Paris Moderne no. 2903 (?) – Les Autotax

Source:
www.delcampe.net Item no. 0014511562). Click here to view source.

Les Femmes Cocher / 122

Les Femmes Chauffeur / 11

Picture (left): Old Horse-cab Driver, young Chauffeuse.

Most veteran drivers were unable to make the transition from horses to automobiles and their livelihood vanished with the horse cab.

The Compagnie Générale des Voitures à Paris (CGV) introduced electric cabs in 1899 and recruited 116 of its horse-cab drivers for training as chauffeurs. Only 31 of the candidates passed the training course while 48 dropped out.

In 1907, when its first gasoline-powered cabs were put into service, the CGV was still trying to hire all its chauffeurs from within the company. But not enough horse-cab drivers were able to pass the increasingly stringent police examination or to contend with the complexities of car driving and by 1908 the CGV was forced to look elsewhere for recruits.