The Great Race for the Western Stakes, 1870 (litho) (lithograph)

Lithograph created by Currier and Ives depicts Cornelius Vanderbilt and James Fisk in a race for control of New York's rails. Throughout 1868 and 1869, the two men had fought for control of the Erie Railroad. (See also "The Statue Unveiled," no. 1869-1.) Here, Vanderbilt straddles his two railroads, the "Hudson River R.R." and the "New York Central R.R.", admonishing his competitor, "Now then Jim, No Jockeying You Know!" The dwarf like Fisk, sitting astride the "Erie R.R.", replies, "Let em rip Commodore! But Don't Stop to Water or You'll be Beat." Dated 1870