1850s Art

Scêne d'Hippophagie is a b/w lithographed plate (n. 21), from the series containing a total of 120 satiric prints, Croquis Parisiens, realized by Honoré Daumier (France, 1808-1879)....

Un Repas D’hippophages is the title of this b/w lithographed plate, realized by Honoré Daumier (France, 1808-1879), that appeared on February 20th, 1856 in the French periodical, Le ...

Encore un Nouveau Divertissement (Another New Pastime) is a original b/w lithographed plate (n. 7), from the satiric series La Fluidomanie, composed of 12 plates of caricatures “de m...

Studies of Figures is an original modern artwork realized in the 19th Century. Original pen drawing on paper. Passepartout is included (total dimen...

This splendid lithograph View of Geneve is part of the series of prints dedicated to views of the city of Geneva, engraved by the Italian artist Antonio Fontanesi. The state of pres...

Parisiens recevant un grain (…) (Parisians experiencing a squall) is a b/w lithograph (plate n.12) from the satirical print series “Les Trains de Plaisir”, composed of caricatures “...

Parisiens surpris par la marée (…) is a b/w lithograph (plate n.13) from the satirical series “Les Trains de Plaisir”, composed of caricatures “de mœurs” (of behaviours), realized by...

Battle of Melegnano is original Hand-colored lithograph on paper, realized by Carlo Perrin in 1850 ca. Titled in Italian" Battglia di Melegnano", on the lower center, signed on the ...

This splendid lithograph Interieur de Geneve. Bourg De Four is part of the series of 20 prints dedicated to views of the city of Geneva, engraved by the Italian artist Antonio Fontan...

Meeting is a wonderful original print on brownish paper, realized by the French artist, Constantin Guys (1802 -1892). In very good condition, including a pet...

This splendid lithograph L'hopital is part of the series of 20 prints dedicated to views of the city of Geneva, engraved by the Italian artist Antonio Fontanesi in 1854. The lithogra...

The Battle of Magenta is original Hand-colored lithography on paper, realized by Carlo Bossoli in the XIX century. Titled on the lower center, signed on ...

Women is a beautiful woodcut print realized by Frédéric Florian in the mid-19th century. In very good condition. Hand signed on the right lower margin,...

Workers is an original lithograph on paper applied on cardboard realized by Denis Auguste Marie Raffet in 1854. Signed on the plate on the lower left and dated. Good conditions. T...

Signed “Ichimosai Yoshitora ga” and “Ittosai Toshitsuna ga” and dated “Kaei 5” (1851). No Editor. Including 50+1 original illustrations, 39 of which by Yoshitora and 11 of which by Yoshitsuna. Author : Shotei Kinsui Illustrator : Utagawa Yoshitora...

In the world of cartography, maps transcend mere geography; they are historical records and works of art, encapsulating the essence of a place at a specific moment in time. The 1851 ...

Signed on plate, “Raffet San Donato Février 1858”. Title “Artilleurs allant prendre service des Batteries n. 1 e n.2, Siège de Rome, 5 juin 1849” was printed at the centre. “Paris,G...

Apollon et les Muses are two wonderful lithographs realized in 1851 by Julien Boilly, after Prud'hon, as the typewritten inscriptions report under the images. This original print r...

Medium: mezzotint (engraved by David Lucas after the John Constable painting). Printed in 1855 on cream wove paper for the "English Landscape S...

Joshua Hargrave Sams Mann, R.B.A., 1826 - 1886. London Painter of literary genre scenes after Byron, Shakespeare etc, who exhibited 128 works at Royal Society...

Artist: John Gould (English, 1804-1881) Title: "Chrysocolaptes Xanthocephalus (Yellow-faced flameback)" (Vol. 6, Plate 37) Portfolio: The Birds of Asia Year: 1850-1883 Medium: Origin...

Jean-Francois Millet, French (1814 - 1875) - Portrait d'Olivier de Serres, Year: 1858, Medium: Lithograph, Image Size: 5 x 3.25 inches, Size: 9.5 x 6.25 in...

Albumen print by Charles Marville circa 1856. Blind Stamp on mount recto.

