"Machines and Carriages of Conveyance without Horses"

The proudest triumph of mechanics, will be the completion of a machine or carriage for travelling, without horses or other animals to drag it.

So states the The Monthly Magazine in its issue of November 1819. The unnamed writer of the article, which bears the same title as this blog, goes on to rail against the prejudice against change which, it seems to him, prevents the development of such a carriage. He further states that societies which supposedly confer patronage on such inventions are "incapable of appreciating any discovery which does not accord with their past habits and prejudices."

The Monthly Magazine however supported innovation and improvement. In March 1819 the journal carried an article on 'Drax's Velocipede' as improved by Mr. Johnson of Long Acre and made by Mr. Birch, "an eminent coachmaker, of Great Queen-street, London". 

not Drax's, but another velocipede of 1819

That March issue of the magazine is not available to me, and I have no illustration of Drax's invention, but I assume that it was propelled by some kind of pedal arrangement, as an article in the November issue states that "...the peculiar muscular action attending its frequent use, causes ruptures and inflammations of certain muscles of the thighs and legs; and it has in consequence been laid aside."

Upon the discovery of the inadequacies of Count Drax's invention, Mr. Birch, the coachmaker who built Drax's machine, took it upon himself to improve the conveyance.

...he has in consequence produced carriages of several forms and mechanical constructions, which merit the attention of the world, and cannot fail, from their elegance, safety, and power, to command extensive patronage.

This is the "Manivelociter". It is propelled by a sort of rowing action by the man in the rear seat as he pulled upon the levers he is holding. The lady in front steers the machine by means of  the handles attached to a pivot on the front wheel.

For twice the power and speed, Mr. Birch developed the "Bivector."

 Two men pulling two sets of levers--and the front man steers, but it is not clear how, for there is no mention of a pivot on the front wheel.

And finally, there is the "Trivector"--the ultimate machine of Mr. Birch's invention. The front wheel is three feet high (and does have a pivot for steering), the rear wheels are five feet in diameter. The extended frame has a floor for luggage and when loaded the conveyance "weighs 700 weight".

It seems likely that the "ruptures and inflammations of certain muscles of the thighs and legs" caused by Drax's velocipede were replaced by ruptures and inflammations to the arms and shoulders caused by the rowing action of this type of construction. Nevertheless,

This Trivector went from London to Brighton, on Saturday, Sept. 11, worked by three men, as represented in the engraving, in seven hours, where they dined; after which they proceeded thirteen miles farther; making together a distance of sixty-seven miles within the day. It would, however, be possible to run this machine 120 miles in the day, or ten miles an hour.

Well, Birch's machines did not ultimately 'command extensive patronage', and to modern eyes, they look rather ridiculous. But they were steps along a path that the author of the article considered essential: "That the perfection of such machines is most important, is evident from the consideration, that horses consume half the produce of the soil..."

It was only three years later that The Monthly Magazine was reporting on "Carriages to be propelled by Steam on Common Roads, and capable of conveying Goods and Passengers". They could travel five miles per hour, and were touted as reducing costs for everything from goods delivery to postal distribution. Steam was the way of the future, for the nineteenth century, at least.

Part of the charm of the Regency era is the fertile minds at work inventing a future that we take for granted. I sometimes wish they had not succeeded...except when I am in a hurry.

'Til next time,
Lesley-Anne

The Monthly Magazine(s)

In my blog post of August 24, I promised more information on The Monthly, and The New Monthly, Magazines of Regency times. I became confused when doing the research for that post, about the magazines. I didn't realize at first that there were two distinct publications.

The Monthly Magazine was started in 1796 by Richard Phillips (1867-1840), an educator, author, and radical politician. His political leanings got him into trouble in Leicester where he was working in about 1795, and he returned to London, where he amassed a fortune writing and publishing textbooks. This portrait was painted in 1806 when he was at the height of his prosperity; a year later he was knighted. In the Bank Panic of 1825 he lost his money, and was declared a bankrupt.

The Monthly Magazine was probably his greatest success--it was a forum for his political views, and a popular publication under the editorship of Dr. John Aiken for the first ten years. The cover page from an 1805 edition displays the breadth of the material covered.

Political items displayed radical leanings with articles by William Godwin and Thomas Holcroft. Other material was written by now eminent names in British literature: William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Charles Lamb.

By 1814, Henry Colburn (1784-1855), a bookseller and later publisher, had had enough of Phillips' radicalism. He began The New Monthly Magazine, which reflected his Tory bias.

I am astonished by the level of similarity between the two journals. Neither have much in the way of illustration, unlike the Repository of Arts of the same period. It would appear that Colburn directly copied Phillips' content and changed the wording a little on his title page. Both journals relied heavily on reader input, but one wonders if these were genuine letters submitted by the public, or in-house commentary, thinly disguised.

In 1813, The Monthly Magazine published a lengthy letter on Juridical Decisions relative to Forgery which indicates the journal's leanings:

A reader of The New Monthly Magazine in 1814 was busy condemning another magazine for its viewpoint. I have read The Edinburgh Review and really don't understand the letter-writer's concern.

The Monthly Magazine ended publication in 1843, three years after Phillips' death. The New Monthly Magazine gained a greater emphasis on literature after 1821 becoming The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, and it continued in  various guises until 1884.

The quantity and variety of journals published in the Regency never ceases to amaze me. And their contents continue to delight. With my confusion over these two magazines sorted out, I'm going back to reading them!

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne