Richard took a share in the management of the exhibition, and inherited his father's talent in the construction of curious contrivances.
The most remarkable of these took place in 1828, when in a washing-tub drawn by geese he sailed down the Thames from Westminster to Waterloo Bridge.
[1] Usher was known in the profession as the John Kemble of his art, and in the ring was the counterpart of Grimaldi on the stage, never descending to coarseness or vulgarity; his manner was irresistibly comic, and his jokes remarkable for their point and originality.
[1] His obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine wrote: "For the last half century no man had contributed more to the amusement of the public… his name is familiar as a household word from the Shetlands [sic] to Cape Clear.
[1] His son Alfred Usher was a violinist and orchestra leader, active in Sydney, Australia by 1857.