Thomas Worth, born New York City - Delaying a Start - 1881 - T-Shirt

Thomas Worth's 1881 hand-colored lithograph Delaying a Start catches the moment before a race goes wrong, with a rearing chestnut horse throwing its jockey while a bell rings from the judges' stand.

Visual Elements & Composition

The print is built as a wide horizontal rectangle, and the eye lands first on the rearing chestnut horse at the centre, its forelegs lifted high. The jockey clings to its back in a tangle of motion, and a running man in a bowler hat cuts across the lower edge. Behind them, racehorses and riders stretch down the track, while spectators crowd the stand. The palette is warm and earthy: chestnut red dominates, set against sandy beige, grass green, pale sky grey, and a small accent of navy blue. The original plate carries its publisher line, "PUBLISHED BY CURRIER & IVES," along with the copyright date of 1881 and the address 115 Nassau St., New York.

Meaning & Symbolism

Worth was a leading American illustrator, best known for his satirical prints and sporting subjects for Currier and Ives. In this scene, the racetrack chaos stands in for the frustrations of 19th-century travel and urban life: human urgency pulling against the stubborn independence of the horse. The humour comes from the gap between a rigid schedule and a restless animal. It is a clear example of how Victorian print culture turned everyday friction into a shared joke.

On the T-Shirt

A tee is worn close to the body and seen from every angle, so the scene wraps around the wearer as they move. The horse and jockey sit at the centre of the chest, where the rearing motion reads first, and the racetrack spreads outward across the composition. Wearing it puts that moment of comic disorder in plain view.