Can You Identify this Pre-1900 Ride?

[Reynard]

 

 

This may be a "studio" photograph (taken outdoors) made to impress friends rather than a pleasant drive in the city.

Is that a chicken on the hat of the grandma in the back seat?

 

 

[Rod P]

A respectable family in Decauville in 1898.

 

And still looks like a chicken in Grandma's hat.

 

Respectable?

 

"Mother, you cannot possibly go out again with the nesting hat, what will the neighbours think?"

 

"Really, looked in the mirror lately, your baby ostrich is looking a bit sad. Anyway, everyone will be too busy looking at Teddy's tea cosy hat. Can we just get a move on, please."

 

 

[Reynard]

Tea cosies (Btitish) or cozies (US) are still very popular. Not sure about wearing a chicken on your head.

 

[wayne sheldon]

I don't recall the year. However, I do recall seeing era cartoons poking fun at "birds" on ladies hats. It was a fashion for a short while around that turn of the century. Thankfully, fake or stuffed birds as a fashion didn't continue for very long. Although early cartoonists continued to poke fun at the idea still into the 1920s.

[58L-Y8]

Was that back-to-back seating referred to as a 'Dos-a-dos'?

[Reynard]

2 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Was that back-to-back seating referred to as a 'Dos-a-dos'?

Yup.   Also a back to back dance position.

Edited 19 hours ago by Reynard (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

American "square dancing" requires learning a number of dance steps in order to perform them as the "caller" calls them out. Dos-a-dos literally means "back to back" (French) and has been used to describe many things in culture as well as dance moves and seating types of automobiles. "Vis-a-vis" on the other hand literally means face to face. Early European automobiles commonly were built in either vis-a-vis or dos-a-dos styles. At least up until speeds got high enough that such seating arrangements caused unsafe distractions for drivers.

 

A long long time ago, I did learn some American square dancing. Along with ballroom and the Charleston, I was never a good dancer. But I did enjoy it. I would have liked to have continued some dancing occasionally, however once married, my wife did not like doing much of it.

[wayne sheldon]

I keep hoping someone better than I can identify this car. I have long been very interested in the very early automobiles, both European and American.

I suspect this car to be European given its early design and the people's clothing. However, there is nothing in the picture to indicate it is not American, so that should not be eliminated quite yet.

It appears to be a substantial design, and likely well built. The chassis details do not look familiar to me, and I have looked at hundreds of photos over the years.

[Reynard]

I did a little research and this car appears to be a French Decauville Voiturette     circa: 1998 - 1999

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decauville_automobile

An 1899 Decauville Voiturelle on the 2008 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run

 

Decauville Voiturette 1898 . circa 1898. 

 

Museum piece with a vis-a-vis body

 

 

 

 

Edited 4 minutes ago by Reynard (see edit history)