In the Days Preceding the Automobile: Carriages

This unique volume is a gorgeous collection of horse-drawn carriage designs and illustrations by D.W. Miller, the originator of the so-called perspective drawing, a method imitated everywhere afterwards. He was the first to have carriage drawings printed in color in the United States, and the first to use photo engravings in any carriage magazine. This book also includes a portrait of Frank Hooker, the President of the Carriage-Builders’ National Association at the time and an image of a “Cincinnati style” carriage designed as a lightweight parcel delivery wagon and built by the Cook Carriage Co. located here in Cincinnati.

Condition and treatment: This is an early 20^th century side-stapled cloth binding. There is a typewritten preface in the front of the binding that describes how this book was presented to the Ohio Mechanic’s Institute by D. W. Miller in 1923. The cloth case is broken along the spine exposing the textblock below. The side stapled pages are torn and beginning to detach along the gutter where the paper has developed a break line along the cover’s hinge. Conservation staff will surface clean the paper to remove loose dirt and soot as well as repair tears throughout the textblock. The side staples may be replaced with thread to prevent corrosion damage to the paper in the future. Afterwards, the cloth covered case will be rebacked and reattached to the textblock. The binding will be housed in a protective enclosure.