18th-century Amsterdam

This animated miniature street scene captures the bustling canal-side activity in 18th-century Amsterdam. Likely drawn around the 1760s by the Dutch painter and engraver Reinier Vinkeles (1741–1816), the view includes one of the distinctive horse-drawn sleighs (known as the ‘toeslede’ or ‘sleepkoets’) for which the city was known. Due to heavy taxes applied to wheeled vehicles, the wheel-less sleighs became a primary mode of urban public transit. The sleds were dragged across the cobblestone streets, with an oily cloth used to smooth the passage. The coachman walked alongside to guide the horse.

VIEW IMAGE 1: Attrib. Reinier Vinkeles, Amsterdam Street Scene with Horse Sleigh – 18th-century watercolour painting (STOCK NUMBER: KD-675).
Image 2: The Amsterdam closed sleigh or coach sleigh pulled by one horse and steered by a walking driver. Samuel Ireland. A picturesque tour through Holland.;
Image 3: Cornelis de Kruyff, Toeslede on Leidseplein, 1825;
Image 4: Reinier Vinkeles, View from the Leidsebosje, Amsterdam, 1769;
Image 5: Reinier Vinkeles, The Keizersgracht, Amsterdam, with the entrance to the Schouwburg;
Image 6: Reinier Vinkeles, View of the Church of Passy, near Paris (Metropolitan Museum of Art);
Image 7: Reinier Vinkeles, View of the Nieuwmarkt, Amsterdam