Trotting on the Road: Swill Against Swell

This print depicts a comic racing scene between two rigs drawn by a single horse headed from left to right on a rural road. The near vehicle is a four-wheeled racing wagon (drawn by a white/gray horse) driven by a well-dressed gentleman (i.e. the "swell"), who is being splashed by unsavory liquid (the "swill") sloshing out of the very large barrel in the passing wagon. The gentleman wears a small brimmed, light tan hat and a blue jacket; his his lap is covered by a pink blanket. The far rig (drawn by a dark horse) is a rustic wagon with a large wooden barrel chained in place. Its driver is a grinning, toothless farmer, wearing a scrunched tan hat, a tattered red shirt and blue pants held up by suspenders. He stands holding the wagon's steering pole in his left hand, while his right hand holds the horse's reins and a switch. The print's 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.