Thomas W. Evans’ Famed Carriage Returns to Penn
Dr. Thomas W. Evans’s carriage has travelled around the world, making multiple trips across the Atlantic to reach its two homes: Philadelphia and France. Now, even in its newly restored form, there is much more to the impressive vehicle than meets the eye.
Jean Baptiste Labourdette, Carriage, ca. 1860
The carriage now on display in the Penn Dental Schattner Building has had a long and extraordinary history. In 1870, it played a key role in the saving of an Empress’s life. When Napoléon the III was captured during the Franco-Prussian war, his wife faced a likely death at the hands of the rioting Parisian masses. The Empress Eugénie was able to flee Paris and escape harm with the help of Dr. Thomas W. Evans, who surreptitiously whisked her away in his carriage.
The carriage’s owner was, in fact, the Empress’s dentist. Dr. Evans was an early benefactor to Penn’s dental school who made the creation and construction of the Thomas Evans Building possible. An inventive and skilled dentist, Dr. Evans is among those credited with lifting dentistry to the ranks of a true medical profession.
The Empress’s escape is depicted in Henri-Louis Dupray’s Départ incognito (Incognito Departure of Empress Eugénie)
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Dr. Evans was famed for his wealthy and powerful patients, including many European heads of state, and the friendships he formed with them. Certainly, his rescue of Eugenie demonstrates the closeness and trust that existed between the Empress and dentist.
A result of Dr. Evans’s travels and friendships with his illustrious patients was his extensive art collection—which he willed in its entirety to the Thomas W. Evans Museum & Dental Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. A selection of pieces from his collection is now available for viewing at the Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition Courtly Treasures: The Collection of Thomas W. Evans, Surgeon Dentist to Napoléon III.
Dr. Evans’s carriage demonstrates his affinity for luxury. It was a Landau carriage, a four-wheeled convertible model. The carriage was originally crafted by the celebrated Jean Baptiste Labourdette and has now been restored by Double E Carriages, an Amish business. The restoration involved repairs to the entire carriage and was completely done by hand, without the help of power tools. Restored and polished, the carriage and the exquisite artworks on display at Courtly Treasures offer visitors at the Schattner Building and Arthur Ross Gallery a singular glimpse into Evans’ travels, accomplishments, and luxurious lifestyle.
