This mud wagon was used in Herkimer County, New York and was probably built by Abbot and Downing, for it is identical with their style number 208.
HIGHLAND & ALPINE HOUSE CONCORD COACH
Red with gold and black trim; interior is heavy crimson mohair.
This coach, completed April 5, 1852, was used by the Highland and Alpine hotels in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
In blurred pencil markings on the inside door where the lining has fallen away can still be seen the names of the men who worked on this coach—John L. French, wheelwright; William L. Pearson, trimmer; John Bergum, painter.
Great care was lavished on the painting of the scrolls, striping and decorative scenes on the door panels. Customers usually had definite ideas as to what they wanted—“ornament up rich and tasty,” “flowers and nice landscapes on doors;” “put eagle,” “on the other door a female figure,” “on the door Pharaoh’s horses,” “a lady on horseback;” “Queen Victoria” (this for a stage line in Nova Scotia, Canada); “a coach and horses painted in the road,” “horses on one door and dogs on the other”—These specifications appear on the old order forms in the archives of the New Hampshire Historical Society.