Bustin the Record: "Time Knocked Out"

John Cameron, who was noted for depicting horses, designed more than 300 images of various subjects for Currier & Ives from 1847 to 1896. In this comic scene about a race against Time, a grinning man with side whiskers flying (wearing a top hat) drives a carriage drawn by two galloping horses past the opening in an iron fence. As he races on, the man points his whip to a sign on the fence that reads: "MAUD S./ AND/ ALDINE/ Wagon & Driver 411 lbs./ 2:15 1/2 !!" At right, an old man with long white hair and a flowing white beard (Father Time) falls from his damaged bicycle, thereby losing his grip on his scythe and hourglass. Nearby on the road, there is a crumpled piece of paper noting his losing race time of "2:16 3/4" .


Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888), who established a successful New York-based lithography firm in 1835, produced thousands of hand-colored prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life. In 1857, Currier made James Merritt Ives (1824–1895) a business partner. People eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs, such as those featuring spectacular American landscapes, rural and city views, marines, portraits, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments. The firm operated until 1907. Until the 1880s, images were printed in monochrome, then hand-colored by women who worked for the company; later prints were printed in color.