Birth of Nathaniel Currier

U.S. #1551 pictures The Winter Road from 1853.

American lithographer Nathaniel Currier was born on March 27, 1813, in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Currier attended public school until he was 15, at which point he began an apprenticeship with Boston lithographers William and John Pendleton.  The Pendleton brothers were the first successful lithographers in America.

U.S. #1551 FDCWinter Road Silk Cachet First Day Cover.

Five years later, Currier moved to Philadelphia to work with an engraver and printer. Currier prepared the stones used for printing images in a scientific journal.  He then moved to New York City and bought his own shop with a local printmaker named Stodart.  They mostly produced music manuscripts for a local publisher.  During this time Currier also worked as a volunteer fireman.

U.S. #1702 pictures Winter Pastime from 1855.

In 1835, Currier set up his own shop.  That year he created a print showing a fire that had recently swept through the city (which you can see here). He sold thousands of copies in the first week and realized there was a market for illustrating news events.  Papers at the time didn’t include pictures.  Five years later, Currier produced a print of a steamboat disaster (which you can see here).  It sold out and local newspaper the New York Sun hired him to print a single-sheet addition to their paper.

U.S. #1702 FDCWinter Pastime Silk Cachet First Day Cover.

In 1850, Nathaniel hired James Ives as his bookkeeper.  He improved Currier’s record system and reorganized the inventory.  Ives had a talent for knowing which images would be popular with the public.  In 1857, Ives became a full partner in the firm.

U.S. #4522 pictures Bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor.

The company used the artwork of some well-known artists at the time.  One of them, Fanny Palmer, was the first woman to make her living as a full-time artist in America.  After the prints were made, they were colored by a team of women, many of them immigrants from Germany.  Each one was responsible for adding one color to each print, and then it was passed to the next woman who would paint her portion.

Over the years, the firm produced at least 7,500 different images.  The subjects included the sentimental scenes we’ve come to associate with the company, as well as sports, humor, and national events.

U.S. #4787 pictures Admiral Porter’s Fleet Running the Rebel Blockade of the Mississippi at Vicksburg, April 16th, 1863.

Currier retired from his firm in 1880 and died on November 20, 1888.  Currier and Ives’ sons took over the business after their fathers retired.  The firm closed in 1907 due to advances in printing processes other than lithography.  During the 72 years of production, Currier & Ives produced more than a million prints.

Click here to view more Currier and Ives images.

Click here to see what else happened on This Day in History.

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6 Comments

  1. I don’t always have time to read mystic stamp emails, but I’m happy to have read this one. Currier and Ives work has been reproduced in so many products: china, Christmas cards etc that it was enjoyable to learn a bit of their history. Thank you.

  2. Nice to know the history of a slice of Americana, a part of many households, and a collecting interest in and of itself.

  3. What a beautiful tribute to Currier and Ives. I had no idea of the scope of their artistry. Thank you for
    bringing this to my attention.

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