"A Spill Out" on the Snow

At the center of this snow-covered rural scene, two horse-drawn sleighs have collided causing a woman and two men to fall to the ground. While other sleighs pass by on the country lane, others stop to help. A man, beside the horses of two sleighs, approaches to assist the woman sprawled upon the snow. At the lower right, a Black man, who carries an ax and a bundle of wood he has just chopped, arrives to witness the accident. At the top of the image, to complete this idyllic picture of American country life, there are tall leafless trees, and a house and barn sited on the high ground. While sleigh rides were a popular winter recreation frequently depicted by Currier & Ives, a print of sleigh mishap (where no one was seriously hurt) appealed to viewers who enjoyed a not-so-harsh glimpse of daily existence.

Nathaniel Currier, who established a successful New York-based lithography firm in 1835, produced thousands of hand-colored prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life. In 1857, Currier made James Merritt Ives, his brother Charles's brother-in-law, a business partner. People eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs, such as those featuring landscapes in all the seasons, rural and city views, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments