Sunday February 5, 2023
2° Celcius 35.6° Fahrenheit
Cloudy with Snow
Pratt & Letchworth or Hubley 4-Seater Brake Coach
I can't believe the extreme differences of temperature in the last 2 days. Yesterday, it was -30° C / -22° F and today is "warmer at -16° C / -3.2° F. Needless to say, that's the type of weather that kept me indoors writing a few blog entries! The weather today is going to go up to to 0° C / 32° F . Finally, I'll be able to take my dog for a walk!
Now back to being serious!
A few days ago, I received an e-mail from a reader asking me if I could help him identify a beautiful family heirloom toy that had been in the family over a few generations. Naturally, I was very eager to help the reader out, and of course, I said yes.
The reader wrote that the item was a Pratt & Letchworth 4-Seat Brake that his grandfather had as a child in the 1900's, about 1915. That was a great bit of information, as I never, ever, heard of the word "brake" to describe a horse-driven passenger transport.
After some searching on the Internet, I wrote the collector to say that also I thought that the item was a Pratt & Letchworth 4-Seat Brake. Of course, I'm far from an "authority" or "expert" on toys.
Interestingly, the collector did some research on my blog, and found a website by the name of Antique Toys. The website is an excellent resource for finding information about old and antique toy manufacturers. The photos are excellently photographed, and the narrative is well done and very educational. And of course, there are always a fine selection of toys for sale.
The collector contacted Mr. Ed Sanford, the owner of this excellent website, as well as a seller of toys and the owner of his store -Antique Toys. Mr. Sanford looked at the owner's toy, and identified it as a Hubley.
Please click the address below to visit this fantastic website
I wrote Ed Sanford back, and asked for some detailed contrasting details between the Hubley and Pratt and Letchford, in order to contrast the 2 different companies. Ed replied and I was very much amazed at the information and detail that he provided.
Here's what Ed had to say
"The Pratt and Letchworth toy uses metal on the double trees for the horses, and the overall tree design is different. I have a photo of the P&L.
*Double/single/quad trees are the pieces that connect to horse harness
From LiveAuctioneers."
"The color palette is different on the P&L. P and l also pinstriped their wheels and tend to use Carmel color horses.
P & L horses always have detailed reins and usually white with red and black colors.
I am still looking for some good photos for you from a catalog, but possibly it is the odd toy that is not well cataloged. -in surviving catalogs
P & L did not use as many tabbed in floorboards and benches. Hubley cut tongue and groove slots into the side of the carriage cast-iron for assembly.
As I review photos, I wonder if the toy trust allowed Hubley to use some of the castings patterns that were improved upon."
I was glad that the reader had found out the manufacturer of his toy heirloom, that he had inherited from his father.
Living in Canada, I don't get to see any old or antique American toys. My knowledge is mostly from finding information on the Web, and writing about toys from what I learn on the Web.
The first place that I went to was liveauctioneers. For those who don't know, that company is a major auctioneer for many different categories. However, it's a superb resource for finding information about modern, old, and antique toys.
I found excellently-photographed images from Morphy Auctions, as well DAKOTApaul. Morphy Auctions had photos of the Hubley coach, while DAKOTApaul had photos of a Pratt & Letchworth Coach.
I've spent a lot of time trying to compare the 2 different manufacturers of the
4-seater brake coach with a team of 4 horses. However, not ever having seem these 2 wonderful and historical toys, it was hard for me to compare and contrast. the Hubley and the Pratt & Letchworth. I'm very glad that the reader was able to find Ed Sanford, and get the answer to what he was searching for.
Above: Hubley 4-Seater Brake Coach
Below: Pratt & Letchworth 4-Seater Brake Coach
If anyone out there either has the Hubley or the Pratt and Letchworth 4-horse team with 4 seats Brake Coach, I would very much be elated if you would like to have a blog post written about you and your toy.
So that's it!
Thanks for dropping by,
And as always,
Have a great day,
wherever you may be.
My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman
and I can be reached at
toysearcher@gmail.com
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