by Austin Sprake:
This is the same silk as "The Struggle", and superseded it soon after 1879 when "The Finish" was considered a more appropriate title.
by Geoffrey Godden:
This subject was first issued under the title THE STRUGGLE [see st572 on this site] and, as such, it was registered on 14 August 1879. It was made at the York Exhibition. After about six months, it was retitled THE FINISH - a name which appears for the first time on label 10.
The scene shows the end of a horse-race, with four horses in the centre at full stretch nearing the winning-post. The companion picture is THE START [st 556 on this site]. (THE WATER JUMP [st600 on this site] is sometimes said to be part of the same set, although it is not so listed on the original Stevens labels.) Like the boat-race scenes, ARE YOU READY? and THE FINAL SPURT, the competitors finish going in the opposite direction from which they started.
Most examples are found on type B card-mounts, but some are occasionally on card-mounts of type C and D (as above).
Other comments:
This design was first registered as "The Struggle" on 14 August 1879.
