Gig (carriage)

The Oxford English Dictionary gives the date of first known reference to a horse-drawn gig as 1791, and they were ubiquitous by the early 1800s.

Gigs were typically named after their designers, builders, or their shape. There are several types of gig, including:

• Dennett gig: Early 1800s resembling the Stanhope gig but with three springs, one crosswise and two horizontal
• Skeleton gig: Very light; no luggage space.
• Spider gig: Very high gig, French version had high outward curving dash and curved shafts.
• Stanhope: typically having a high seat and closed back; designed and built by Fitzroy Stanhope around 1814.
• Stick-back gig: designed with the seat back made of sticks or ribs.
• Suicide gig: Very high gig popular in Ireland. Dangerous to drive or mount.
• Tilbury or Seven-spring gig: designed by Fitzroy Stanhope, but named after builder Tilbury. Heavier than the Stanhope because it had seven springs and two braces. Popular where roads were rough.
• Whiskey or whisky: lightweight, often constructed with canework. Named for whisking over the road.

Gigs travelling at night would normally carry two oil lamps with thick glass, known as gig-lamps. This led to the formerly common slang word "giglamps" for "spectacles".

Nineteenth century literature frequently recounted "romantic tales of spills and hairbreadth [e]scapes" from these vehicles, but is equally fulsome on the fearful thrill experienced in driving them.