Currier and Ives was a successful American printmaking

Printmaking

Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...

 firm headed by Nathaniel Currier

Nathaniel Currier

Nathaniel Currier was an American lithographer, who headed the company Currier & Ives with James Ives.-Early years:...

 (1813–1888) and James Merritt Ives

James Merritt Ives

James Merritt Ives was a American lithographer, bookkeeper, and businessman. He oversaw the business and financial side of the firm, Currier and Ives, which he co-managed with his business partner, Nathaniel Currier....

 (1824–1895). Based in New York City from 1834–1907, the prolific firm produced prints from paintings by fine artists as black and white lithographs

Lithography

Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...

 that were hand colored. Lithographic prints could be reproduced quickly and purchased inexpensively, and the firm called itself "the Grand Central Depot for Cheap and Popular Prints" and advertised its lithographs as "colored engravings for the people."
Nathaniel Currier (1813–88) was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on March 27, 1813, the second of four children.