James Henry Wright (1813 - 1883) (after)
Henry C. Eno (lithographer)
Rysdyk’s Hambletonian
John J. Olone, New York: 1866
Signed in the stone: J.H. Wright 1865
18.75 x 25 inches, image
25 x 29.5 inches, overall
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Rysdyk’s Hambletonian
Large 19th Century Lithograph of the Famous Trotting Horse
Large 19th Century Lithograph of the Famous Trotting Horse
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Portrait of the bay trotting horse Rysdyk’s Hambletonian (1849-1876), also known as “Hambletonian 10,” whose enduring fame rests on being the progenitor of most harness racing horses today, including many world record setters. The horse is posed in a stable beside the owner, William M. Rysdyk (d. 1870) of Chester in Orange County, New York, who sports an impressive long white beard. The almost Modernist style background includes a blanket in a casual heap on the floor with the name “Hambletonian” legible, and the horse’s shadow cast on the wall.
Currier & Ives produced a version of this print in 1876 (10 years after the Eno/Olone print), engraved by Louis Maurer (Conningham 5273). A different lithograph of Rysdyk’s Hambletonian was also published by Henry C. Eno in the same year (Peters, pl. 51). That version was after a painting by Theodore Marsden and lithographed by Henry A. Thomas, and shows Rysdyk and his horse in an outdoor farm setting, positioned similarly, but posed differently.
According to Peters, trotting horses represented perhaps the third most popular subject matter for 19th century lithographs after views and portraits. Rysdyk’s Hambletonian, as the inscription on this print notes, was descended from distinguished English racehorses. He set his only record as a three year-old, but went on to become a prolific sire of some 1,300 foals over a 24-year period. Rysdyk originally purchased the horse for $125, and his investment paid off handsomely -- for some time, Rysdyk’s Hambletonian commanded a stud fee of $500, a huge sum at that time. Today the horse’s name lives on in the annual Hambletonian Stakes, arguably the most prestigious harness racing event in the U.S. Inaugurated in 1926, the race is currently held at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.
Inscriptions below the image provide the horse’s lineage:
Inscription center, below title: Was sired by old Abdallah, he by Mambrino, and he by imported Messenger. His dam was the Charles Kent mare by imported Bellfounder; grand dam, old One Eye by old Hambletonian, and he by imported Messenger, and his dam also by imported Messenger; and the dam of old One Eye was by imported Messenger.
Inscription in facsimile handwriting lower left margin: Chester, Febr. 12th, 1866. This Picture I consider a perfect likeness of my horse Hambletonian. Your &c Wm M. Rysdyk.
James Henry Wright was a successful painter based in New York City specializing in portraiture, still lifes, and landscapes. Between 1842 and 1860 he exhibited at the National Academy of Design and at the American Art Union. He painted portraits of a number of prominent people, including one of Daniel Webster in the collection of the U.S. Senate. Several of Wright’s paintings are also in the collection of the New-York Historical Society, and he is represented in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Montclair Art Museum and others.
Henry C. Eno was a New York City lithographer and publisher operating under his own name between 1863 and 1869, and as Thomas & Eno with Henry A. Thomas from 1862 to 1864.
Full publication information (inscriptions beneath image): Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1866, by J.H. Wright, in the Clerk’s office of the District Court, of the United States, for the Southern District of N.Y. J.H. Wright, Pinxt. Lith. in colors, by H.C. Eno, 37 Park Row, N.Y. Pub’d by John J. Olone, 945 Broadway, New York.
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning and wear. Apparently professionally cleaned, with some very faint hints of former backing or other time stains.
References:
Conningham, Frederic A. Currier and Ives Prints: An Illustrated Check List. New York: Crown, 1949. 5273.
“Daniel Webster by James Henry Wright.” United States Senate. http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/artifact/Painting_32_00017.htm (18 December 2007).
“Hambletonian.” HarnessRacingMuseum and Hall of Fame. 2007. http://www.harnessmuseum.com/pages/main-home-page-info/hambopage.htm (18 December 2007).
“Hambletonian: 1926-Present.” The Hambletonian Society. 2007. http://www.hambletonian.org/index.cfm?Content=74 (19 December 2007).
“Rysdyk’s Hambletonian.” Peters Collection, SmithsonianNationalMuseum of American History. http://americanhistory.si.edu/petersprints/lithograph.cfm?id=326086&Category=Horses&Results_Per=10&search_all=false (18 December 2007).
Peters, Harry T. America on Stone. U.S.: Doubleday, Doran, 1931. pp. 179-180, plate 51.