The Jockeys and the Champions’ Record · The Jockeys
James Woodburn (Vanity Fair)
Leslie Ward ('Spy'), chromolithograph, Vanity Fair, 1890 · chromolithograph
What it is
James Woodburn, drawn by Spy in the silks of the stable that retained him, one working jockey among the many Vanity Fair judged worth a plate that year.
Why it matters
Not every rider Spy caught was a champion; the turf gallery ran on the ordinary professional almost as much as the famous one, because its readership followed the whole trade, not only its winners.
What to notice
the plainness of the pose against Spy's usual theatrical flourish, a working rider drawn without a joke to carry.
Not every name needs a headline to earn a plate.
Provenance
- Maker
- Leslie Ward ('Spy'), chromolithograph, Vanity Fair, 1890
- Era
- The Victorian Turf (1837–1901)
- Chapter
- The Names on the Board
- Medium
- chromolithograph
- Made
- 1890
- Figure
- James Woodburn
- Source
- Vanity Fair caricature
Publicity
Clear — the historic British turf (the Victorian jockeys, the Vanity Fair subjects): a long-deceased figure with no post-mortem right of publicity in play. Sold as history, freely and openly.
Print master
The largest formats are printed from a master enlarged 3× from the surviving 644×1000 scan by AI enhancement (Claid smart-enhance), prepared for the considered detail of a print viewed at distance. The source record above is unchanged — the enhancement serves the wall, not the archive.
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the work’s own year of publication. Cleared by registry on 2026-07-20.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan supports sizes up to 11x17" cleanly.
Size
$29.00
More from the Stable Wall
The Jockey — Fred Archer
The Champion at Stride
Sam Loates (Vanity Fair)
Mr Arthur Coventry, 'The Baby' (Vanity Fair)
Elsewhere in the family
- The Links — the other morning religion.
- Painted Lineage — the bloodline, beside the family line.
- Painted Earth — home ground as a period map.