A Trot, With Modern Improvements

In this comic harness racing print, two sulkies race from right to left on a race track. The horses and the drivers of the two-wheeled carts are outfitted with various protective pads. The men wear pads attached to their noses and hands, and cushions are attached to their backs. The horses have pads on their knees and above their hooves, as well as colorful padded gear on their muzzles, necks, breasts, and shins. Closest to the viewer is the brown horse in the lead; its driver wears a red and yellow outfit, and a blue/red striped, visored cap. The trailing white-gray horse is partly visible; its driver wears a blue shirt with a red belt, and a yellow spotted cap with a dark visor. In the foreground, the rail that lines the track is also padded. Vegetation extends across the background. 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. The artist of this print is Thomas Worth, a prolific nineteenth-century illustrator who excelled at drawing horses and other subjects, many of which were made into lithographs published by Currier & Ives.