An unwieldy, postillion-driven coach was in use by 1663, this had no coachman but a rider seated upon the near side horse who was, hopefully, in control of the team. As well as the interior seating this coach had seats on the outside. The seats faced sideways with the passengers’ legs hanging over the doorway. As this position would be most uncomfortable, their legs and feet were fitted into boxes, commonly called ‘boots’. It is from this that the term ‘boot’ was derived in reference to the area of a car with space for putting things in. The passengers using these seats were mostly those of low rank. The early Stage Coaches were often discarded private coaches but later specific vehicles were constructed to provide more seating. The Act of 1694 gave licences to stage coaches and with the introduction of coaches with springs in 1754 and the improvement to the roads travelling by Stage Coach increased. By 1775 there were 400 registered stage coaches. In this postcard the Stage Coach has rows of seats facing forwards, which is far more comfortable than the coaches described above. The photographer for this post card was A.Perkin, 7 Pleasant Street, Llandudno and was sent from there in May 1906 to Miss F(Florrie).Dowdle, 2 Salem Street, Barnstaple wishing her a "Many happy returns of the day" signed Emily.