Watercolor Portrait Prints

Hélène of Septeuil (enfant au perroquet) (child with a parakeet). c. 1889-1890. Drypoint. Breeskin, 134.v. 9 3/8 x 6 1/4 (sheet 15 3/4 x 9 7/8). A rich impression with burr and plate...

Alejandro Colunga is a renowned Mexican artist born in 1948 in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He is part of the Nueva Mexicanidad movement and is celebrated for his surrealist and fantastical...

Mid 18th century hand coloured copper plate engraving of an equestrian subject by Johann Elias Ridinger. Initial signed 'in the plate' bottom right. Presented in a fine gilt wood fra...

Two Mid 18th century hand coloured copper plate engravings of equestrian subjects by Johann Elias Ridinger. Initial signed 'in the plate' bottom right. Presented in fine gilt wood fr...

"Citadine en Tenue de Ménagère" translated to "Townwoman Dressed For Housework" is plate number 9 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Morocco from...

"Juan Sebastian Barbera (Mexico, 1964) 'Personaje', 1991 Silkscreen and Watercolor on paper Velin Arches 300 g. 15.8 x 11.9 in. (40 x 30 cm.) ID...

A mischievous tableau with sexual overtones. Tokyo: Shuei-Sha, 1768. Woodblock print in colors printed on laid mulberry paper, 10 3/4 x 7 7/8 inches (273 x 200 mm), full margins. I...

An excellent example of Rowlandson's visual commentary on the challenges of changing fashion for those with a less than ideal physique. Rowlandson, Thomas (after George Murgatroyd W...

London: 1799. Copperplate stipple engraving with hand coloring in watercolor, 17 1/2 x 10 1/4 inches (445 x 260 mm) (sheet), full margins. In very good condition with some minor, lig...

A rare, extensively hand-colored impression of this charming British satirical image. London: 1830. Lithograph with hand coloring in watercolor on cream wove paper, 12 1/4 x 9 5/1...

Woodcut in ink with embossing and hand-coloring in watercolor on laid Japon paper, 16 x 10 inches (406 x 253 mm), ōban tate-e, full margins. Scattered handling wear and toning, other...

Paris: L'Estampe Moderne, 1897. Color wood engraving on light-weight, cream-colored imitation vellum, 13 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches (342 x 252 mm), full margins. With the L'Estampe Moderne ...

Tokyo: Matsuki Heikichi, 1893 Woodcut in ink with embossing and hand-coloring in watercolor on handmade mulberry paper, 14 1/2 x 9 7/8 inches (368 x 251 mm), ōban tate-e, full margi...

Etching with extensive hand coloring in watercolor on cream wove paper laid down to archival cardstock, 9 1/4 x 13 1/2 inches ( 235 x 342 mm), margins trimmed inside the platemark. C...

Two minor villains from "Medley of Tales of Revenge" square off, as performed at the Kiri theatre, Tokyo, in May of 1794. Toyko: Tsutaya Juzaburo, 1794. Woodblock (nishiki-e) with ...

English School, 19th century The Sunday Before Confirmation; Parson: What did your godfathers & godmothers then for you? Boy: Nothing sir, rot'em for I never had none. London: Thoma...

This portrait of King George the III's son was published in the same year that Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premiered in London. 'The Protestants Champion!!' (Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex...

London: Thomas McLean, 1835. Etching with hand coloring in watercolor on cream wove paper. 6 1/4 x 8 3/8 inches (157 x 210 mm), full margins. Initialed in the plate by Cruikshank, a...

Screen print & hand-finished watercolor on paper. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. Pest Control included. Banksy’s Dumbo is an extremely rare Ban...

"Femme Des Aït MGuild" translated to "Woman of the Aït MGuild" is plate number 19 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people ...

"Notable Citadine" translated to "City Notable" is plate number 2 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Morocco from ...

Mr. Brainwash Bob Marley’s 74th Birthday Limited Edition Screen Print with Watercolor from 2019. Iconic, beloved artist, Bob Marley is a pioneer and legend of Reggae music. "One Lov...

"Femme de Tiznit Portant L'Amendil" translated to "Woman of Tiznit Wearing the Amendil" is plate number 47 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and ...

