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Landaus with the cover folded down (top image) and raised (lower image)
A landau (pronounced LAN-dow) is a four-wheeled carriage with a cover that can be let down. It was a luxury carriage. The low shell of the landau provides maximal visibility of the occupants and their clothing, a feature that makes a landau a popular choice for ceremonial occasions.
History of landau carriages
A landau is lightweight and suspended on elliptical springs. It was invented in the 18th century; landau in this sense is first noted in English in 1743. It was named after the German city of Landau in the Rhenish Palatinate where they were first produced. In the 1830s, Luke Hopkinson, a celebrated coach-maker in Holborn, introduced the Briska Landau, which led to subsequent improvements to the popular landau.
Description and development
A landau, drawn by a pair or four-in-hand, is one of several kinds of vis-à-vis, a social carriage with facing seats over a dropped footwell (illustration), which was perfected by the mid-19th century in the form of a swept base that flowed in a single curve. The soft folding top is divided into two sections, front and rear, latched at the center. These usually lie perfectly flat, but the back section can be let down or thrown back while the front section can be removed or left stationary. When fully opened, the top can completely cover the passengers, with some loss of the graceful line.
The landau's centre section might contain a fixed full-height glazed door, or more usually a low half-door. There would usually be a separate raised open coachman's upholstered bench-seat, but a landau could be postilion-driven, and there was usually a separate groom's seat, sprung above and behind the rear axle, saving the groom from having to stand on a running board.
A five-glass landau was fitted with a front glass windscreen and two windows on each side (including retractable windows on the doors).
The landau reached its full development by the mid-19th century. It was purely a city carriage of luxury type. The low shell of the landau made for maximum visibility of the occupants and their clothing, a feature that makes a landau a popular choice for ceremonial occasions.
Landaulet
Landaulet
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A landaulet carriage, also landaulette or demi-landau, is a cut-down (coupé) version of a landau. The landaulette retains the rear half of the landau's two-part folding top. The earliest use of the word shown in the Oxford English Dictionary is in a patent of 1771, using the former spelling landawlet.
Landaulet. A coupé version of the Landau, seating two passengers facing forward. A square type, the rear part protected by a falling hood or half hood. Drawn by either a single horse in shafts or a pair in pole gear. Hung on sideways elliptical and semi-elliptical springs.
— D. J. M. Smith in A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles
The name landaulette was also used for the landaulet car body style, where the passengers are covered by a removable top and the chauffeur is usually covered and separated from passengers by a division.
State coaches
Numerous countries have used landaus as their state coach. Some reside in museums and others have been meticulously maintained and are still used in parades and ceremonies. Landaus used as state coaches were often constructed with a removable driver's seat so they could be guided by postilion (riders) instead of a coachman.
Canada
The monarch of Canada has a state landau available in Ottawa for ceremonial processions from Rideau Hall to Parliament Hill. The State Landau was given to Canada in 1911 and was formerly used by the Governor General of Australia.
For the King's Plate in Toronto, the monarch and the royal family have a private landau owned by the Ontario Jockey Club and gift from E.P. Taylor.
Japan
A number of horse-drawn carriages, known in Japan as zagyoshiki, are maintained by the Imperial household and regularly used when new ambassadors present their credentials to the emperor as well as for royal weddings and coronations.
United Kingdom
The Royal Mews maintains several different types of landau: several state landaus are in regular use (dating from between 1838 and 1872), plus five semi-state landaus, and several Ascot landaus. The semi-state landaus have less ornamentation, and livery is less elegant than full state livery. The Ascot landaus are lighter, have basket-work sides, and are used at the Royal Ascot. The 1902 State Postillion Landau was built for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902. The Royal Mews also retains a miniature landau made for the children of George V and designed to be pulled by ponies.
Landaus make for a striking display as long as the weather is fine, and they are used on occasions ranging from state visits and the State Opening of Parliament, to royal weddings, jubilees and other celebrations. They also play a regular part in the welcoming of new ambassadors to the Court of St James's: soon after arriving in London, foreign ambassadors have an audience with the monarch in which they present their Letters of Credence or Letters of High Commission. The ambassadors are collected from the embassy or residence by a state landau from the Royal Mews, and escorted by the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, who is based at St James's Palace. The ambassador's entourage follows in another state landau.
See also
References
- "Landau". MetaGlossary.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2008.
- Walrond, Sallie (1979). The Encyclopaedia of Driving. Country Life Books. ISBN 0600331822. OL 4175648M.
- OED, "landau".
- "Ascot State Coach". Images of Scotland.
- "Dress Landaue from the Coson carriage collection at Beechdale". Carriage Association of America. Archived from the original on 6 August 2007.
- "George A. Hooper design of a landau, 1856". Science & Society Picture Library.
- ^ Smith, D.J.M. (1988). A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles. J. A. Allen & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0851314686. OL 11597864M.
- The Merriam-Webster new book of word histories, Merriam-Webster, Inc 1991 Google preview
- "Landaulet, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- Clough, Albert L. (1913). A dictionary of automobile terms. New York, The Horseless age company. p. 185. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- "Procession of horse-drawn carriages at the Ceremony of the Presentation of Credentials". Imperial Household Agency website.
- ^ The Royal Mews - Buckingham Palace. Pitkin Pictorials. 1972. OL 24943303M.
- "Ambassador's credentials". Official Website of The British Monarchy. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009.
Further reading
- Richardson, Clive (1985). Driving : The Development and Use of Horse-Drawn Vehicles. B.T. Batsford. ISBN 9780713439922.
- Berkebile, Donald H. (1978). Carriage Terminology: A Historical Dictionary. Smithsonian Institution Press publication. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. OCLC 3650993.