Design for Vis-à-vis/ Calèche (unnumbered)

Art Historical Context

This delicate 1875 design drawing by Brewster & Co., in collaboration with Paul Rodiss, captures the elegance of a vis-à-vis calèche—a luxurious horse-drawn carriage with facing seats, ideal for stylish urban outings. Produced by the renowned New York Brewster & Co., famed for crafting high-end vehicles for America's Gilded Age elite, thisnumbered sheet (6 x 9 1/16 in.) exemplifies the firm's meticulous design process. Donated to the Metropolitan Museum Art in 1923 by William Brewster, it now resides in the Drawings and Prints department. Rendered in pen and black ink with watercolor and gouache, the artwork showcases precise line work for structural details alongside vibrant washes that highlight the carriage's polished wood, gleaming metal fittings, and tufted upholstery. These mixed-media techniques were essential for 19th-century draftsmen, allowing clear communication of proportions, ornamentation, and functionality to craftsmen. As automobiles loomed on the horizon, such designs represent the pinnacle of pre-motorized transport culture, symbolizing wealth, craftsmanship, and social display. Visitors will appreciate how this modest drawing evokes the clip-clop rhythm of a bygone era's streets.

About the Artist

Brewster & Co.|Paul Rodissart · 1837–present

**Brewster & Co.** Brewster & Company, a premier American coachbuilder renowned for its exquisite carriage designs, was established in 1810 in New Haven, Connecticut, by James Brewster (1788–1866). Born in 1788, Brewster trained as a wagonmaker's apprentice starting at age 16 in Northampton, Massachusetts, before relocating to New Haven, where he set up his workshop and quickly gained acclaim for...