2-888-082 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sledging at Moscow [drawn by Manuel], 1850. Winter transport in Russia. 'The Muscovite machine...looks, to the coachman's eye, a desperate device, wherein the forlorn hope of safety lies in the very imminence of the peril. Possibly, the driver's head may be far below the range of his courser's heels! Any one in search of a sensation might, with a fair prospect of success, try an airing some fine frosty morning on the bosom of the Neva, behind a kicker...It is said that during the season upwards of fifty thousand sledges, laden with provisions, enter Moscow daily...A close carriage, placed on runners instead of wheels, is called a vasok; it is a very convenient vehicle for town use, and it is preferred by many people for winter travelling, on account of its warmth'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.