This coach is referred to as the "Tom Thumb. The Barnum and Bailey Circus featured General Tom Thumb and his wife driving the small coach in the mid-1800's. In 1869 Barnum prevailed on the couple to undertake a world tour, traveling across the United States on the Union Pacific Railroad. They took with them a coach-and-four. This coach could have been the Miniature Coach that eventually belonged to Mrs. Viola Townsend Winmill of Warrenton, Virginia.

The Tom Thumb is not a true miniature coach. It has a “fifth wheel” enabling 90 degree turns, something not possible with a traditional coach. Tom Thumb and his wife averaged 40” in height. The coach was especially designed to accommodate their small size. This limited the number of people able to ride on the coach.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Gone Away" With the Winmils. Virginia Winmill Livingston Armstrong, 1977 The CMA Journal. Clarissa Downing Moore, autumn 1975