image: 17 7/8 in x 24 7/8 in; 45.4025 cm x 63.1825 cm
Object Name:
lithograph
Object Type:
Lithograph
Place made:
United States: New York, New York City
Date made:
18
1871
Description (Brief):
Color print of a road in front of a large roadside house filled with horse-drawn carriages. Two of the drivers and teams are identified as Robert Bonner with Goldsmith Maid and William Vanderbilt with Mountain Boy
Description:
A color print of a wide lane filled with five horses harnessed to open buggies and sulkies. Some drivers are in elegant sport attire, one is in uniform. Two of the teams are identified as Robert Bonner with Dexter and Goldsmith Maid and William Vanderbilt with Mountain Boy. A young lady wears a red jacket and blue plumed hat. Large roadside house with gingerbread along roof and striped awning at right. White fence borders track and encloses park. Stone bridge spans ravine to the left.
Dexter was foaled in Walden, Orange County, New York in 1858 by Jonathan Hawkins. His sire was Hambletonian and his dam was Clara. Dexter had four white stockings, which was traditionally considered unlucky in a racing horse, but it was superstition he proved to be worthless. In 1862 he was sold for $400 to George B. Alley, who broke him into racing. In 1863 he was sent to Hiram Woodruff and showed 2:42 pulling a wagon. George Trussel paid $14,000 for him in 1866 and placed him in the hands of Budd Doble. Dexter followed Flora Temple as the world’s premier trotter, dominating races between 1864 and 1867. His fastest time was 2:17 1/2, recorded in Buffalo on August 14, 1867. Following this record, he was purchased by Robert Bonner for $35,000. His versatility made him very desired, as Dexter could trot under saddle, in harness, and hitched to a wagon. Dexter’s main rival was Ethan Allen, and on June 21, 1867 on Long Island he raced Ethan Allen and his mate, Charlotte, F. Dexter lost the race but his performance was still considered impressive since he raced the pair alone. Dexter died in 1888 at thirty years old and was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame as an “Immortal” in 1956,
Goldsmith Maid was a Standardbred mare foaled in 1857 in Deckertown, NJ to John B. Decker. She was a descendant of Abdallah on both sides from Old Ab and Alexander’s Abdallah, and inbred on her sire’s side. Maid was lively and refused to be harnessed for the first seven years of her life, but one of Decker’s employees secretly road Maid in racing competitions where she began to gain a good reputation. She was eventually sold to William Tompkins, a harness racer, for $400 dollars but quickly sold for the third time, to Alden Goldsmith, in 1865 because she was becoming dangerous to the drivers. Maid began her formal yet unconventional training at age eight, when trainer William Bodine allowed her to set her own pace. The training worked because in 1865 she won her first trotting race with a time of 2:26 and another in 1868 with a time of 2:21 ½, when she was sold again for $20,000 to Budd Doble. She held the position of top trotting horse, a new “Queen of the Turf” in American for eight years of her thirteen year career. By 1870 she had become so popular she traveled to special matches in her own railroad car. She even shaved three seconds off the record mile time of 2:17 at age 17, not to be beaten until 1878 by a much younger horse, Rarus. By the time of her death in 1885 in Trenton, NJ, Goldsmith Maid had won 92 of 121 races and earned a total of $364,200. A period of national mourning took place after she suddenly passed away. She was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame as an “Immortal” in 1953.
Mountain Boy was bred in 1860 in Orange County, NY from Major Winfield and a mare by Gridleys Roebuck. He was owned by Commodore Vanderbilt and achieved a best time of 2:21 for the mile. He was said to lack wind, and not to be good for a long heat, but is admitted to have the best trotting movement ever witnessed on the Long Island racecourse.
Thomas Kelly, of New York City, was one of the more successful publishers of the period, creating archetypal and idyllic views of all areas of life in America. Kelly's work is distinctive for strong coloring and vivid, forthright compositions.
