For the annual Cincinnati Exposition Procession in 1879, a parade that wandered through downtown Cincinnati celebrating the yearly expo, the Royer Wagon Company hired Henry Farny to decorate a wagon. According to one newspaper account, Farny’s efforts were a success as Royer wagon was a “most unique and artistic” display. The design celebrated the early history of Cincinnati, which included the description “Losantiville, 1788”, an early name for what became Cincinnati.
The Cincinnati-based Royer Company was formed in 1851. After successful sales during the Civil War, in 1865 the company secured the rights to use the Sarven Wheel, a celebrated design leap in wheel design. Reports indicate the company was well-managed and successful, so could have afforded to put on a splashy display for the 1879 procession. Apparently, the shift towards automobiles doomed the Royer Wheel Company.
I have yet to find a picture of Farny’s design, but an article from the September 11, 1879, issue of The Cincinnati Commercial, page 1, described the design:
