Late 19th Century Landscape Prints

The Society of Iconophiles (New York, 1894–1936), 1898. Lithograph on grayish cream medium-stock wove paper, 7 9/16 x 10 7/8 inches (190 x 277 mm), full margins. With a "schutz marke...

Fujieda Station is a modern artwork realized after Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 12 October 1858) in the Late 19th Century. Original Woodcut Print Oban Yoko...

This is a framed 19th century color lithograph entitled "Mothu et Doria" created by Theophile Alexandre Steinlen and published between 1896 and 1899 in Paris, France by Jules Cheret in his famous series of miniature colored stone lithographs of popular Belle Epoch posters...

This framed engraving entitled "Birds-eye View of the Southern End of New York and Brooklyn, Showing the Projected Suspension-Bridge Over the East River, From the Western Terminus in Printing-House Square, New York" by Theodore R. Davis (1840–1894) was published as a supplement of Harper's Weekly, November 19, 1870. The print is presented in a maple frame and a double mat. The frame measures 23.5" high, 29" wide and 0.75" deep. There is a vertical center fold and additional vertical lines, where wood engraving blocks were joined for the printing process. It is in excellent condition. This framed image depicting New York in 1870 was a centerfold for the November 19, 1870 issue of Harper's Weekly. It includes the site and eventual appearance of the East River New York-Brooklyn Bridge; the name later shortened to the Brooklyn Bridge. The print was issued eleven months after the start of construction of the bridge on January 2, 1870, which would take another 12.5 years to complete. When this view was drawn, work on the bridge was all below ground, constructing the supports for the bridge’s towers. Labels in the upper portion of the print identify locations in the background including "Light Ship...

Claude MONET (after) Windmills in Holland, 1873 Original Etching Engraved by Gaucherel under the supervision of Monet Printed signature in the plate (with misspelled signature Monnet) On laid paper 20,5 x 30 cm (c. 8 x 12 in) INFORMATION : This etchings was edited in 1873 by Galerie Durand Ruel...

Tinted lithograph by Philippe Benoist (1813-1881) after Felix Benoist. Figures by Bayot. From a French series titled 'Rome dans Sa Grandeur', circa...

Beautiful engraving of a late 19th Century painting by Frederic Arthur Bridgman (American, 1847 - 1928) titled "A Hot Bargain," (see image) engraved by James D. Smillie (American, 1833-1909), circa 1900. Signed lower right edge. Edition 64/225 with attribution to piece and artist on verso. Presented in with new mat. Original mat on verso. Condition: Good, minor foxing on edge. Image size: 5.88"H x 9"W. A native of New York and the son of an engraver, James David Smillie earned his early reputation for his etching skills but later for watercolor landscapes. He began etching at age 8, learning from his father, James Smillie...

Shimada is an original modern artwork realized after Utagawa Hiroshige, in the Late 19th Century. Original Woodcut print from the series "53 Stations of t...

A beauty turns to admire the Kirifuri Waterfall in Nikko Province. She holds the handle of an umbrella and wears fashionable clothing that is beautifully printed. This series pairs f...

This Winslow Homer woodcut engraving entitled "Skating on the Ladies' Skating-Pond in Central Park, New York", was published in Harper's Weekly in the January 28, 1860 edition. It depicts a large number of men, women and children skating on a recently opened pond in Central Park. At the time of publication of this engraving, Central Park was in the early stages of construction. This engraving documents the very early appearance of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux's masterpiece of landscape design. According to Olmsted, the park was "of great importance as the first real Park made in this century – a democratic development of the highest significance". The people of New York were very proud of the plans for their park. It was stated at the time: "Our Park, which is progressing very satisfactorily under the management of the Commissioners, will undoubtedly be, one of these days, one of the finest place of the kind in the world...Those who saw the Park before the engineers went to work on it are amazed at the beautiful sites which have been contrived with such unpromising materials; all fair persons believe that the enterprise is managed with honesty and good taste." Skating was rapidly rising in national popularity in part due to the opening of Central Park’s lake to skaters on a Sunday in December 1858 with 300 participants. The following Sunday it attracted ten thousand skaters. By Christmas Day, a reported 50,000 people came to the park, most of them to skate. There were rules governing who could use the skating pond. “The Ladies’ Pond...

