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1874 Currier and Ives Educational Broadside
GodBlessOurSchool-currierives-1874$500.00
Title
God Bless Our School.
1874 (dated) 9.5 x 13 in (24.13 x 33.02 cm)
1874 (dated) 9.5 x 13 in (24.13 x 33.02 cm)
Description
This is a scarce 1874 Currier and Ives lithograph extolling the value of education and its importance for inculcating patriotism and civic virtue.
A Closer Look
This work depicts a table, meant to be inside a schoolhouse or classroom, covered with maps, books, a globe, paintings, and other educational materials. Although vague on the specifics, there can be little doubt that contemporary educators valued the teaching of American geography and history, along with the classics (symbolized by the statue at left), physical education (the barbell in the foreground at right), and the arts (the two paintings). The wilderness scene in the painting at right and the foliage surrounding the educational materials may be a reference to the rugged American landscape, a common theme in paintings of the era, which also reflected on the nature of American civic identity.Civic Virtue in the Reconstruction Era
This work is related to a long-held goal of 19th-century American educators to use history, geography, the classics, the arts, and so on to mold model citizens of the new American Republic. This aim was given added impetus in the wake of the Civil War, which was a battle over the definition of the very civic virtue that education was meant to instill. Other changes brought on by the Reconstruction Era, such as the need to educate masses of freedmen and new immigrants, were also in the minds of educators. In this context, state after state devoted resources towards developing universal (and compulsory) public education, at least at the elementary level, often called 'America's best idea.' Beginning with Massachusetts in 1852, all states had instituted some form of compulsory elementary education by the early 20th century, though its 'universality' was far from complete given resistance (based on various objections), loopholes, and the difficulties of enforcement. Still, by the turn of the 20th century, most American children received some basic schooling and consequently developed basic literacy and knowledge of mathematics, which paid both economic and social dividends.Publication History and Census
This work was prepared and printed by Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives in 1874. It is quite, with only one example cataloged in the OCLC, held by the Library of Congress.CartographerS
Nathaniel Currier (March 27, 1813 - November 20, 1888) was an American lithographer best known as part of 'Currier and Ives'. Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Currier attended public schools until fifteen, when he apprenticed with the Boston lithographic firm of William and John Pendleton. The Pendletons were the first successful lithographers in the United States and were responsible for educating the next generation of lithographic printers. In 1833, Currier left the Pendleton's shop to work with M.E.D. Brown in Philadelphia. A year later, Currier moved to New York City, where he planned to start a business with John Pendleton. When Pendleton backed out, Currier found a new partner, founding 'Currier and Stodart', but the concern survived for just a year. Currier opened his own lithographic studio in 1835 as an eponymous sole-proprietorship. He initially printed the standard materials, including letterheads, sheet music, and handbills. Later in 1835, Currier began issuing current event imagery. Some of his news printers were issued in the New York Sun. By 1840, Currier had moved away from 'job printing' and further toward fine-print publishing. His Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat 'Lexington', was published in the Sun that year, as well as being separately issued. James Ives (March 5, 1824 - January 3, 1895) began working under Currier in 1850 as a bookkeeper. Ives contributed greatly to the growth of the business, particularly as a manager, marketer, and businessman. Ives became a full partner in 1857, and the firm was renamed 'Currier and Ives'. Currier and Ives produced over 7,500 images and is best remembered for its popular art prints, particularly Christmas scenes and landscapes. They also produced banners, illustrations of current events, views, and historical scenes. Currier retired in 1880 and turned the business over to his son Edward. Currier married Eliza West Farnsworth in 1840, with whom he had one child Edward West Currier. Eliza died in 1843. Currier remarried to Lura Ormsbee in 1847. Other than being a lithographer, Currier also served as a volunteer New York City fireman during the 1850s, and he liked fast horses. More by this mapmaker...
James Merritt Ives (March 5, 1824 - January 3, 1895) was an American businessman, bookkeeper, and lithographer who oversaw the business side of the famed lithographic firm Currier and Ives. Born in New York City, Ives was a self-trained artist who began working at the age of twelve. He married Caroline Clark (1827 - 1896) on June 24, 1846, who was the sister-in-law of Nathaniel Currier's brother, Charles Currier. In 1852, Nathaniel Currier (March 27, 1813 - November 20, 1888) hired Ives as the bookkeeper for his firm N. Currier, Lithographer, on Charles's recommendation. Ives' talent for art and his knowledge of the artistic world soon became apparent to Currier, who valued his insights as well as the business acumen. Currier offered Ives a full partnership in 1857. They renamed the firm 'Currier and Ives' with Ives as the general manager. Ives began to play a role in selecting artists and prints to publish, and was responsible for pursuing publication of scenes of middle-class America that made the firm famous. After Ives died in 1895, his sons continued to work with Currier's son to manage the firm until it was liquidated in 1907. Learn More...
Thomas Abernethie (fl. c. 1783 - August 20, 1795) was a Scottish land surveyor, printer, and engraver active in Charleston, South Carolina during the latter part of the 18th century. Abernathie arrived in Charleston during American Revolutionary War, about 1783. As early as 1785 he maintained offices on 105 Broad Street, where he advertised himself as surveyor, a copper-plate engraver, and a printer. He later relocated his offices to 227 Meeting Street (1786) and ultimately 42 Queen Street (1785). In 1786 and 1789 he was contracted to engrave the city of Charleston's paper money. His is also known to have engraved the maps for David Ramsay's 1785 History of the American Revolution. Little else known of Abernathie's life, but his maps are considered the earliest printed in North America south of the Mason-Dixon Line. He died on August 20 of 1795. Learn More...
Condition
Very good. Light toning.
References
OCLC 57494312.