Currier and Ives was a New York City-based printmaking business operating from 1835 to 1907. Founded by Nathaniel Currier, the company designed and sold inexpensive hand-painted lithographic works based on news events, views of popular culture and Americana. Advertising itself as "the Grand Central Depot for Cheap and Popular Prints", the corporate name was changed in 1857 to "Currier and Ives" with the addition of James Merritt Ives. A perennial bestselling series was the Darktown Comics lithographs. Source: Wikipedia (en)