
3 3 c m
40cm
actual image size: 32cm x 25cm
Description
Print designed, etched and published by George Cruikshank. A satire on the invention of the steam carriage, it shows four horses commenting as such a carriage pases. Meanwhile, two dogs in the foreground speculate on the likely availability of cheap meat now that horses will no longer be required to pull coaches. At this time steam-driven travel still remained an unreliable fad to most people. When Sir Goldsworthy Gurney introduced steam-powered pasenger coaching services in the 1820s, it was very much in the interests of the powerful horse-drawn coach operators to encourage this negative view of steam propulsion. By placing physical obstructions on the roads and persuading the government to impose heavy tolls they drove the steam coach operators out of busines.
Image Details
Image Ref.
10420546
© Science Museum / Science & Society Picture Library