Lot 121: A tandem on the road to London

Benjamin Herring, Sen. (1806-1830)
A tandem on the road to London
signed and dated 'Benj.n Herring 1828' (lower right)
oil on canvas, unlined
27 7/8 x 51 7/8 in. (70.8 x 131.5 cm.)

Colonel William Bridges, until 1897, and by descent to his son,
H.C.B. Bridges, until 1934, when inherited by the current owner's father.

A type of dog cart, the tandem was developed in the 1820s as a more refined version of a 'gentleman's cart'. The height of the driver's seat was elevated to give more control to the lead horse. The tandem in this painting can be identified more specifically as a 'cocking cart', which was designed to be used to ride to and even to watch cock fights from. Cocks could be stored below the back seat. It has been suggested that the gentleman on the tandem may be a member of the Bridges family, who had an estate at Highfield near Southampton. There was a Tandem Club in Hyde Park which met annually and at which could be seen some of the most stylish tandems.
We are grateful to Christopher Nicholson, Caroline Dale Leech and Rebecca Wilhelm for their assistance in identifying the tandem in this painting.
This painting is a very fine example of Benjamin Herring's work. The younger brother of John Frederick Herring Sen. (1795-1865), Benjamin's success as a sporting artist was cut short by his premature death at the age of twenty-four.