Hand-coloured tableau of a weeping spirit and her guardians, immobilised in marble. A disjointed narrative looking at recovery and protection, the angels shield the spirit with tender embraces and cry for her when alone. Taken from The Sialia Marbles, a series of portraits containing ephemeral human sculptures taken between 2016-19. Together these works act as tales contained in a fictional sculpture hall, in direct reaction to Andre Malraux’s 1947 Le Musee Imaginaire (Museum Without Walls). During the beginning of the 'Museum Age' in the 18th century , writer Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe discussed mythical...

© Katie Eleanor, IV., Eye Infection As A Result Of Ingesting Poison Series: Saint Wanderer's Hospital, 2015 Archival Pigment Print of the hand Coloured Photograph on cotton fine art paper, custom frame 7 1/2 × 5 7/10 in 19 × 14.5 cm (unframed print) 35 x 30.5 cm (Framed : Museum mount-board, antireflective art glass in hardwood custom frame) Edition of 15 Framed or Unframed option available Saint Wanderer’s Hospital depicts a fictional tale birthed from the artist’s inherent need to find splendour in the idea of sickness. Rooted first from her own words, Katie used the idea of illustrating as a form of personal art therapy by immersing herself in the realm of the otherworldly characters. Every aspect of each scene was created by Katie alone, from building and designing the sets to printing and hand-colouring the final images. In this act, over the year long course of the projects creation, the artist managed to make certain turmoil in her personal life bearable. In the world of the hospital, the artist adapts the role of medical photographer – creating accurate portraits of each character’s condition as a record for the hospitals future use. The final series comprises of 8 ‘specimen cased...

Mid 18th century hand coloured copper plate engraving of an equestrian subject by Johann Elias Ridinger. Initial signed 'in the plate' bottom right. Presented in a fine gilt wood fra...

Tokyo: Kawaji, 1830. Three (3) woodblock prints (nishiki-e) in color on handmade mulberry paper, each 2 5/8 x 3 3/8 inches (67 x 82 mm), the full sheet, margins slightly trimmed. Ea...

Etching with extensive hand coloring in watercolor on white wove paper, 13 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches (347 x 271 mm); sheet 24 x 17 inches (608 x 430 mm), full margins. In good condition wi...

Copperplate stipple engraving with hand coloring in watercolor, 17 1/2 x 10 1/4 inches (445 x 260 mm), the full sheet, full margins. In very good condition with some minor, light sta...

London: Thomas McLean, 1835. Etching with hand coloring in watercolor on cream wove paper, 4 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches (120 x 165 mm), full margins. Printed by Thomas McLean. Light, small c...

A richly hand-colored image with a counterstrike on the verso. London: Hannah Humphrey, 1804. Etching with hand coloring in watercolor on buff wove paper, 10 1/4 x 15 inches (260 x...

"Moghanzi du Sultan" translated to "The Sultan's Moghazni" is plate number 4 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Mo...

Tokyo: Yokoyama Ryohachi, 1892 Woodcut in ink with embossing and hand-coloring in watercolor on handmade mulberry paper, 14 1/2 x 9 7/8 inches (368 x 251 mm), ōban tate-e, the full ...

Etching with extensive hand coloring in watercolor on white wove paper, 13 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches (347 x 271 mm); sheet 24 x 17 inches (608 x 430 mm), full margins. In good condition wi...

Paul KLEE (1879 - 1940) Happy character Color photolithograph after a painting Signed in the plate On vellum 83 x 60 cm (c. 32 x 24 in) Excellent condition

A collection of gruesome 19th century images illustrating the barbarism of the Qing penal code. London: William Miller, 1801. Six (6) stipple point engravings with hand coloring in...