Artist: John Gould (English, 1804-1881) Title: "Pericrocotus Flammeus (Orange Minivet)" (Vol. 2, Plate 8) Portfolio: The Birds of Asia Year: 1850-1883 Medium: Original Hand-Colored Lithograph on wove paper Limited edition: approx. 235 Printer: Hullmandel & Walton, T. Walter or Walter & Cohn, London, UK Publisher: Taylor and Francis, John Gould, London, UK Reference: Anker No. 178; Nissen No. IVB 368; Sauer No. 17, Zimmer page 258; Wood page 365; Sitwell page 102 Sheet size: 21.38" x 14.57" Image size: 16.25" x 10" Condition: Faint UV stain to sheet and light toning at edges. Remnants of mounting tape from previous framing at top edge on verso. Has been professionally stored away for decades. In excellent condition with strong colors Very rare Notes: Provenance: private collection - Aspen, CO. Lithography and hand-coloring by John Gould and English artist Henry Constantine Richter (1821-1902). Comes from Gould's seven volume "The Birds of Asia", (1850-1883) (First edition), which consists of 530 hand-colored lithographs. Other contributing lithographers were German artist Joseph Wolf (1820-1899) and Irish artist William Hart (1830-1908). "The Birds of Asia" was Gould's last work before his death. Gold gilded edges as issued. The orange minivet is a brightly colored bird in the cuckooshrike family, Campephagidae. It is found all along the Western Ghats and west coast of India and Sri Lanka. Biography: John Gould FRS (14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist and bird artist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates that he produced with the assistance of his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists including Edward Lear, Henry Constantine Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Matthew Hart. He has been considered the father of bird study in Australia and the Gould League in Australia is named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould's work is referenced in Charles Darwin's book, "On the Origin of Species".

Le Soir: Cerf et Herons (The Evening: Stag and Herons) Lithograph printed with brown tint stone, 1858 From: Animaux et Paysages d’apres Nature Published by Goupil, 1858 Signed in the stone lower left, Karl Bodmer Pinx. et lith. (see photo) Published by Goupil et Cie, Paris, with their blindstamp center, below image Printed by Bertauts, Paris (see photo) Condition: Excellent One stain verso, not visible on recto Full sheet Image size: 11 1/4 x 18 inches Sheet size: 17 3/4 x 24 3/4 inches Reference: Delteil 70 IFF 22, No. 1 Karl Bodmer (1809—1893) Painter, draftsman, and printmaker. Although he spent only two years in the United States and its territories, Bodmer's depictions of Western Indians...

Framed in wood with museum glass to 9" x 11" One of the watercolors says Tweksbury, July (?) 1850 Framed by Commonwealth Print Conservation, Boston in 1988 Very nice watercolor. Par...

Antoine-Claude PONTHUS-CINIER (Lyon, 1812 - Lyon, 1885) The Trailer Ferry at Neuville-sur-Ain Oil on canvas H. 54 cm; W. 81 cm Sale stamp lower left. Provenance: 1885, Studio Sale, ...

Artist: John Gould (English, 1804-1881) Title: "Myzanthe Ignipectus (Fire-breasted Flowerpecker)" (Vol. 2, Plate 40) Portfolio: The Birds of Asia Year: 1850-1883 Medium: Original Hand-Colored Lithograph on wove paper Limited edition: approx. 235 Printer: Hullmandel & Walton, T. Walter or Walter & Cohn, London, UK Publisher: Taylor and Francis, John Gould, London, UK Reference: Anker No. 178; Nissen No. IVB 368; Sauer No. 17, Zimmer page 258; Wood page 365; Sitwell page 102 Sheet size: 21.38" x 14.57" Image size: 16" x 9.75" Condition: Light toning to sheet. Has been professionally stored away for decades. In excellent condition with strong colors Extremely rare Notes: Provenance: private collection - Aspen, CO. Lithography and hand-coloring by John Gould and English artist Henry Constantine Richter (1821-1902). Comes from Gould's seven volume "The Birds of Asia", (1850-1883) (First edition), which consists of 530 hand-colored lithographs. Other contributing lithographers were German artist Joseph Wolf (1820-1899) and Irish artist William Hart (1830-1908). "The Birds of Asia" was Gould's last work before his death. Gold gilded edges as issued. The fire-breasted flowerpecker is a species of bird in the family Dicaeidae found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Like other flowerpeckers, this tiny bird feeds on fruits and plays an important role in the dispersal of fruiting plants. Biography: John Gould FRS (14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist and bird artist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates that he produced with the assistance of his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists including Edward Lear, Henry Constantine Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Matthew Hart. He has been considered the father of bird study in Australia and the Gould League in Australia is named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould's work is referenced in Charles Darwin's book, "On the Origin of Species".

Skillfully rendered pencil drawing of various 19th century era figures at work, circa 1850. Original artwork on paper displayed on a white mat with a gold border. Archival plastic ...

