Fast Trotters on Harlem Lane, New York

This print shows Harlem Lane, a New York City road, crowded with a multitude of light carriages drawn by horses trotting briskly in both directions. Indeed, this old road was often used as a popular racecourse for trotting horse trials. In the foreground of this chaptivating scene, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, the celebrated railroad magnate (the white-haired gentleman wearing a top hat), proudly passes the white Club House in his carriage pulled by his horses "Myron Perry" and "Daisy Burns." In the carriage next to him is Robert Bonner, the publisher of the "New York Ledger," who drives his horse "Dexter." With the dense traffic extending from the foreground to the left distance, it might be hard to notice another of the print's details, namely the sign "Ladies Entrance," which is placed to the right of the Club House's large entry driveway and far from its main entrance.

Harlem Lane is the predecessor of today's Saint Nicholas Avenue, which meanders up through northern Manhattan. At 168th Street, the Harlem Lane racecourse met with another horse carriage track that traversed along the Harlem River up to the High Bridge at 174th Street. This offshoot of Harlem Lane became known as the Harlem River Speedway; eventually it evolved into a highway, known today as the Harlem River Drive.

Nathaniel Currier, whose successful New York-based lithography firm began 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 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.