As mentioned previously, my research will determine the function and symbolic meaning of horse drawn vehicles in nineteenth century Canadian society. One scholar in particular has helped shape my approach to horse drawn vehicles. Jacques Maquet's work on the analysis of objects as instruments and as signs is critical for this type of research. (For more information see Jacques Maquet, "Objects as instruments and Objects as signs" in ed Steven Lubar's History From Things, Essays on Material Culture. Washington: Smitsonian Institution Press, 1993. Pg.30-40)

Objects can be "read" as instruments (function) or as signs (meaning). When examining objects as instruments, observers consider the object and draw inferences regarding its functions from its design and its situation within the social and physical environment. Signs, on the other hand, refer to the meaning of an object. Because meaning, unlike instrumentality, is ascribed to an object by a cultural group, researchers must rely on more substantive evidence, such as written records left by the groups that made and used them to understand what the object meant to them.(Maquet. Pg.30) Horse drawn vehicles were instrumental objects, as they were used to transport either individuals or commodities, but they also had symbolic importance beyond their function.

To address the function and meaning of horse drawn vehicles, it is necessary to integrate the often separate studies of material and culture. The basis for this research was John Howard's vehicle collection noted above. Preliminary surveys of the vehicles and secondary research presented three broad themes which addressed function and meaning: settlement and the economy; social uses; and consumerism. Three sources of evidence were important in addressing these themes: Howard's horse drawn vehicles themselves, the secondary literature, and less traditional forms of evidence, such as streetscapes, drawings, advertisements, and diaries.