Meryon, Charles. LE STRYGE. D.23, S.27. Etching, 1853. 6 3/4 x 5 1/4 inches; 171 x 130 mm., with wide margins. Schneiderman's Seventh, Delteil's Sixth state (of 10), or possibly an i...

Hippolyte Roques (active 1838-1864) Three Head Portraits of a Young Girl Oil on grey wove paper, c. 1850 Unsigned Provenance: Estate of the artist Shepherd Galle...

Carl Friedrich Deiker (1838 Wetzlar - 1892 Düsseldorf). Vigilant fox. Pencil drawing on brown paper, 18 × 29.5 cm (inside measurement), 31.5 x 43.5 cm (mount), signed and dated "Deiker [18]54" at lower right. - a little bit stained, with a light water stain at lower right About the artwork Carl Friedrich Deiker's consummate ability to depict animals is already evident in this early work. He brought a whole new psychological dimension to animal painting, so that one could literally speak of animal portraits. The naturalistic appearance of the fox alone makes it seem alive. Every strand of muscle, even every hair, is captured, which requires an intensive artistic study of animal anatomy and physiology. But the fox's real liveliness comes not from its natural appearance, but from its internal movement: Stretched out, it has been brought out of rest. It turns around and, with its ears pricked up, looks intently in the direction from which it has seen something. His mouth is slightly open and his pointed teeth are bared, as if he were growling. Tension gradually takes hold of his whole body. While the hind legs were still in a relaxed position, closely observed by Deiker, one front leg was already raised, ready to begin a rising movement. The fox seems so alarmed with all its senses that one gets the impression that, at any moment, its tail will move jerkily and the animal will jump up. While wild animals have traditionally been portrayed as beasts or anthropomorphised, often for caricatural purposes, Deiker explores their inherent nature by attempting to capture their psychic impulses. The wild animal is neither bestial nor human, but a creature in its own right, valued by Deiker for its own sake. In this way, he brought the dignity of the animal into representation and raised animal painting to a whole new artistic level. About the artist Carl Friedrich Deiker was the son of the drawing teacher Christian Friedrich Deiker and the younger brother of the animal painter Johannes Deiker. In addition to the family art lessons, Christian Friedrich shared a studio with his brother Johannes at Braunfels Castle, Deiker attended the drawing academy in Hanau, and from 1858 he was a student at the Karlsruhe Art Academy, where he studied under the landscape painter Johann Wilhelm Schirmer. Carl Friedrich Deiker was already in demand as an artist during his first year: Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden, Margrave Max of Baden and Grand Duke Michael of Russia bought hunting scenes by him. In 1859 he went on a study trip to the Reinhardswald. Just as the Barbizon School had rediscovered the landscape, Deiker opened up the forest for animal painting. From 1861-64 Deiker had his own studio in Karlsruhe, then moved to Düsseldorf, where his brother Johannes followed four years later. Deiker married a daughter of the landscape painter Karl Hilger and remained in Düsseldorf until his death. In 1868 he finally achieved international fame with his painting 'Pursued Noble Deer' and was regarded as a virtuoso new founder of animal painting. "Deiker brought for the first time a truly great artistic quality to animal painting [...]". - Hans Vollmer From 1870 he participated in the academic art exhibitions in Berlin, Dresden, Munich and Hanover. He was also very busy as an illustrator. He drew for the Gartenlaube, the Salon, the Universum, and produced many of the finely illustrated hunting and animal books of the period. He also worked as a printmaker, while his oil paintings circulated as reprints by Franz Dinger. From 1865 to 1892 Deiker was a member of the artists' association Malkasten. Carl Friedrich Deiker's life's work was honoured with a large posthumous memorial exhibition at the Düsseldorf Kunsthalle in 1892. His son Carl Deiker, born in 1879, also became a painter. Selection of art museums that own works by Carl Friedrich Deiker: Hamburger Kunsthalle / Kunsthalle Karlsruhe / Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf / Wallraff Richartz Cologne. Selected Bibliography H. Schmidt: Johannes and...

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (Hiroshige Ando 1797-1858) Title: No.12 Ueno Yamashita Series: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (名所江戸百景) Size: O-ban 大判 Age: 1858

Beautiful lithograph with margins, realized by Daumier in 1855. It belongs to the Series "L'Exposition Universelle" Ref. Delteil 2684

Beautiful lithograph with margins, realized by Daumier in 1855. It belongs to the Series "L'Exposition Universelle" Ref. Delteil 2676

This painting is listed in the W.H. Cadbury and H.F. Marsh book Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait: Artist in the Adirondacks, Newark, Delaware, 1986, no.59.36t. It is hand-signed "AF Tait...

