Steeple Chase Cracks

This undated print shows five monkeys dressed as jockeys (one is missing its cap) riding hunting dogs as they race in the countryside from left to right. The leading monkey/jockey wears a blue jersey. Following close behind, a monkey/jockey, wearing a red shirt and blue vest, holds a crop up high ready to strike his racing hound. At far left, one monkey jockey (wearing a red shirt) has been caught by a fence rail that his hound failed to jump over; the now-riderless dog runs off in the foreground. In the left background, there are two tall, leafy trees. 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.