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Arabian - Print, Library of Congress collection

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Arabian - Print, Library of Congress collection

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Currier & Ives : a catalogue raisonné / compiled by Gale Research. Detroit, MI : Gale Research, c1983, no. 0274.

Equestrian equipment and Horse Race Images.

In harness racing, a Standardbred horse pulling a light two-wheeled vehicle called a sulky. Harness racing horses are of two kinds: - the pacing horse or pacer, that moves both legs on one side of its body at the same time; - the trotting horse, or trotter, strides with its left front and right rear leg moving forward simultaneously, then right front and left rear together. Harness racing is ancient. Assyrians trained horses to draw chariots, to use them in a war, a sport of hunting. Homer mentioned of the chariot race in the Iliad. Four-horse hitch chariot races took place in the Olympic Games of the 7th century bc. Chariot racing came into great prominence in Rome. A perfect site for chariot racing Circus Maximus, that could hold 200,000 spectators, was built in Rome. In the reign of Augustus (27 bc–ad 14), there were 12 races a day; by Flavius’ reign (69–96), the number rose to 100, from daybreak until sundown, the length of races being shortened to accommodate the larger number. The chariot disappeared as a military vehicle and chariot racing ended with the fall of Rome in the 4th century; modern harness racing did not begin to evolve until early in the 19th century. In the early 19th century there were trotting tracks in the United States. Yankee trotted a mile over the track at Harlem, New York, in 1806, Boston at the Hunting Park track and in Philadelphia in 1810. In 1830s harness racing thrived at county fairs. In 1871 the Grand Circuit, the Quadrilateral Trotting Combination, was established and grew from 4 to 23 tracks. In 1879 the Standardbred horse was established in the United States.

The invention of lithography at the turn of the 19th century opened a new world for bird illustrators. It brought many advantages to the artist — ease of use, a softness of line, and a new freedom to effect bold designs with a wide range of light and dark tones. Most of the fine ornithology books of the 19th century were prepared in folio format with hand-colored lithographic plates. The lithographic process is one of flat surface printing from a design drawn on stone. It is based on the principle of the resistance of grease to water. There are no raised or cut portions, as there are in engraving and etching. The image is drawn with greasy ink or chalk on a smooth stone, and the rest of the stone is treated with gum arabic and nitric acid. The gum retains the lines of the greasy design, which repels the water used in printing. Special paper and ink, as well as a special press, are needed to produce the prints. First used for bird illustration in 1820, lithography was widely adopted by the best artists of the century. The technique was popular because the artist could draw his own illustration directly on the lithographic stone. Prints could be made from the drawing with no intermediary such as an engraver. Accurately reproduced and then colored by hand, the resulting illustrations gave the impression of original watercolor paintings.

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Date

01/01/1846
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Contributors

N. Currier (Firm)
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Source

Library of Congress
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