Sleigh

Description

Sleigh. Single-runner, two seat, four place variety. High back convex seat. Rear seat mounted on two two-leaf semi-elliptical springs. Wooden block whip socket unpainted. Front seat is removable with a single wooden piece backrest. Seats carpeted. Sides have concave top. Bumpers taper toward front. Blades have iron secured to bottom. Painted dark green.

Notes

This small sleigh carried four people on two bench seats. It is constructed of wood and the floor is carpeted. Two steel springs support the back seat, making it more comfortable when traveling over uneven ground. The front seat is removable. In addition to required transportation, the Shakers in several communities used their sleigh for recreation. Andrew Fortier (1823-1890) or Mount Lebanon recorded in 1861, "go after the Sisters & take a load of Sisters for a sleigh ride."[1] Recalling her childhood among the Shakers, Lillian Phelps (1877-1973) of Canterbury wrote: "Sleigh rides provided universal enjoyment for both young and old. Sometimes we would fill our three-seated upholstered sleigh, while at others we would pile into the old wood sled or pung, as it was called.... There were no electric heaters in those days and we had only heated soapstones, encased in woolen bags, to keep our hands and feet from freezing."[2] Two popular 19th-century prints of the Shakers show them with their sleighs. A wood engraving by Arthur Boyd Huntington (1836-1879) titled "Shaker Sleighing Party" shows two horses pulling a long sleigh filled with twelve Mount Lebanon Shakers.[3] Several European and American newspapers printed the wood engraving, "A Sleigh Ride," by Joseph Becker (1841-1910), showing six Shakers riding in a sleigh similar in design to this one. [1] Diary of Andrew Fortier, entry dated March 15, 1861. Emma B. King Library, Shaker Museum and Library, Old Chatham, NY. [2] Lillian Phelps. "Reminiscences of Shaker Recreational Life." The Shaker Quarterly I, Number 2 (Summer 1961), 56. [3] The Graphic 1 (May 14, 1870) 536.