'Cirque de l'Imperatrice aux Champs-Elysses', tinted lithograph by Felix Benoist (1818-1896). From a series of lithographs depicting the famous buildings of Paris - 'Paris dans sa S...

'Eglise St Genevieve', tinted lithograph by Felix Benoist (1818-1896). From a series of lithographs depicting the famous buildings of Paris - 'Paris dans...

Original poster: CABOURG. "Casino. Grand Hôtel Noël & Pattard, propriétaires du Grand Hôtel à Monte-Carlo". Caubourg, la plus belle plage. Artist: ...

Anonymous (19th century) Eton College Courtyard Lithograph 29 x 38 cm Mounted to board.

James Whistler, The Little Putney, 1879, etching and drypoint, signed with the large butterfly lower right (also with the butterfly in the plate). Glasgow 187, third state (of 3). 12...

The Cabin is an original Modern artwork realized by Sir Francis Saymour-Haden (16 September 1818 – 1 June 1910) in 1877. Beautiful Proof on vélin fort, with stamp "Lugt 1048”. Full ...

'Portes et Murs De Cloture, Avenue d'Aligre, Nos 8 et 10, a Chatou (Seine et Oise), par Mr Eug. Bardon, Archte'. French architectural chromolithograph. From 'La Brique Ordinaire', b...

'Basilica di Santa Croce-in-Gerusalemme, ed avanzi del Tempio detto di Venere e Cupido' Tinted lithograph by Eugene Cicero after Felix Benoist (1813-1881...

This is a framed hand-colored woodcut engraving entitled "Sicilian and Italian Fisherman's Dock - San Francisco", created by Henry François Farny ...

'Musee du Vatican - Galerie Chiaramonti (Pie VII) avec l'entree de la Salle dite le Bras Nouveau' Tinted lithograph by Philippe Benoist (1813-1881). Titled in French and Italian. F...

This beautiful, original hand-colored orchid lithograph entitled "Lycaste Harrisoniae Eburnea" Orchids by John Nugent Fitch is plate 100 in Robert Warner's publication 'The Orchid Al...

Shere Mill Pond, No. II (large plate). 1860. Etching and drypoint. Schneiderman 37.v/ix. 7 x 13 1/8 (sheet 10 3/4 x 16 3/8). This state is prior to publication in Études à l'Eau-Forte. Illustrated: Keppel The Golden Age of Engraving; Print Collector's Quarterly 1 (1911): 18; : Guichard, British Etchers, 1850-1940. A rich, brilliant proof with drypoint burr printed on white laid paper. Signed in pencil. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shere Mill Pond, No. II was one of the most highly praised landscape prints of the etching revival. An impression was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1861 under Haden’s pseudonym, H. Dean. Francis Seymour Haden used this anagram of his own name early in his career as an artist, in order to retain his anonymity and preserve his professional reputation as a surgeon. Biography: Sir Francis Seymour Haden (16 September 1818 - 1 June 1910), was an English surgeon, best known as an etcher. He was born in London, his father, Charles Thomas Haden, being a well-known doctor and lover of music. He was educated at Derby School, Christ's Hospital, and University College, London, and also studied at the Sorbonne, Paris, where he took his degree in 1840. He was admitted as a member of the College of Surgeons in London in 1842. In 1843-1844, with his friends Duval, Le Cannes and Colonel Guibout, he travelled in Italy and made his first sketches from nature. Haden attended no art school and had no art teachers, but between 1845 and 1848 he studied portfolios of prints belonging to a second-hand dealer named Love, who had a shop in Bunhill Row, the old Quaker quarter of London. Arranging the prints in chronological order, he studied the works of the great original engravers, Albrecht Dürer, Lucas van Leyden and Rembrandt. These studies, besides influencing his original work, led to his important monograph on the etched work of Rembrandt. By lecture and book, and with the aid of the memorable exhibition at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1877, he tried to give a true reflection of Rembrandt's work, giving a nobler idea of the master's mind by taking away from the list of his works many dull and unseemly plates that had long been included in the lists. His reasons were founded upon the results of a study of the master's works in chronological order, and are clearly expressed in his monograph, The Etched Work of Rembrandt critically reconsidered, privately printed in 1877, and in The Etched Work of Rembrandt True and False (1895). Haden's printmaking was invigorated by his much younger brother-in-law, James Whistler, at the Haden home in Sloane Street in 1855. A press was installed there and for a while Haden and Whistler collaborated on a series of etchings of the Thames. The relationship and project did not last. Haden followed the art of original etching with such vigour that he became not only the foremost British exponent of that art but brought about its revival in England. His strenuous efforts and perseverance, aided by the secretarial ability of Sir WR Drake, resulted in the foundation of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers. As president he ruled the society with a strong hand from its first beginnings in 1880. Notwithstanding his study of the old masters of his art, Haden's own plates were very individual, and are particularly noticeable for a fine original treatment of landscape subjects, free and open in line, clear and well divided in mass, and full of a noble and dignified style of his own. Even when working from a picture his personality dominates the plate, as for example in the large plate he etched after J.M.W. Turner's "Calais Pier," which is a classical example of what interpretative work can do in black and white. Of his original plates, more than 250 in number, one of the most notable was the large "Breaking up of the Agamemnon." An early plate, rare and most beautiful, is "Thames Fisherman". "Mytton Hall" is broad in treatment, and a fine rendering of a shady avenue of yew trees leading to an old manor-house in sunlight. "Sub Tegmine" was etched in Greenwich Park in 1859; and "Early Morning--Richmond", full of the poetry and freshness of the hour, was done, according to Haden, actually at sunrise. One of the rarest and most beautiful of his plates is "A By-Road in Tipperary"; "Combe Bottom" is another; and "Shere Mill Pond" (both the small study and the larger plate), "Sunset in Ireland," "Penton Hook," "Grim Spain" and "Evening Fishing, Longparish," are also notable examples of his genius. A catalogue of his works was begun by Sir William Drake and completed by Harrington in 1880. During later years Haden began to practise the sister art...

