The Horse That Died on the Man's Hands: Moral -- Don't Hold Your Trotter Too High

Publisher Currier & Ives American

Not on view

In this comical harness racing scene, an open-mouthed, wild-eyed man --the harness cart driver wearing a red/yellow striped cap with a pointed visor and blue pants--holds with his enormous hands/fingers an upside-down, expiring brown horse. The horse's legs are up in the air, while its head (at right) collapses towards the ground --its nostrils exhaling a puff of air. At left, there is a two-wheeled cart (sulky) draped with reins and bridle; nearby-- on the ground--a sponge rests on the rim of a green bucket. In the right background, a sulky with its seated driver and harnessed horse stand ready for the race. At the far right background, in a wooden judge's tower, a man (wearing a blue jacket) looks down upon the scene with upraised arms.

Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888), who had established his successful New York-based lithography firm in 1835, produced thousands of hand-colored prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of nineteenth century American life. In 1857, Currier made James Merritt Ives (1824–1895) a business partner; the Currier & Ives firm operated until 1907. Many eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs, such as those featuring spectacular American landscapes, rural and city views, images of boats and trains, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life, comic pictures, and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments.

No image available

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.