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1857–1907
**Currier & Ives** was an American printmaking firm based in New York City that operated from 1857 to 1907, producing some of the most widely circulated images of 19th-century America.
Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888) founded the business after apprenticing in lithography with the Pendleton brothers in Boston, early pioneers of the medium in the United States. In 1852 he hired James Merritt Ives (1824–1895) as a bookkeeper; Ives became a full partner in 1857, giving the firm its enduring name. The partnership specialized in affordable hand-colored lithographs that captured current events, political figures, everyday American life, and scenic views.
Working in the popular tradition of commercial lithography, Currier & Ives emphasized bold, direct compositions printed in black and then tinted by hand with clear, simple colors. Their output included thousands of titles—more than 7,500 distinct images across the firm’s lifespan—covering subjects such as the 1860 presidential campaign featuring candidates Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, and John Bell alongside President James Buchanan. These prints served both as decorative wall hangings and as visual news for a public without widespread photography.
The firm’s legacy endures as a vivid chronicle of American culture and history. After Currier’s death in 1888 and Ives’s in 1895, their sons continued operations until the business closed in 1907. Today their lithographs are prized by museums and collectors for documenting the era’s tastes, politics, and daily life with unmatched volume and accessibility.