'Reading' waggon (caravan)

Romany ('Gypsy') 'vardo' caravan/ waggon; 'Reading' model. Horse drawn and used as a mobile home; sloping walls and wheels outside a body of beaded tongue-and-groove matchboard and chamfered ribs; decoratively carved exterior; gilding used in conjunction with red, green and yellow paint; interior is elaborately carved as well with a horse's head motif positioned over the bed space; the most typical fittings in the Dunton 'Reading' are the 'Angel' lamp - named after the cherub motif on the bracket - and the 'Hostess' stove, compact and enclosed to prevent ash blowing everywhere when the doors are open. Clothes would be dried in a cupboard behind the stove. Cupboards, drawers, beds, seats etc. are designed and fitted for economy of space. Inside features include lots of drawers and cupboards, curtains, a sack covered mattress, and bedding. At the front of the wagon are a pair of supports for candle lanterns.