El Mercado de Pátzcuaro II captures a glimpse of daily life in the highland town of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. The scene shows three Indigenous figures, rendered with bold lines and earthy tones, standing amid the bustle of the market. Two men in traditional white cotton clothing and wide-brimmed straw hats stand in conversation, their woven baskets and bundles suggesting they are either arriving to sell goods or preparing to return home with their purchases. Beside them, a woman cloaked in a dark rebozo gazes outward, her expression reflective and steady, grounding the composition with a quiet dignity. The strong woodcut textures emphasize folds of fabric, rough straw, and woven fiber, reminding the viewer of the handmade traditions that sustain the culture. The marketplace of Pátzcuaro has long been a hub of commerce and cultural exchange, and Oñate’s print conveys both the social energy and the rooted traditions of this setting. The figures are depicted not as anonymous passersby but as individuals whose posture, clothing, and belongings tell stories of community, resilience, and labor. The muted yet warm palette, accented with yellows and reds, suggests early morning light spilling across the plaza’s cobblestones, while the abstracted background blocks provide rhythm and structure without distracting from the human presence. Francisco Rodríguez Oñate (1940–2019) was a distinguished Mexican post-war and contemporary artist whose career extended over several decades throughout Mexico, the United States, and Latin America. Born in Michoacán, he received his education at the Escuela Popular de Bellas Artes at the University of Michoacán, where he studied under esteemed artists such as Alfredo Zalce, Roberto Martínez, and Javier Arévalo...

ZOFIA ANNA MISIAK Zofia Anna Misiak is a contemporary painter from an artistic family. Her parents are Janina Żylińska and Stanisław Misiak. Zofia Anna Misiak graduated from the Acad...

London: Thomas McLean, 1825. Aquatint with engraving and handcoloring in watercolor on wove paper, 8 7/8 x 10 3/4 inches (225 x 272 mm), wide margins. Light handling wear and four s...

London: Allen & West, 1797. Engraving with hand coloring in watercolor on cream wove paper, 8 1/8 x 10 5/8 inches (213 x 270 mm), wide margins. Scattered toning, mat tone, and dog-e...

A charming scene of men and women in various dress, perhaps a theater company costume fitting. English School, 19th century (circle of Cruikshank), circa 1860. Watercolor and pencil...

A well-colored Victorian portrait of the woman whose ghost is known to haunt the Bank of England and Threadneedle Street. Lithograph with hand-coloring in watercolor, 9 x 6 1/2 inch...

"Femme de Tagmout Chantant L'Ahwas" translated to "Woman Of Tagmout (Singing the Ahwash)" is plate number 44 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Morocco from his series "Costumes du Maroc" ("Costumes of Morocco). The woman depicted here is veiled and draped and in the midst of singing the "ahwash", a traditional song and dance from the regions of southern Morocco, such as Tagmout, and which has some roots in the pre-Islamic cultures of the Amazigh (also known as the Berbers) and is performed primarily by the Shilha, a sub-group of the Berbers. The ahwash is a community performance that incorporates song, dance, poetry, and frame drums...

London: 1799. Copperplate stipple engraving with hand coloring in watercolor, 17 1/2 x 10 1/4 inches (445 x 260 mm) (sheet), full margins. In very good condition with some minor, lig...

London: Thomas McLean, 1820. Second Edition. Etching with handcoloring in watercolor on cream wove paper (published 1835), 8 3/8 x 11 1/2 inches (210 x 29 0mm), full margins. Second...

London: Thomas McLean, 1818. Third Edition. Etching with hand coloring in watercolor on cream wove paper, (published August 1st, 1835), 9 1/2 x 13 3/4 in...

From, The Progress of a Midshipman, Exemplified in the Career of Master Blockhead 1860 (plate 7) Etching with handcoloring in watercolor on cream wove paper, 8 3/8 x 11 1/2 inches (2...

Etching and engraving with hand coloring in watercolor on cream laid paper. 6 3/4 X 9 5/8 inches (170 x 244 mm), margins trimmed, image intact. Rubbing in the lower left image area obscuring the publishing information (which reads Published by Mm. Darchery, St. James Street March 11, 1783), scattered light foxing, corner loss, top left corner, well outside of image area. "SMP" collector's stamp in red ink on the verso (not in Lugt), and the name "Renier" and the initials "AR" in black ink on the verso. Colors are extremely fresh. Impressions of this work may be found in the permanent collection of the British Museum, and the Yale Center for British Art. Ex-Collection of Anne & Ferdinand Gabriel (F.G.) Renier, reknowned for their inspriational collection of children's books and works on paper, now housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum. _____ The devil officiates at the wedding of Tory Lord North, and Charles James Fox, the Whig statesman whose career spanned almost four decades in Parliament. The satirical scene is the signing of the Fox-North coalition, which was a short-lived partnership the two formed while combining forces in the House of Commons to oust then Prime Minister William Petty, Earl of Shelburne. Fox had fallen out of favor with the Irish born Shelburne, also a Whig, whose ministry remained in power just long enough to see the American War of Independence...

