Skip to main content
Smithsonian main website

Search

Donate

EnglishEnglish
EnglishEnglishAfrikaansAfrikaansAlbanianAlbanianAmharicAmharicArabicArabicArmenianArmenianAzerbaijaniAzerbaijaniBasqueBasqueBelarusianBelarusianBengaliBengaliBosnianBosnianBulgarianBulgarianCatalanCatalanCebuanoCebuanoChichewaChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCorsicanCroatianCroatianCzechCzechDanishDanishDutchDutchEsperantoEsperantoEstonianEstonianFilipinoFilipinoFinnishFinnishFrenchFrenchFrisianFrisianGalicianGalicianGeorgianGeorgianGermanGermanGreekGreekGujaratiGujaratiHaitian CreoleHaitian CreoleHausaHausaHawaiianHawaiianHebrewHebrewHindiHindiHmongHmongHungarianHungarianIcelandicIcelandicIgboIgboIndonesianIndonesianIrishIrishItalianItalianJapaneseJapaneseJavaneseJavaneseKannadaKannadaKazakhKazakhKhmerKhmerKoreanKoreanKurdish (Kurmanji)Kurdish (Kurmanji)KyrgyzKyrgyzLaoLaoLatinLatinLatvianLatvianLithuanianLithuanianLuxembourgishLuxembourgishMacedonianMacedonianMalagasyMalagasyMalayMalayMalayalamMalayalamMalteseMalteseMaoriMaoriMarathiMarathiMongolianMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)Myanmar (Burmese)NepaliNepaliNorwegianNorwegianPashtoPashtoPersianPersianPolishPolishPortuguesePortuguesePunjabiPunjabiRomanianRomanianRussianRussianSamoanSamoanScottish GaelicScottish GaelicSerbianSerbianSesothoSesothoShonaShonaSindhiSindhiSinhalaSinhalaSlovakSlovakSlovenianSlovenianSomaliSomaliSpanishSpanishSudaneseSudaneseSwahiliSwahiliSwedishSwedishTajikTajikTamilTamilTeluguTeluguThaiThaiTurkishTurkishUkrainianUkrainianUrduUrduUzbekUzbekVietnameseVietnameseWelshWelshXhosaXhosaYiddishYiddishYorubaYorubaZuluZulu
Smithsonian sunburst Smithsonian National Postal Museum
  • Visit
    Visit
    • Info en Español
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Location and Directions
    • Calendar of Events
    • Public Programs
    • Floor Plan
    • Tours and Itineraries
    • Amenities
    • Accessibility
    Visit »

    Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

    Admission is always free!

    2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
    Washington, DC 20002

    The museum's main entrance is located on the corner of First Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE. Other entrances have variable hours.

    street map of Postal museum

    Learn more
  • Exhibitions
    Exhibitions
    • Current Exhibitions
    • Past Exhibitions
    • Virtual Exhibitions
    • Upcoming Exhibitions
    The museum's Atrium
  • Learn
    Learn
    • For Researchers
    • For Educators
    • National History Day
    • Topical Reference Pages
    • Oral History
    • Research Articles
    • Stamp Collecting
    • Social Media
    • Activities
    Front windows showing stamp images at night
  • Collections
    Collections
    • Search the Collection
    • Collection History
    • Donating Objects
    • Object Loans
    • Collection Projects
    • Object Spotlight
    • Digital Asset Collections
    • Rights and Reproductions
    • Preservation
    People in front of log post office building
  • About
    About
    • About the Museum
    • About Us
    • FAQs
    • Support the Museum
    • Host an Event
    • National Postal Museum Gala
    • Philatelic Achievement Award
    • Press
    • Site Map
    Historic Lobby
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Collections
  • Search the Collection
  • Downing & Son Concord-style mail coach
Click to view social media share links

Downing & Son Concord-style mail coach

Object Details

Description
A fully restored 1851 Concord-style mail coach, this vehicle carried mail between White River Junction and the Woodstock Inn in Woodstock, Vermont. An inscription inside the door-"Chet Adams, No. 87 1851, Emerson Milling on side"-refers to Chet Adams, a builder for Lewis Downing. Lewis S. Downing and partner J. Stephen Abbott of Concord, New Hampshire, built the Concord coaches. The coaches were built in six, nine, and twelve-passenger sizes (not counting passengers who rode on the roof when the coach was full). The mail was typically carried in a space under the driver's seat; baggage rode on the top rack or in the rear compartment. Concord-style mail coaches were used in the United States well into the early 1900s.
The Abbott Downing Company achieved international fame for its well-crafted and sturdy stagecoaches. Elegantly painted in bright colors and decorated with oil paintings on the doors, the fancy-looking vehicles withstood the rough and rugged roads of the eastern United States. On the other hand, on western roads it was a different matter entirely. The well-designed Concord was often no match for the frontier's rutted and muddy trails. The glass windows, for instance, were not practical for models traversing the American West. Eastern roads, while not particularly good, were smooth compared to crude western roads. A one-day journey along a western overland mail trail would be enough to shatter all the windows.
After twenty years in business together, Abbott and Downing parted amicably. Downing continued to build Concord coaches. The two companies merged again in 1865, when Lewis Downing, Jr. and the J.S. and E.A. Abbott Company formed the Abbott-Downing Company. The company manufactured coaches, wagons, and carriages under that name until 1919.
Credit line
Museum Purchase
Data Source
National Postal Museum
Date
1851-1890s
Object number
1990.0619.1
Maker
L. S. Downing & Son
Type
Transportation Equipment & Models
Medium
wood; metal; glass; leather
Dimensions
Height x Width x Depth: 113 3/4 x 87 x 160 in. (288.93 x 220.98 x 406.4 cm)
Place
Vermont
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
On View
Currently on exhibit at the National Postal Museum
Topic
American Expansion (1800-1860)
Transportation
Record ID
npm_1990.0619.1
Usage
CC0
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm837d886e5-3f65-4216-b799-2e691358ed3f
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

HomeSmithsonian National Postal Museum

Visit »

Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Admission is always free!

2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20002

The museum's main entrance is located on the corner of First Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE. Other entrances have variable hours.

street map of Postal museum

Learn more
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Press
  • Site Map
  • e-News
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Flickr

Have you signed up for our monthly e-newsletter?

Owney, the Railway Mail Service Mascot

Back to Top