Beekman Family coach

With its luxurious enclosed body and accommodation for liveried driver and footman, the horse-drawn coach was the prestige vehicle of the eighteenth century. New York merchant James Beekman acquired this coach in 1771. It was the crown jewel in his fleet of carriages that already included a chaise, chariot, and phaeton. Beekman's account book records that he purchased the coach for £138, and made additional expenditures for painting the family arms on the doors and varnishing the surface.