Reiskoets met slaapplek staat stopt bij een herberg 1827 - 1828

Victor Adam created this lithograph, ‘Reiskoets met slaapplek staat stopt bij een herberg’ - or ‘Sleeping carriage stops at an inn’ - sometime in the first half of the 19th century. The image offers a window onto the world of early mass transportation, and the social order it sustained. This print, made in France, depicts a stagecoach and its passengers pausing at a roadside inn. The artist takes a clear interest in the details of how such a vehicle would have functioned at the time. Notice how the passengers on horseback are smartly dressed, while the men who attend to the horses wear simple clothing that signals their lower status. A small crowd seems to have gathered to witness the arrival, suggesting how important these coaches were to the local economy, and to the maintenance of social networks. Prints such as these were vital records of contemporary life, distributed widely to those who couldn't afford more expensive paintings. By studying such images alongside written records such as journals, account books, and local histories, we can gain a richer understanding of daily life in 19th-century Europe.