Loretta reports:
Traveling in the early 1800s was complicated to a degree we can scarcely fathom.
The Traveller's Oracle, by William Kitchiner, M.D., deals with what seems to be every last, daunting detail of the process, like what sort of servant(s) to take, what medicines to pack, how to sleep safely at an inn, and so on.
I could have picked any of dozens of excerpts, but decided matters of the horse would offer a good clue to the kinds of things one had to consider. This is from the third (1828) edition:
When you wish to travel forty or fifty miles in a day expeditiously, if you have Horses of of your own—it is the most advisable plan to send them on the day before about twenty or twenty-five miles, desiring they may go not more than five miles in an hour.
If you start from home with post Horses, your own will be fresh to carry you on briskly to the termination of your Journey.
Image: Henry Alken,
Bath Coach (1820) courtesy Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Clicking on the image will enlarge it. Clicking on the caption will take you to the source, where you can learn more and enlarge images as needed.
One of us -- 
3 comments:
Lol! And here I was complaining about it taking us over six hours to travel 500 km by car from Brisbane to Roma (Queensland) the other day - thank goodness we were not travelling by carriage or else it would have taken us ten days!
Thanks VERY much for posting the link to that book. I'd never have found that, and it's just what I needed to get my hands on for what I'm writing now. :-)
The traveller's oracle or, Maxims for locomotion: containing precepts for promoting the pleasures and hints for preserving the health of travellers. This book, "The traveller's oracle or, Maxims for locomotion", by William Kitchiner, is a replication of a book originally published before 1827. It has been restored by human beings, page by page, so that you may enjoy it in a form as close to the original as possible.
Post a Comment