"The Rag Gatherers" is an original etching on zinc plate by J. A. M. Whistler. The artist signed and dated the piece in the plate. It features a scene...

To see our other works of Oxford and Cambridge , particularly suitable for wedding and graduation presents, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want. Provost Richard Lynch Cotton Caricature A rare specimen of the Cotton-ia Worcester-iensis (not to be found) in the Botanic Gardens Oxford Pen ink watercolour and photographic collage...

"Iron Steam Ship Great Britain" is an original hand-colored lithographed published by Currier & Ives. It depicts a large British steam ship on the water. The caption below says "3500 Tons. Engine 1000 Horse power. Weight of Iron used in the Ship and Engine is 1500 Tons. THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD. Length from Figurehead to Tafrail 322 Fe3et. Main breadth 50' 6" ... Depth 32' 6" Lieut. Jaf. Hosken R.N. Commander." 8" x 12 3/4" art 17 1/8" x 21 1/2" frame 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...

Artist: (after) James Ward (English, 1769-1859) Title: "Bulls Fighting" Portfolio: The Portfolio *Signed by Wise in pencil lower right. It is also signed in the plate (printed signature) lower right Year: 1874 Medium: Original Etching on laid paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: Unknown, London, UK Publisher: Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday, London, UK Sheet size: 9.75" x 13.75" Image size: 5" x 8" Condition: In excellent condition Very rare Notes: Engraved by English artist William Wise...

Wolverhampton School of Practical Art Original artwork for engraving published for London Illustrated News (25 June 1853) 17.5x29cm Watercolour

Monogrammist DC, France circa 1850 Different types of workers, Studies monogrammed DC on the lower right Lead mine on paper 13 x 19.5 On its 19th century original mount (no frame) : 26 x 33 cm Very original and lively depiction of different types of workers. Perfect illustration of the realist french School close to Barbizon painters.

Antoine-Claude PONTHUS-CINIER (Lyon, 1812 - Lyon, 1885) The Port of Banyuls Oil on paper mounted on cardboard H. 36 cm; W. 52 cm Unsigned Provenance: - B.R. Collection, Lyon Ponthu...

Charles Meryon (1821-1868), La Tour de L’Horloge (The Clock Tower, Paris), 1852, etching with engraving. Reference: Schneiderman 23, Delteil 28. Third state (of 10). On very thin Jap...

In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States government set out to survey and document its newly acquired lands and territories west of the Mississippi. The goals of these surveys were manifold: to produce topographical maps, to document flora and fauna, and to document natural resources to build the emerging US economy. These surveys, and the images from them, also functioned to build the new sense of American identity with the landscape, condensing vistas into the 'picturesque' tradition of European image making. Thus, the entire span of US territory could be seen as a single, cohesive whole. This lithograph comes from one of six surveys commissioned by the Army's Topographic Bureau in 1853, which sought to find the best route to construct a transcontinental railroad. The result was a thirteen-volume report including maps, lithographs, and technical data entitled 'Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific Ocean.' In particular, the print comes from the northern survey, commanded by Isaac Stevens, which explored the regions between the 47th and 49th parallels. Stanley shows here the stop the Stanley Party made at the junction of the Bitterroot and Hell Gate, in present day Montana. While there, the Party met with the Flathead Chief by the name Victor, as is shown in the image. The figures and their encampment are dwarfed by the vast landscape around them, indicating the sublimity of these new American territories. 5.75 x 8.75 inches, image 6.5 x 9.25 inches, stone 17 x 20 inches, frame Artist 'Stanley Del.' lower left Entitled 'Victor's Camp - Hell Gate Ronde' lower center margin Publisher 'Sarony, Major & Knapp. Lith.s 449 Broadway N.Y.' lower right Inscribed 'U.S.P.R.R. EXP. & SURVEYS — 47th & 49th PARALLELS' upper left Inscribed 'GENERAL REPORT — PLATE XXXI' upper right Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent rag matting with French accents; glazed with UV5 Plexiglas to inhibit fading; housed in a gold reverse ogee moulding. Print in overall good condition; some localized foxing and discoloration; minor surface abrasions to frame. John Mix Stanley...

