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There were two Assiniboine Avenues in Winnipeg at the time of this postcard, but this is likely the one that formed a crescent in the tony residential enclave of Armstrong's Point. It is now called East Gate and West Gate. The other Assiniboine Avenue runs along the north side of the Assiniboine River between Main and Kennedy Streets.

Source:

Assinaboine [sic] Avenue, Winnipeg. Warwick Bro's & Rutter, Limited, Printers, Toronto, [1910]. Prairie Postcard PC001881 from Peel's Prairie Provinces (University of Alberta Libraries), peel.library.ualberta.ca/postcards/PC013354.html.

Winnipeg Cab History / 45

Private Carriages (2)

Is this a cab or a private carriage? It might be a Victoria, or a landau with the forward hood down, or a landaulet with the forward part of the roof removed. Whatever the case there is reason for thinking that it is a cab.

Despite the picture's convincing air of spontaneity it must have been carefully stage managed. The carriage probably made several passes in front of the camera before the shutter was snapped to ensure that the composition was just right.

Did the photographer happen to snap a local grandee passing by? Or did he (or she) hire a cab to drive to this charming street and then use the cab itself as a prop to enliven an otherwise static scene?