Starting Out on His Mettle

In this print, a well-dressed man drives his four-wheel, harness racing wagon from left to right past a stable. He calmly holds the reins with gloved hands as his spirited bay horse rears on its hind legs. The man wears a black hat, has a cigar in his mouth, a flower in the lapel of his blue-gray jacket, and a blanket tucked around his lap. At left, a groom (dressed in a blue cap, a red vest over a white shirt, brown pants, and black boots) stands watching the wagon depart; he holds a rag in his right hand, and a brush in his left hand. In the central background, a bearded man stands smoking in the stable office doorway as he watches the lively horse. To the left of this man, an open stable doorway shows several colorful blankets hanging inside. The print's title is imprinted in the bottom margin.

This is a companion print to "Coming In 'On His Ear' " (Peters 181, Gale 1340; Metropolitan Museum of Art accession no. 52.632.320).

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.