Alfred SISLEY (after) The Angelus, 1873 Original Etching Engraved by Flameng under the supervision of SISLEY Printed signature in the plate On laid paper...

This is an original 19th century Currier and Ives hand-colored lithograph entitled "The Celebrated Trotting Team Edward and Swiveller, Owned by Frank Work Esq. N.Y.: Winning their ma...

Edouard MANET (after) The Harbour, Sailboats, 1873 Original Etching Engraved by Gaucherel under the supervision of MANET Printed signature in the plate On laid paper 20,5 x 30 cm (c. 8 x 12 in) INFORMATION : This etchings was edited in 1873 by Galerie Durand Ruel...

Anonymous (19th century) Eton College Lithograph 29 x 38 cm

This is a mid 19th century etching entitled "Point de Depart de Guillaume de Normandie, Beuzeval, Emboucher de la Dives Calvados (The point of departure of William of Normandy (William the Conqueror)), created by Maxime Lalanne and published in 'L'Illustration Nouvelle' in 1868 by Alfred Cadart. The etching depicts the beach at Beuzeval in Normandy; with the shore in the foreground on the right lined by a row of houses, the sea at the left, and an expansive sky above. There are people on the beach and sailboats in the water. This is the point of departure of William the Conqueror for his voyage to England in 1066, resulting in his victory over the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings and the establishment of Norman rule. The events are memorialized in the Bayeux tapestry, created by William's wife. This etching is presented in a white mat that is suitable for framing. This excellent impression is printed on thick chain-linked, laid cream-colored paper with wide margins. It is signed in plate in the lower right and titled in the plate in the lower left. There is a collector's stamp (either an "NC" or a "CN") in the lower right corner. The sheet measures 9.5" high by 12.75" wide and the mat measures 13.5" high by 16" wide. There are two tiny faint spots in the periphery of the upper margin, but the print is otherwise in excellent condition. This etching is held by many museums and institutions, including The British Museum, The Yale University Art Gallery, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Columbia University Libraries and The William Morris Gallery...

A delicate composition of an industrial Hudson River town, seen from lower Manhattan; a view of what is now Liberty State Park. New York: 1884. Etching with aquatint on cream laid p...

Bird’s Eye View of Glascow original 1888 wood engraving is from The Graphic by H.W. Brewer who was well known for his aerial views of topographical panoramas. He was also the fa...

