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Paris Nouveau no. 2280 – Les Femmes Cocher

Source:
www.delcampe.net (Item no. 14855291). Click here to view source.

Les Femmes Cocher / 90

Rest & Relaxation / 1

Picture (left): Mme. Charnier setting off.

Why, we might ask ourselves, is a bartender seeing Mme. Charnier off to work? The answer is that horse-cab drivers – in common with workers in other turn-of-the-century occupations – had no qualms about consuming alcohol before, during and after business hours.

Exposure to cold and rain during brutally long shifts made drink a psychological if not a medicinal necessity. In this as in other professional requirements of cab driving the femmes cocher proved equal to the challenge.