Barouche

A barouche was a type of horse-drawn carriage fashionable in the 19th century. It was used mainly for travel in the summer, though it had a retractable cover for some protection from the weather. The barouche was based on an earlier style of carriage, the calash.

Etymology

The word barouche is an anglicisation of the German word barutsche, via the Italian baroccio or biroccio and ultimately from the Latin birotus, "two-wheeled". The name thus became a misnomer, as the later form of the carriage had four wheels.

Description and variations of the barouche

The barouche, used in the 19th century, was a four-wheeled, shallow vehicle with two double seats inside, arranged vis-à-vis, so that the sitters on the front seat faced those on the back seat. It had a soft collapsible half-hood folding like a bellows over the back seat and a high outside box seat in front for the driver. The entire carriage was suspended on C springs and used leather straps to connect parts. It was drawn by a pair of high-quality horses and was used principally for leisure driving in the summer. A light barouche was a barouchet or barouchette. A barouche-sociable was described as a cross between a barouche and a victoria.