Denis Auguste Raffet (1804-1860) Studies of characters Black pencil and watercolor on paper 18.5 x 25.5 cm Stamp of the Raffet Estate Sale (1911) on the lower right In good condition, foxings on the original mount Framed 34 x 40 cm Denis Auguste Marie Raffet (2 March 1804 – 16 February 1860) was a French illustrator and lithographer. He was a student of Nicolas Toussaint Charlet, and was a retrospective painter of the Empire. At an early age he was apprenticed to a wood turner, but took up the study of art at evening classes. At the age of 18 he entered the workshop of Cabanel, where he applied his skill to the decoration of china, and where he met Rudor, from whom he received instruction in lithography, in the practice of which he was to rise to fame. He then entered the École des Beaux-Arts, but returned to lithography in 1830 when he produced on stone his famous designs of Lützen, Waterloo, Le bal, La revue, and Les adieux de la garrison, by which his reputation became immediately established.[ Raffet's chief works were his lithographs of the Napoleonic campaigns, from Egypt to Waterloo, vigorous designs inspired by ardent patriotic enthusiasm. In this endeavor he was a contemporary of other French artist-lithographers of Napoleon and the French army including Hippolyte Bellangé, Horace Vernet, and Nicolas Toussaint Charlet. As an illustrator his activity was prodigious, the list of works illustrated by his crayon amounting to about forty-five, among which are Béranger's poems, the History of the Revolution by Adolphe Thiers, the History of Napoleon by de Norvins, the great Walter Scott by Auguste Defauconpret, the French Plutarch and Frédéric Bérat's Songs. He went to Rome in 1849, and was present at the siege of Rome, which he made the subject of some lithographs, and followed the Italian campaign of 1859, of which he left a record in his Episodes de la campagne d'Italie de 1859. His portraits in pencil...

Two hunters, one leaning against the cross and dogs on the left "halt in the forest" Oil on canvas, restored and cleaned in good condition. Very nice painting for hunting scene art...

Louis Gallait (1810-1887) Portrait of a Gentleman, Watercolor and gouache on paper, square white lines, 24 x 16 cm Stamp of the Louis Gallait Estate on the mount on the lower righ...

The Leaflet of the Italian Risorgimento is an original Propaganda leaflet realized in the 1850s. Good conditions with slight foxing.

Portrait of Alfredo Tennyson is a modern artwork realized by an Anonymous artist in the 19th Century. Lithograph print on paper. Titled on the lower. Good condition.

The Man Resting is a lithograph print realized in the mid-19th Century by Stefano Bruzzi (1835-1911) Signed on the plate Good conditions.

Madrid is an etching print on paper realized in the late 19th Century. Titled on the plate Good conditions with slight cutting and folding on margins.

Le Maria, La Femme, et le Voleur is a Lithograph print on paper realized in the late 19th Century. Three narratives in three frames are represented with the title in French on the l...

Architectural- Maison Donne is an etching print on paper realized in the late 19th Century. Titled on the plate and signed. Good conditions.

The present hand-colored lithograph is an excellent example of patriotic mid-nineteenth century American imagery. The print shows the battle and several of the major figures involved in the Battle of Lake Erie: At the center is a view of several frigates on the lake, embroiled in conflict. Above the battle is the quotation: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." Surrounding are laurel-lined roundels with portraits of Oliver Hazard Perry (1785-1819), Stephen Dicateur (1779-1820), Johnston Blakeley (1871-1814), William Bainbridge (1774-1833), David Porter (1780-1843), and James Lawrence (1781-1813) - all of these framed by American flags, banners and cannons. This print shows that the Battle of Lake Erie, part of the War of 1812, still held resonance for American audiences several decades later and was part of the larger narrative of the founding of the country. 9.5 x 13.5 inches, artwork 20 x 23.38 inches, frame Entitled in the image Signed in the stone, lower left "Lith. and Pub. by N. Currier" Inscribed lower right "2 Spruce N.Y." and "No. 1" Copyrighted lower center "Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1846 by N. Currier in the Clerk's office of the Southern District of N.Y." Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent rag matting and housed in a gold gilded moulding. 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...