ZOFIA ANNA MISIAK Zofia Anna Misiak is a contemporary painter from an artistic family. Her parents are Janina Żylińska and Stanisław Misiak. Zofia Anna Misiak graduated from the Acad...

Paul KLEE (after) Portrait of a Yellow Lithograph and stencil (Jacomet process), on canson paper Printed signature in the plate 50 x 38.2 cm (19.6 x 14.9 in) INFORMATION : This lit...

"Mariée Juive de Fès" translated to "Jewish Bride of Fez" is plate number 52 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Morocco from his series "Costumes du Maroc" ("Costumes of Morocco). The woman depicted here is a young Jewish woman dressed for her wedding. She is dressed in traditional fashion for a Jewish wedding for the community in Morocco, a community with a long history in the region, especially the city of Fez, the second largest city in Morocco and known as the "Mecca of the West" for its contributions to religion and learning. For this reason and its northern proximity, Fez was a prominent destination for Jews fleeing Spain. Jewish history in Morocco is long, dating back to the 1st century, their numbers later increased by the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492 by the Alhambra Decree. Jean Besancenot's sixty plate reproduced and handcolored gouache on paper study on the diversity of Morocco's cultures is a work of stunning historical importance in tracing the rich and vibrant diversity of North Africa. Besancenot spent the 1930s traveling around Morocco, undertaking an awe-inspiring study of its peoples and rendered in vivid and precise detail the way they traditionally lived and dressed. Many of those outfits and cultural expressions are gone now, with Besancenot's watercolored drawings of them some of the only ways that people can now visit the past. The original manuscript of "Costumes du Maroc" is kept in the Royal Collection in Rabat, with only 310 copies of it produced. These prints are fresh from the folio and have been newly museum framed under conservator glass; unframed the image of the print is 12.75 x 7.75 inches. The tissue guards that bear the caption of the plate have been framed in the verso with the title visible behind clear plastic. Jean Besancenot, real name Jean Girard, was a photographer, painter, designer, and ethnologist who was born in 1902 in Estrées-Saint-Denis. His work straddles the crossroads of art and ethnography as he was primarily interested in the costumes and ornaments of Morocco in the first half of the 20th century. He arrived for the first time in Morocco in 1934, a country he traveled through until 1939. There he produced a very rich ethnographic documentation on the traditional costumes and adornments of the different Moroccan ethnic groups. His work, composed of photographs, films, drawings and paintings, testifies to the aestheticism of Moroccan cultural heritage that was still marked by little Western influence. His book "Costumes du Maroc" was published in 1942 at the end of his first trip and presents 60 documented plates of Moroccan costumes...

This lithograph is a piece of my private collection from artists of the 20th Century. It is original, signed by artist and numbered 217/220. It is vibrant in color and in very good...

"Juive du Tafilelt" translated to "Jewish Woman of the Tafilelt" is plate number 55 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the peopl...

Albert Einstein portrait, "A L E", a color collotype print, watercolor by Lilya Vorobey (American, 20th C). Unsigned. From a collection of her works. On mat board. Image, 9.75"H x 7....

JACEK SOWICKI (born in 1948) He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow and graduated from the Academy Of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 1973. In 1984-89 he run the graphics atelier at...

Woman with red hair in a hat with feather, in green, black and white, Monotype ev edition 5/6 with hand coloring and mixed media work. Kim Frohsin spent 12 years working on monotype ...

"Homme des Zemmour" translated to "Man of the Zemmour" is plate number 24 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of Moroc...

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...

"Costume du D'Apparat dit du Maghzen" translated to "Formal Dress Called " is plate number 14 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of...

"Femme des Imerrhane" translated to "Woman of the Imerrhane is plate number 34 in Jean Besancenot's stunning portraits and depictions of the people of ...