Boston: American Art Review, 1880. Etching on cream laid paper, 5 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches (146 x 230mm), full margins. Light uniform age tone, scattered handling creases and minor toning ...

This is a 19th century etching entitled "Tour De Montalban, Amsterdam" (Montalban Tower, Amsterdam) by Maxime Lalanne, published by Phillip Gilbert Hamerton in 1884. The etching depicts a canal scene in Amsterdam with Montalban Tower on the right. Row boats are moored along a dock in the foreground on the left and larger sail boats are seen on the other side of the dock. A boat in the middle of the canal is being rowed by one man. Many buildings are seen along both shores. This etching is presented in a white mat that is suitable for framing. This excellent impression is printed on thick chain-linked, laid cream-colored paper with wide margins and two watermarks; "Portfolio" along the left margin and "MBM" along the right margin. It is signed, titled and dated in the plate in the lower right. There is a collector's stamp (either an "NC" or a "CN") in the lower right corner. The sheet measures 10" high by 15" wide and the mat measures 13" high by 16" wide. There is a small spot in the right margin and some mild discoloration in the periphery on the upper margin. The print is otherwise in excellent condition. This etching is held by many museums and institutions, including The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Yale University Art Gallery and The Philadelphia Museum of Art. References: Beraldi (1889) 105; Villet (2016) 148, IV; Lalanne (1882) 137; Bibliothèque Nationale (1932) 82; Gutekunst (1905) 105. François Antoine Maxime Lalanne (1827-1886) was a leading French etcher and painter of landscapes and urban views, who was at the forefront of the French revival of etching during the 1860's. He grew up in Bordeaux, but he refined his artistic skills and worked in Paris. His art was first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1852 and he continued to regularly show both etchings and paintings there until the mid 1880's. He was also the author of several important books on the subjects of etching and other graphic arts. He was a founding member of the Societe des Aquafortistes, along with Auguste Delatre, Cadart, Ribot and Bracquemond. Lalanne created over one hundred and fifty fine etchings. Lalanne's unique style of art influenced many French and English artists in the twentieth century. Philip Gilbert Hamerton (1834-1894) was a British artist, art critic and author. He was particularly focussed on contemporary graphic art and printmaking techniques. He frequently wrote about the theory of the English Etching...

Intérieur de Forêt is an original etching realized after N. Diaz de la Pena in 1880 ca. Engraved by P. Leterrier. Titled on the lower center. The state of preservation is good. Th...

Inscriptions: Printed, bottom: Painted by Sir John Watson Gordon R.A. P.R.S.A. / Edinburgh Published May 10th 1853 by Alex Hill Printseller to the Q...

This beautiful, original hand-colored orchid lithograph entitled "Trichosma Suavis" Orchids by John Nugent Fitch is plate 114 in Robert Warner's publication 'The Orchid Album, Compri...

'Portico D' Ottavia e Pescheria' Tinted lithograph by Eugene Ciceri after Felix Benoist (1813-1881), with figures by Bayot. From a French series titled 'Rome dans Sa Grandeur', cir...

Picture of the opening of the temporary Diet building is an original artwork realized in the 1890s by Ginko Adachi (born 1853; active c. 1870 – 1908). Sheet dimensions: 22 x 48 cm. ...

This Winslow Homer woodcut engraving entitled "Making Hay", was published in Harper's Weekly in the July 6, 1872 edition. It depicts a two men hand cutting high grass on a hill. The man in the foreground is looking at a young boy and a girl (presumably his children), who are sitting on the ground with a picnic basket. This beautiful Homer woodcut engraving is presented in a brown wood frame and a light beige fabric mat with a black inner mat. The print is in excellent condition. There are two other Homer woodcut engravings in identical frames and mats that are listed on 1stdibs. See LU117326148332 and LU117326148272. These would make a wonderful display grouping. A discount is available for the purchase of two or all three of these prints. This Winslow Homer engraving...

GREGORY AMENOFF El Santuario de Chimayó, 1986 Lithograph in Colors on wove paper 37 × 38 inches Edition 1/40 Hand Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in pencil 1 from the edition of only 40 lower margin front Unframed A stunning richly colored lithograph by this important artist...

