The Horse and Carriage Oracle; or, Rules for Purchasing and Keeping, or Jobbing Horses and Carriages: Accurate Estimates of Every Expense Occasioned Thereby, and an Easy Plan for Ascertaining Every Coach Fare
London: Henry Colburn, 1828. 3rd ed. (1st pub. 1827). Hardcover (new full leather, gilt stamped). 316p + 4p of publisher's ads, no ills. Owner's blind stamp on half title page. Very good. Item #31170
Volume 2 of Kitchiner's 2-volume Traveller's Oracle, complete in itself. Volume 1 covered hints to travelers--what to take with you, how to defend yourself, songs to sing, etc. Volume 2 deals with the costs of keeping any number of horses and staff at home or at a livery stable, costs of various carriages, their construction and decoration, duties of coachmen and servants (and reciprocal responsibilities of the owner), horse health and stable management, what to look for in a used carriage, estimated expenses of hiring hackney coaches, and more. One chapter details "the fifteen things which a good coachman won't do." (Rittenhouse Carriage Hundred 48, Wells 4218) Can be sent outside the US for less than the default shipping rate.
Price: $125.00