Title: 18th Century French Coach & Carriage Engineering, 1771
Original antique copper engraving illustrating the construction and engineering of an elaborate 18th-century French passenger carriage, published for the famous Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert.
The plate is titled: “Sellier Carrossier – Diligence montée sur des Cordes à Boyau”
The engraving provides a remarkably detailed technical study of a luxury diligence or passenger coach, showing the carriage from several perspectives together with details of its construction and suspension.
The large central figure shows the complete coach in side elevation, including its enclosed passenger compartment, wheels, axles, suspension, chassis and decorative coachwork. Additional figures provide a plan view, front elevation and individual mechanical components.
Of particular interest is the “cordes à boyau” suspension system. Rather than relying solely on metal springs, the carriage body was supported using strong cords traditionally made from twisted animal gut. Such systems were designed to reduce the shocks transmitted from rough 18th-century roads to passengers inside the coach.
The plate therefore offers a fascinating record of carriage technology and transportation engineering during the Age of Enlightenment.
The plate was drawn by Jacques-Raymond Lucotte, an architect, draftsman and important contributor to the technical plates of the Encyclopédie. His detailed illustrations documented the tools, machinery and working methods employed by French craftsmen and manufacturers.
The engraving was executed by Robert Bénard (1734–1777), one of the principal engravers associated with the Encyclopédie and its celebrated series of technical plates.
The inscriptions read: “Lucotte Del.” and “Benard Fecit.”
Artist / Draftsman: Jacques-Raymond Lucotte
Engraver: Robert Bénard (1734–1777)
Publication: Encyclopédie – Recueil de Planches sur les Sciences, les Arts Libéraux et les Arts Méchaniques
Plate: XI
Title: Sellier Carrossier – Diligence montée sur des Cordes à Boyau
Subject: Coachbuilding / Carriage Engineering / Diligence
Technique: Original copper engraving
Origin: France
Date: circa 1771
Period: Louis XV / Louis XVI era
Style: Neoclassical / Enlightenment technical illustration
Condition: Good antique condition with overall age-related toning, scattered foxing and spotting and minor staining. Some handling wear, small creases and imperfections are visible around the margins and edges, consistent with an original 18th-century sheet. The engraved image remains strong and highly detailed.
Please study the photographs carefully as they form part of the condition description.
Please note: This is an original antique 18th-century copper engraving, not a modern reproduction. The print is sold unframed. Framed images or interior views, if shown, are for presentation and inspiration only.
Keywords: Diderot Encyclopédie, Diderot Encyclopedia, Jacques-Raymond Lucotte, Robert Bénard, Sellier Carrossier, carriage, coach, diligence, stagecoach, coachbuilder, carriage maker, carriage engineering, coachbuilding, French carriage, horse drawn carriage, transportation history, gut cord suspension, cordes à boyau, mechanical engineering, technical drawing, industrial arts, French Enlightenment, antique technical print, copper engraving, 18th century, France, original antique print, 1771
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