The Great Book of Currier & Ives' America

Art in the Parlor: Consumer Culture and Currier and Ives

“…William and John Pendleton opened the first commercially successful lithographic shop in the United States in Boston in the 1820s. They subsisted on designing and printing commercial items like music sheets, certificates, trade cards, labels, and billboards (Peters 5; Rawls 25, 31; Reilly xxii–xxiii). And it was in that shop that, in 1828 at the age of fifteen, Nathaniel Currier got his start as an apprentice.…”

“…In 1833 he left Boston for Philadelphia, where he worked with master lithographer, M. E. D. Brown, but within a year he moved to New York where he and John Pendleton intended to start another lithographic business. Pendleton withdrew from the venture, however, and after a brief partnership with a man named Stoddard, Currier struck out on his own (Peters 5, 10; Crouse 4; Rawls 32).…”

“…But Currier sold it as a separate print as well. This was not the first disaster print Currier offered the public, but it attracted national attention (Rawls 23–25; Peters 1).…”

“…Ives proposed creating a line of much simpler prints, presenting the plain daily experiences and pleasures of American life. In the years that followed it was these prints for which the company became best known (Peters 8; Rawls 39; Reilly I xxx).…”

“…Only the name of the artist who produced the original design appeared on the final product. Some appeared unsigned (Peters 12–15; Rawls 48, 54–55).…”