Rare Montgomery Ward Carriage Part Of Collection
 ✖  |
Daniel Bussey may have 50 horse-drawn carriages in his collection, but one stands out. It was originally owned by the founder of Montgomery Ward and used on his 300-acre horse breeding estate near Oconomowoc, Wis. He was noted for not only his horses but many fine carriages.
“It’s a Roof Seat Break with the passenger seats at the driver’s seat level,” says Bussey. “It was a carriage to see from and be seen in. It has a big box at the tailgate that would have been used to pack picnic supplies for guests riding around the estate.”
The carriage was made by C.P. Kimball & Company, a Chicago maker of high-end carriages at the turn of the century. Ward reportedly favored Kimball carriages. He referred to the Roof Seat Break as his “Tallyho” carriage and took people for rides on the estate. Ward entered carriage driving contests and won a world championship with a Tallyho drag and a 4-horse hitch.
“Ward’s carriages were kept in a barn on the estate until put up for sale in the 1940’s,” says Bussey. “Edmond Schultz bought it and others and restored quite a few. The Roof Seat Break was never restored and remains untouched from when it was owned by Ward.”
Bussey purchased the carriage from the Schultz family, having learned of it from Edmond’s son Truman. It was Truman who had encouraged his dad to leave the carriage as it was.
“My goal is to conserve it and keep it in the condition Edmond and Truman found it in,” says Bussey.
Bussey encourages others interested in preserving a carriage or other horse-drawn vehicles to also refrain from full restorations. He explains that the carriage market is in decline, and decent carriages ready to be driven can now be purchased for $500 on up.
“If you hire someone to restore a carriage, you’ll never get your money back,” says Bussey. “If you want to preserve it for personal or sentimental reasons, use something like a Williamsville Oil or Williamsville Wax. It’ll bring out the old paint colors, even if they are really faded.”
He also recommends Scott’s Liquid Gold, a spray wax. It’s available at most retail stores, protects the paint, and brings out the colors.
“Don’t paint it with linseed oil,” he warns. “It’s actually the worst finish, as it never dries, collects dirt, and gets grubby,” he says. “If you cover it, use a breathable cloth like canvas, not a plastic tarp.”
Bussey, who also collects sleighs (Vol. 39, No. 2), is adding a new storage and display building for them. That’ll open up space in the current storage building to better display his carriages.
While his private museum is not open to the public, the Montgomery Ward carriage will be displayed at the Villa Louis Carriage Classic this fall in Prairie du Chien, Wis.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Bussey, 893 Highway 73, Edgerton, Wis. 53534 (ciderdan@gmail.com).
Click here to download page story appeared in.
Click here to read entire issue
Rare Montgomery Ward Carriage Part Of Collection TRACTORS Antiques Daniel Bussey may have 50 horse-drawn carriages in his collection but one stands out It was originally owned by the founder of Montgomery Ward and used on his 300-acre horse breeding estate near Oconomowoc Wis He was noted for not only his horses but many fine carriages “It’s a Roof Seat Break with the passenger seats at the driver’s seat level ” says Bussey “It was a carriage to see from and be seen in It has a big box at the tailgate that would have been used to pack picnic supplies for guests riding around the estate ” The carriage was made by C P Kimball & Company a Chicago maker of high-end carriages at the turn of the century Ward reportedly favored Kimball carriages He referred to the Roof Seat Break as his “Tallyho” carriage and took people for rides on the estate Ward entered carriage driving contests and won a world championship with a Tallyho drag and a 4-horse hitch “Ward’s carriages were kept in a barn on the estate until put up for sale in the 1940’s ” says Bussey “Edmond Schultz bought it and others and restored quite a few The Roof Seat Break was never restored and remains untouched from when it was owned by Ward ” Bussey purchased the carriage from the Schultz family having learned of it from Edmond’s son Truman It was Truman who had encouraged his dad to leave the carriage as it was “My goal is to conserve it and keep it in the condition Edmond and Truman found it in ” says Bussey Bussey encourages others interested in preserving a carriage or other horse-drawn vehicles to also refrain from full restorations He explains that the carriage market is in decline and decent carriages ready to be driven can now be purchased for $500 on up “If you hire someone to restore a carriage you’ll never get your money back ” says Bussey “If you want to preserve it for personal or sentimental reasons use something like a Williamsville Oil or Williamsville Wax It’ll bring out the old paint colors even if they are really faded ” He also recommends Scott’s Liquid Gold a spray wax It’s available at most retail stores protects the paint and brings out the colors “Don’t paint it with linseed oil ” he warns “It’s actually the worst finish as it never dries collects dirt and gets grubby ” he says “If you cover it use a breathable cloth like canvas not a plastic tarp ” Bussey who also collects sleighs Vol 39 No 2 is adding a new storage and display building for them That’ll open up space in the current storage building to better display his carriages While his private museum is not open to the public the Montgomery Ward carriage will be displayed at the Villa Louis Carriage Classic this fall in Prairie du Chien Wis Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dan Bussey 893 Highway 73 Edgerton Wis 53534 ciderdan@gmail com
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click
here to register with your account number.
