Currier & Ives

"When Nathaniel Currier started his publishing business in 1834, the mass production of visual images was almost unknown. Currier and his partner, James Ives, literally changed the American landscape by mass-producing inexpensive lithographs and selling millions of copies that adorned countless homes, businesses, and even barns. The Currier and Ives catalog included some 7,000 works by dozens of artists, accounting for 95 percent of all lithographs purchased nationwide. Bryan F. Le Beau provides the first in-depth study of the sweeping range of Currier and Ives images produced until the end of the century, placing them in historical context as meaningful representations and reflections of American values, beliefs, hopes, and dreams."--BOOK JACKET.