'Durham Cathedral' Wood-engraving after Samuel Read. From 'The Illustrated London News'. Samuel Read was an English illustrator who provided many illustrations for the Illustrated...

'Fontaine de la Place du Chatelet', tinted lithograph by Felix Benoist (1818-1896). From a series of lithographs depicting the famous buildings of Paris -...

Description: c. 1882 Mezzotint with stipple and etching on chine colle. After 1878 painting by Sir John Everett Millais R.A (1829-1896); e...

CAMILLE PISSARRO (French 1830-1903) VACHERE au BORD de l’EAU 1890 (Delteil 93 viii/viii) Etching, unsigned as published in “Gazette des Beaux Arts”, Paris, 1890. On laid paper Very...

"Winter in the Country" is an original hand-colored lithograph by Haskell & Allen. It depicts a family going back to their home in the snow and c...

Image dimensions: 12.5x17.5 cm. Die Festung Coburg is a beautiful black and white lithograph on paper, realized at the end of XIX century by the German landscapist artist, Georg Mic...

"His Timmer Staff" is an image of herding pigs by William Strang. It is a fine impression in fine condition in an edition of 20 signed and inscribed by the artist. Binyon 119 One...

Orchid and small swallows (Hokuri, kotsubame). Original preparatory watercolor next to the finished original Japanese woodblock print. This is a highly finished preparatory watercolo...

The french Landscape is an original Lithograph realized by Louise de Rohan-Chabot in 1878. Good conditions except for some foxings. Signed and dated lower left, 1878. The artwork ...

Les Marais 1880s is an original drawing in etching technique on paper, realized and by Maillart, a French engraver and sculptor after Theodore Rousseau...

Buhot, Felix (French, 1847-1898). UNE JETEE EN ANGLETERRE. B & G 132, State two of eight. Etching with drypoint, aquatint and roulette, 1879. Signed in pencil, and with the red owl...

Pierre PUVIS DE CHAVANNES (after) Hope, 1873 Original Etching Engraved by Boilvin under the supervision of PUVIS DE CHAVANNES Printed signature in the plate On laid paper 20,5 x 30 cm (c. 8 x 12 in) INFORMATION : This etchings was edited in 1873 by Galerie Durand Ruel...

Amor, Tod und Jenseits, (Cupid, death and afterlife) is an original etching and aquatint on paper Chine collé, realized by Max Klinger in 1881, plate XII from “Intermezzi” Opus IV,...

Bird's Eye View Of The Great Suspension Bridge Print on paper Description: The Brooklyn Bridge was a cultural phenomenon when it was first built, inspiring artists, entrepreneurs, ...

LEBAS Léonie (19th-20th) - Paris Belle Epoque Genre Scene - Oil on wood in pair - Copper leaf frames. Wood Dim (each) : 22 X 16 cm - Dim frame (eac...

