A Soft Thing on Snipe!

In this comic hunting scene, a hunter (left) wades up to his hips in a muddy marsh in front of a dense patch of cattail reeds. His hunting dog is perched on a tree stump (center), as it points its left paw at a bird (a snipe) standing on the shore (right). The hunter holds his rifle aimed at the snipe. The dog and the hunter's head are surrounded by a swarm of insects (gnats or mosquitos); the hunter open-mouthed grimace expresses his consternation at the annoying hunting conditions. In the right background, a sailboat sails on the water, and a low mountain range is in the distance. The title is imprinted in the bottom margin.


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.