Mapping Modernity

1. Omnibus Kaart

25 October 2023

Horse-drawn tram of Amsterdam

In congruence with the commissioning of the Amsterdam-Haarlem railway line in 1839, a private company was granted a municipal concession to operate an ‘omnibus’, a horse-drawn bus in the municipality of Amsterdam. This initiative marks the advent of modern urban logistics. We will have to wait only another 30 years for the more comfortable horse-drawn railway trams to bring  public transport into the modern era.

Gebr. Diederichs & J. Ellerman, Omnibus Kaart of Nieuwe Platte Grond der Stad Amsterdam waarop alle de Omnibuslinien zijn aangetekend, Amsterdam 1839. Coll. S/T T.82, 47 x 59 cm.