"Shooting on the Prairie" is an original hand-colored lithograph by Currier & Ives. It depicts a hunter shooting at fowl in an open field. 8 1/2" x 12 1/2" art 20 1/4" x 23 3/4" frame Nathaniel Currier was a tall introspective man with a melancholy nature. He could captivate people with his piercing stare or charm them with his sparkling blue eyes. Nathaniel was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on March 27th, 1813, the second of four children. His parents, Nathaniel and Hannah Currier, were distant cousins who lived a humble yet spartan life. When Nathaniel was eight years old, tragedy struck. Nathaniel’s father unexpectedly passed away leaving Nathaniel and his eleven-year-old brother Lorenzo to provide for the family. In addition to their mother, Nathaniel and Lorenzo had to care for six-year-old sister Elizabeth and two-year-old brother Charles. Nathaniel worked a series of odd jobs to support the family, and at fifteen, he started what would become a life-long career when he apprenticed in the Boston lithography shop of William and John Pendleton. A Bavarian gentleman named Alois Senefelder invented lithography just 30 years prior to young Nat Currier’s apprenticeship. While under the employ of the brothers Pendleton, Nat was taught the art of lithography by the firm’s chief printer, a French national named Dubois, who brought the lithography trade to America. Lithography involves grinding a piece of limestone flat and smooth then drawing in mirror image on the stone with a special grease pencil. After the image is completed, the stone is etched with a solution of aqua fortis leaving the greased areas in slight relief. Water is then used to wet the stone and greased-ink is rolled onto the raised areas. Since grease and water do not mix, the greased-ink is repelled by the moisture on the stone and clings to the original grease pencil lines. The stone is then placed in a press and used as a printing block to impart black on white images to paper. In 1833, now twenty-years old and an accomplished lithographer, Nat Currier left Boston and moved to Philadelphia to do contract work for M.E.D. Brown, a noted engraver and printer. With the promise of good money, Currier hired on to help Brown prepare lithographic stones of scientific images for the American Journal of Sciences and Arts. When Nat completed the contract work in 1834, he traveled to New York City to work once again for his mentor John Pendleton, who was now operating his own shop located at 137 Broadway. Soon after the reunion, Pendleton expressed an interest in returning to Boston and offered to sell his print shop to Currier. Young Nat did not have the financial resources to buy the shop, but being the resourceful type he found another local printer by the name of Stodart. Together they bought Pendleton’s business. The firm ‘Currier & Stodart’ specialized in "job" printing. They produced many different types of printed items, most notably music manuscripts for local publishers. By 1835, Stodart was frustrated that the business was not making enough money and he ended the partnership, taking his investment with him. With little more than some lithographic stones, and a talent for his trade, twenty-two year old Nat Currier set up shop in a temporary office at 1 Wall Street in New York City. He named his new enterprise ‘N. Currier, Lithographer’ Nathaniel continued as a job printer and duplicated everything from music sheets to architectural plans. He experimented with portraits, disaster scenes and memorial prints, and any thing that he could sell to the public from tables in front of his shop. During 1835 he produced a disaster print Ruins of the Planter's Hotel, New Orleans, which fell at two O’clock on the Morning of the 15th of May 1835, burying 50 persons, 40 of whom Escaped with their Lives. The public had a thirst for newsworthy events, and newspapers of the day did not include pictures. By producing this print, Nat gave the public a new way to “see” the news. The print sold reasonably well, an important fact that was not lost on Currier. Nat met and married Eliza Farnsworth in 1840. He also produced a print that same year titled Awful Conflagration of the Steamboat Lexington in Long Island Sound on Monday Evening, January 18, 1840, by which melancholy occurrence over One Hundred Persons Perished. This print sold out very quickly, and Currier was approached by an enterprising publication who contracted him to print a single sheet addition of their paper, the New York Sun. This single page paper is presumed to be the first illustrated newspaper ever published. The success of the Lexington print launched his career nationally and put him in a position to finally lift his family up. In 1841, Nat and Eliza had their first child, a son they named Edward West Currier. That same year Nat hired his twenty-one year old brother Charles and taught him the lithography trade, he also hired his artistically inclined brother Lorenzo to travel out west and make sketches of the new frontier as material for future prints. Charles worked for the firm on and off over the years, and invented a new type of lithographic crayon which he patented and named the Crayola. Lorenzo continued selling sketches to Nat for the next few years. In 1843, Nat and Eliza had a daughter, Eliza West Currier, but tragedy struck in early 1847 when their young daughter died from a prolonged illness. Nat and Eliza were grief stricken, and Eliza, driven by despair, gave up on life and passed away just four months after her daughter’s death. The subject of Nat Currier’s artwork changed following the death of his wife and daughter, and he produced many memorial prints and sentimental prints during the late 1840s. The memorial prints generally depicted grief stricken families posed by gravestones (the stones were left blank