In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States government set out to survey and document its newly acquired lands and territories west of the Mississippi. The goals of these surveys were manifold: to produce topographical maps, to document flora and fauna, and to document natural resources to build the emerging US economy. These surveys, and the images from them, also functioned to build the new sense of American identity with the landscape, condensing vistas into the 'picturesque' tradition of European image making. Thus, the entire span of US territory could be seen as a single, cohesive whole. This lithograph comes from one of six surveys commissioned by the Army's Topographic Bureau in 1853, which sought to find the best route to construct a transcontinental railroad. The result was a thirteen-volume report including maps, lithographs, and technical data entitled 'Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific Ocean.' Along with the image, Stanley also noted in the report of the Maple River: "It would be an excellent plan for an emigrant travelling through the country, before reaching one of these rivers on which he expects to camp, to catch a few frogs, for the purpose of fishing in these streams, which abound pike, picarel, and large catfish. Frogs are by far the best bait that can be used." This note from the artist perhaps describes some of the actions of the figures in the camp in the foreground of the image. 5.75 x 8.75 inches, image 6.5 x 9.25 inches, stone 13.25 x 16.25 inches, frame Artist 'Stanley Del.' lower left Entitled 'Maple River' lower center margin Publisher 'Sarony, Major & Knapp. Lith.s 449 Broadway N.Y.' lower right Inscribed 'U.S.P.R.R. EXP. & SURVEYS — 47th & 49th PARALLELS' upper left Inscribed 'GENERAL REPORT — PLATE VIII' upper right Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent rag matting and Museum Glass to inhibit fading; housed in a brass-surface aluminium moulding. John Mix...

James Abbot McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), The Unsafe Tenement, etching, 1858. [signed in the plate lower right]. References: Kennedy 17. Glasgow 18, fourth state (of four). In very good condition, printed on a very thin (two ply?) Japan paper, with margins, 6 1/8 x 8 3/4, the sheet 8 1/4 x 11, archival mounting. A brilliant, black impression printed with astonishing clarity and exquisite detailing, on an ivory Japan paper. Presumably this is a proof impression before the relatively large edition published in this state (the edition was not on this paper). Provenance: Inscribed “To Otto J. Schneider from his friend Frederick Keppel”. Schneider (1875-1946) was an American artist, noted for his realism, influenced by Whistler. Keppel was of course the well-known American dealer, one of whose specialties was Whistler prints. Keppel had a good relationship with Whistler until, as in most of his relationships, Whistler became inordinately troublesome – at which point Keppel wrote Whistler a longish, mocking poem, with lines such as these: “Like cackling hens or cocks a-crowing Your tireless trumpet keeps a-blowing. ” After this, Keppel wrote “at this point all my intercourse with this extraordinary man came to an end.” (In the lower right is the ghost of another inscription, now erased, apparently to another friend from Edna (?) Schneider who presumably owned this print after Otto Schneider...

In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States government set out to survey and document its newly acquired lands and territories west of the Mississippi. The goals of these surveys were manifold: to produce topographical maps, to document flora and fauna, and to document natural resources to build the emerging US economy. These surveys, and the images from them, also functioned to build the new sense of American identity with the landscape, condensing vistas into the 'picturesque' tradition of European image making. Thus, the entire span of US territory could be seen as a single, cohesive whole. This lithograph comes from one of six surveys commissioned by the Army's Topographic Bureau in 1853, which sought to find the best route to construct a transcontinental railroad. The result was a thirteen-volume report including maps, lithographs, and technical data entitled 'Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific Ocean.' When it came to depicting the Columbia River, as seen in the present print, Stanley chose to depict the river's characteristic rock formations and choppy waters. The figures in the image give the viewer a sense of the vase scale of the imposing landscape. Other explorers that reached the site years before the Pacific Railroad Survey, such as Lewis and Clark, observed this scene with wonder and awe – and it is clear Stanley felt the same way. 5.75 x 8.75 inches, image 6.5 x 9.25 inches, stone 13.25 x 16.25 inches, frame Artist 'Stanley Del.' lower left Entitled 'Kettle Falls, Columbia River' lower center margin Publisher 'Sarony, Major & Knapp. Lith.s 449 Broadway N.Y.' lower right Inscribed 'U.S.P.R.R. EXP. & SURVEYS — 47th & 49th PARALLELS' upper left Inscribed 'GENERAL REPORT — PLATE XLVII' upper right Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent rag matting and Museum Glass to inhibit fading; housed in a brass-surface aluminium moulding. Print in overall good condition; wrinkles in upper margin and upper right corner; frame in excellent condition. John Mix Stanley...

Feast Of Divinity is an Etching realized by Domenico Klemi Bonatti in the 1850s. Signed on the plate. Good condition with folding and foxing on margins. Domenico Klemi Bonatti (Ve...

Figures is a drawing in china ink realized by Paul Gavarni in the 19th Century. Good conditions. The artwork is depicted through soft strokes in a well-balanced composition.