A Skinner Skinned: Oh! Mein Gootness! Der Bottom Ish Kocked Out

Some late nineteenth-century prints by Currier & Ives depict racist and ethnic stereotypes that are offensive and disturbing. The Metropolitan Museum of Art preserves such works to shed light on their historical context and to enable the study and evaluation of racism and prejudice.

This scene caricatures a Black (African-American) man and a German-Jewish shoemaker; both are shown in profile facing each other as each falls backwards in a shop interior. At right, the Black customer has just put his foot through the bottom of a black boot he was trying on. The force of this effort has caused him to fall backwards on his stool -- with both legs in the air. In falling, he has knocked over the iron stove behind him. At left, the boot's sole has hit the large nose of the old bearded cobbler. He, too, is falling backwards with his left leg and left arm arm in the air. At the far left, a cat runs off. The background wall is comprised of large drawers.The print's title and caption are imprinted in the bottom margin.

This lithograph is the companion to "A Skin Game: Dot Ish French Calf Hand Sewed" (Peters 484; Gale 5942; see Metropolitan Museum of Art accession no. 52.632.159).

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.