The Bully Team! Scaldine and Early Nose

Currier & Ives produced many humorous images relating to horses and horse racing. This one caricatures William H. Vanderbilt (1821—1885), the American railroad magnate and philanthropist who increased the Vanderbilt family fortune established (and in large part bequeathed to him) by his father, Cornelius. He was also an avid harness racer. Vanderbilt's horses, Aldine and Early Rose ranked among the world's champion trotting teams in the 1880s. Shown here, W. H. Vanderbilt sports long, flowing side whiskers and wears a top hat and sun glasses as he drives a team of mismatched horses ("Scaldine" and "Early Nose"---one normal-sized and the other small and puny). He has just passed under an arched gate labeled "Charter Hoax Park"; at left, a sign on the fence in the background reads "2:16 1/2 / OR ANY OTHER TIME."

The Metropolitan Museum of Art also has a related Currier & Ives print: "The Celebrated Trotting Mares Maud S. and Aldine as they appeared on June 15th, 1883 at the Gentlemen's Driving Park, Morrisania, N.Y., driven by their owner William H. Vanderbilt, Esq." (Peters 3668, Gale 1016; accession no. 56.501.3).


Nathaniel Currier, whose successful New York-based lithography firm began in 1835, produced thousands of prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life and its history. People eagerly acquired such lithographs featuring picturesque scenery, rural and city views, ships, railroads, portraits, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments. As the firm expanded, Nathaniel included his younger brother Charles in the business. In 1857, James Merritt Ives (the firm's accountant since 1852 and Charles's brother-in-law) was made a business partner; subsequently renamed Currier & Ives, the firm continued until 1907. The artist of this print is Thomas Worth, a prolific nineteenth-century illustrator who excelled at drawing horses, horse racing and other subjects, many of which were made into lithographs published by Currier & Ives.