TROTTING CRACKS AT HOME 1952 Thomas Worth - Nathaniel Currier PRINT

Original 1952 Reprint 13 1/2 inch x 8 1/2 inch Colour Print of the 1868 Lithograph titled ”TROTTING CRACKS” AT HOME - A MODEL STABLE

In this print showing a harness room interior of a large stable, a man holds the reins of a horse, which is backed into position before being hitched to a high-wheeled sulky. The man extends his right arm towards an approaching boy carrying the horse's racing tack. Behind them, a groom rubs down a white horse. At left, a man sits near a sink polishing a horse bit; more equipment neatly hangs on the wall behind him and in a cabinet nearby. In the central background, a third horse, wearing a horse blanket, stands tethered. Through a large doorway behind Dexter, the rear section of the stable shows the rumps of three horses standing in stalls. In the right background, there are parked racing carts (sulkies) beneath sleighs stored on the shelf above. Harness racing was an American-born sport; this print serves to document the care top racing horses and harness-racing equipment received.

After Thomas Worth (1834 - 1917). Born in Greenwich Village, New York, Worth began to draw when he was a child. When he was in his late ‘teens, he submitted a sketch to the lithographers Currier and Ives. Nathaniel Currier looked at the humorous scene of two boys driving an ash wagon and said, “This is a clever thing. We’ll give you five dollars for it just as it is.” Although never a regular staff member, Currier and Ives considered him one of their major contributors. Over the years hundreds of his drawings were redrawn on stone and published as individual lithographs and sets. An avid sportsman and fisherman, Worth produced many prints of trotting horses and outdoor scenes.

Originally produced in 1869 by Currier and Ives. The New York firm of Currier & Ives grew from a printing business established by Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888) in 1835. Expansion led, in 1857, to a partnership with brother-in-law James Merritt Ives (1824–1895). The firm operated until 1907, lithographing over 4,000 subjects for distribution across America and Europe with popular categories including landscape, marines, natural history, genre, caricatures, portraits, history and foreign views. Until the 1880s, images were printed in monochrome, then hand-colored by women who worked for the company at home.

Inscription under the image: “SKETCHED BY THOS WORTH // Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1868, by Currier & Ives, in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York // Reprinted from LITH. OF CURRIER & IVES // PEERLESS DEXTER THE AUBURN HORSE”

Published by Bonanza Books, New York

Plate size 15 3/8 inch x 11 5/8 inch

Reverse side blank

The print is in very good condition.