Ladies' 4-in-hand-club [Harriet Alexander driving]
Ladies' 4-in-hand-club [Harriet Alexander driving]
"The famous old coach Liberty, which has a history dating back to 1893, when James Gordon Bennett used it in trips from Paris to Rouen, and which Alfred G. Vanderbilt often drove in this country, will on next Friday be placed in service between the Biltmore and the Gedney Farms Hotel in White Plains. John McE. Bowman, President of the Biltmore, is the sponsor for the undertaking. ..."
Mrs. Thos. Hasting's Coach leaves Colony Club, May 10, 1911
This was likely an exhibition of The Ladies' Four-in-Hand Driving Club. The Club’s founder and president was Helen Benedict Hastings, wife of the famous architect Thomas Hastings, designer of the New York Public Library, the front façade of the U.S. Capitol Building, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery. –National Sporting Library
Mrs. Arthur Iselin (vice president), is seen here driving the coach (whip), with Mrs. Hastings seated next to her. Mrs, William Goadby Loew (Miss Florence B. Baker), seated to the rear, can be seen between them. The Ladies' Four-in-Hand Driving Club regularly made trips to and from the Colony Club." With the advent of Spring weather and the roads in good condition, the Ladies' Four-in-Hand Driving Club, an organization of enthusiastic horsewomen of this city, will inaugurate the 1912 coaching season with daily trips between the Colony Club and Rockingstone, Bronx Park." –New York Times
Harriet Alexander, whip, on an outing of the Ladies Four In Hand Club in Central Park
From the National Sporting Library's website:
"The Ladies' Four-in-Hand Driving Club was formed in New York City in 1901 by several prominent society women who took an interest in driving. The club was a counterpart to the city’s famed Coaching Club, many members of which were husbands, fathers, and brothers to the members of the Ladies’ Club. The Ladies’ Club took regular trips to the different boroughs as well as longer road trips to destinations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut; for a short time they even ran a small shuttle service through Manhattan. Under the tutelage of renowned driving instructor Morris Howlett, most of the members became quite accomplished drivers. Each year, the Club held a parade and review through Central Park onto Fifth Avenue. The Club’s founder and president was Helen Benedict Hastings, wife of the famous architect Thomas Hastings, designer of the New York Public Library, the front façade of the U. S. Capitol Building, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery. Other notable members of the Ladies’ Club included Mrs. Arthur Iselin (vice president), Louisa Gulliver Sheldon (secretary and treasurer), Marion Hollins, and Harriet Alexander. The Club flourished until automobile traffic on the city streets made coaching impossible."
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Michelle Blackler
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I am writing a book about Joan Newton Cuneo, famous as a race car driver from 1905 - 1909 when women were banned from racing. Someone responded that she was a member of the Ladies Four in Hand Club. I know that she was a notable horsewoman and had driven a six horse team in California as a teenager. Have you ever heard of this.
ReplyDeleteElsa Nystrom (enystrom@kennesaw.edu)