so the purchasers could fill in the names of the dearly departed). The sentimental prints usually depicted idealized portraits of women and children, titled with popular Christian names of the day. Late in 1847, Nat Currier married Lura Ormsbee, a friend of the family. Lura was a self-sufficient woman, and she immediately set out to help Nat raise six-year-old Edward and get their house in order. In 1849, Lura delivered a son, Walter Black Currier, but fate dealt them a blow when young Walter died one year later. While Nat and Lura were grieving the loss of their new son, word came from San Francisco that Nat’s brother Lorenzo had also passed away from a brief illness. Nat sank deeper into his natural quiet melancholy. Friends stopped by to console the couple, and Lura began to set an extra place at their table for these unexpected guests. She continued this tradition throughout their lives. In 1852, Charles introduced a friend, James Merritt Ives, to Nat and suggested he hire him as a bookkeeper. Jim Ives was a native New Yorker born in 1824 and raised on the grounds of Bellevue Hospital where his father was employed as superintendent. Jim was a self-trained artist and professional bookkeeper. He was also a plump and jovial man, presenting the exact opposite image of his new boss. Jim Ives met Charles Currier through Caroline Clark, the object of Jim’s affection. Caroline’s sister Elizabeth was married to Charles, and Caroline was a close friend of the Currier family. Jim eventually proposed marriage to Caroline and solicited an introduction to Nat Currier, through Charles, in hopes of securing a more stable income to support his future wife. Ives quickly set out to improve and modernize his new employer’s bookkeeping methods. He reorganized the firm’s sizable inventory, and used his artistic skills to streamline the firm’s production methods. By 1857, Nathaniel had become so dependent on Jims’ skills and initiative that he offered him a full partnership in the firm and appointed him general manager. The two men chose the name ‘Currier & Ives’ for the new partnership, and became close friends. Currier & Ives produced their prints in a building at 33 Spruce Street where they occupied the third, fourth and fifth floors. The third floor was devoted to the hand operated printing presses that were built by Nat's cousin, Cyrus Currier, at his shop Cyrus Currier & Sons in Newark, NJ. The fourth floor found the artists, lithographers and the stone grinders at work. The fifth floor housed the coloring department, and was one of the earliest production lines in the country. The colorists were generally immigrant girls, mostly German, who came to America with some formal artistic training. Each colorist was responsible for adding a single color to a print. As a colorist finished applying their color, the print was passed down the line to the next colorist to add their color. The colorists worked from a master print displayed above their table, which showed where the proper colors were to be placed. At the end of the table was a touch up artist who checked the prints for quality, touching-in areas that may have been missed as it passed down the line. During the Civil War, demand for prints became so great that coloring stencils were developed to speed up production. Although most Currier & Ives prints were colored in house, some were sent out to contract artists. The rate Currier & Ives paid these artists for coloring work was one dollar per one hundred small folios (a penny a print) and one dollar per one dozen large folios. Currier & Ives also offered uncolored prints to dealers, with instructions (included on the price list) on how to 'prepare the prints for coloring.' In addition, schools could order uncolored prints from the firm’s catalogue to use in their painting classes. Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives attracted a wide circle of friends during their years in business. Some of their more famous acquaintances included Horace Greeley, Phineas T. Barnum, and the outspoken abolitionists Rev. Henry Ward, and John Greenleaf Whittier (the latter being a cousin of Mr. Currier). Nat Currier and Jim Ives described their business as "Publishers of Cheap and Popular Pictures" and produced many categories of prints. These included Disaster Scenes, Sentimental Images, Sports, Humor, Hunting Scenes, Politics, Religion, City and Rural Scenes, Trains, Ships, Fire Fighters, Famous Race Horses, Historical Portraits, and just about any other topic that satisfied the general public's taste. In all, the firm produced in excess of 7500 different titles, totaling over one million prints produced from 1835 to 1907. Nat Currier retired in 1880, and signed over his share of the firm to his son Edward. Nat died eight years later at his summer home 'Lion’s Gate' in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Jim Ives remained active in the firm until his death in 1895, when his share of the firm passed to his eldest son, Chauncey. In 1902, faced will failing health from the ravages of Tuberculosis, Edward Currier sold his share of the firm to Chauncey Ives...

'Basilica di San Paolo fuori delle mura' Tinted lithograph by Philippe Benoist (1813-1881). From a French series titled 'Rome dans Sa Grandeur', circa 1870...

'Porto di Ripetta. Veduta presa dalla scala della Chiesa di S. Rocco' Tinted lithograph by Philippe Benoist (1813-1881). Figures by Bayou. From a French series titled 'Rome dans Sa...

By the Water is an Original Etching realized by Pierre Georges Jeanniot (1848-1934). Hand-Signed and some notes by the artist on the lower left corner. Good condition on a cream co...

'Cripta di S Cornelio, Papa e Martire, Cemetero di S Calisto, presso la Via Appia' Tinted lithograph by Sabatier after Felix Benoist (1813-1881), with figures by Bayot. From a Fren...