A Window to the Past Part Four By Louis Natenshon

Antique toys: A Window to the Past,” first appeared in the December 2023 Antique Toy World Magazine. This article is the fourth part of a continuing series of articles on this topic. The toys pictured range from the 19th to the mid-20th century, and all will be drawn from the Natenshon family collection. The toys that appear in the articles are quite diverse, reflecting the taste of my two children, my wife and myself, all of whom have been avid toy collectors.

Prior to the introduction of mail coaches in the 1770s, mail in England was delivered by riders on horseback. The
mail coaches were owned by individuals who entered an agreement with the post office to provide a stagecoach
built to postal specifications, complete with a driver and horses. An armed guard, who always accompanied the
coach, was a postal employee.

Mail coaches were not permitted to stop until reaching their destination except to switch horses, approximately
every two hours. Operators were allowed to supplement their income by also carrying passengers, for whom the
stops were the only opportunities provided for the passengers to refresh themselves. The coaches averaged five to
ten miles per hour, which was the fastest mode of travel across England until the railroads arrived in the mid
1800s. The hand-painted tin coach was made in France around 1900, and measures 41″ including the horses.

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