The New York-based printmaking firm of Currier & Ives (1834 – 1907) created some of the 19th century’s most iconic and popular American art. The business was founded by Nathaniel Currier (1813 – 1888), who oversaw printing and formed a partnership with bookkeeper James Merritt Ives (1824 – 1895). Currier’s career skyrocketed nationally when he began selling prints of current events to the New York Sun, making it the first illustrated newspaper ever published. He and Ives were acclaimed for their beautifully crafted, reasonably priced lithographs of scenes from American life. With a staff of artists and an assembly-line of women hand-coloring their works, Currier & Ives generated more than 1 million prints, which are still beloved today.

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