Moniker/Name
Chasity Bowlin
Source of Question
Research
Your Question
Were there any light sources inside the carriages or other vehicles? If so, would it have been a lamp or lantern?
Thank you for the question, Chasity, and for being a Regency Reader!
Most conveyances had exterior lights, but only a few styles would have interior lights that would have, in the Regency era, been a lantern containing a candle or lamp with oil.
English Pleasure Carriages (1837)
Interior lights would have been most common in custom carriages or commercial mail coaches or hackney carriages that frequently traveled through the night, but it likely depended on the age of the equippage and who had ordered it built.
English Pleasure Carriages (1837)
Lights would continue to evolve, with use of gas and later, electricity.
There are few surviving images of Regency era carriage interiors, but enough evidence in the record some conveyances did have interior lights. I have also seen evidence that portable lanterns may have been used in place of hardwired lanterns.
I would assume, especially for crowded mail coaches that traveled at a fast clip, there would have been some concern about lanterns and the risk to catch fire. Therefore, I speculate it may have been more common for folks in the cushier interior seats to try to snatch some sleep in the dark (kind of like how most airlines dim the interior lights at night) and only have the exterior lights for illumination.
If you are wondering about exterior lights, check out this post: Regency Reader Questions: Night Driving – Regency Reader (regrom.com)
Have a burning Regency era related question? Ask us here: Reader ? – Regency Reader (regrom.com)
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