the private carriage. The models and relative merits of the vehicles varied widely, as can be inferred from the literature on the subject. Manuals, handbooks and pamphlets covered various questions of bon ton linked to travel (from these we learn, for example that only passengers facing forward had the right to raise or lower the panes of glass in the windows - Brilli, 2004), but what mattered most was that they kept people up to date with the standards of vehicles just like modern automobile magazines.

One unsurpassed model was Napoleon's carriage, put on show at Piccadilly, which trounced all its forerunners with its astonishing internal fittings, which allowed all kinds of objects to be packed away with mathematical precision. It was a mobile home that fully satisfied the ambition to possess a vehicle which could simulatate the comforts and conveniences of one's own house (Brilli, 2004).

The essential qualities of the coach were considered to be the solidity, stability and balance of the vehicle, its lightness, the smoothness of its progress and the efficiency of the suspension. The guidebooks recommended carriages of English manufacture (the Hopkins firm was said to be the most reliable), adapted for Continental roads. They had to be equipped with reinforced springs with a short travel, front wheels sufficiently high not to get bogged down in sandy or muddy ground, supplementary couplings for mules or oxen to help in ascents, a chest containing tools for disassembling and reassembling the carriage for sea crossings and crossings of the Alps (a small jack, a sturdy hammer with an incorporated hatchet, chains, ropes), wooden rather than iron axles, as the latter overheated easily and were liable to crack if exposed to intense cold, a baggage trunk and a light top. Outstanding among the models of carriages was the four-wheeled berlin, with thoroughbrace suspension, covering and windows that could be opened, suited for the transport of six people. If there were only two passengers the post chaise, an agile vehicle and therefore one capable of great speed, was often preferred.

Every carriage was fitted with more or less customized accessories, some designed to satisfy the most eccentric needs. In fact it was requests from private customers that introduced the modifications and innovations which would later become standard fittings even in coaches built for hire. The success of the journey depended on the sophistication of the equipment on which the traveler could rely while on the move and when making a stopover.

During the journey, the basic problem was the reconciling the total lack of space with the need for comfort. Resolving it was the task of coachbuilders, upholsterers, cabinetmakers, silversmiths and all the other craftsmen who improved the comfort of the vehicle from model to model, working on the positioning of the seats and the rational arrangement of lockers of various kinds, installing drawers, pouches, good cushions to soften the jolting of the vehicle and smooth its angles, “hermetic seals” for the windows and hooks and springs for the curtains.

During stopovers, on the other hand, the traveler had to be prepared to meet all kinds of needs by himself if he did not want to fall victim to the terrible inns. Ingenuity in packing in as many objects as possible, from the dinner service to the toilet case , from the writing table to the knockdown bed, paid handsomely.

The best equipped travelers were preceded by other coaches, known as fourgons , carrying servants, baggage and provisions.

Another popular variant was the dormeuse , a carriage that could be transformed into a comfortable bedroom for two. Lady Blessington (1826) possessed one with double springs and fitted with soft cushions and down quilts which she declared she couldn't do without.