The First Bird of the Season

Thomas Worth, among America’s prolific nineteenth-century illustrators, excelled at drawing scenes relating to horses and hunting, along with other subjects, many of which were made into popular lithographs published by Currier & Ives.

In this humorous hunting scene, a circle of five men, with five more seated along a rail fence extending across the middleground, all fire their shotguns simultaneously at a flying bird that has become an explosion of feathers and bird bits. A hunting dog (shown in profile) sits quietly at the left. From the right and left backgrounds, more men (carrying rifles) run towards the group who have just shot the bird.















Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888), 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 America. In 1857, James Merritt Ives (1824–1895), the accounting-savvy brother-in-law of Nathaniel's brother Charles, was made a business partner. Subsequently renamed Currier & Ives, the firm continued via their successors until 1907. People eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs, such as those featuring spectacular American landscapes, 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.