The Enduring Power of a Printed Image

The first Thanksgiving is one of America's earliest and most enduring legends: Pilgrims and tribesman of the Wampanoag Nation peacefully celebrating a successful harvest together. It took place in Plymouth Massachusetts more than 400 years ago. But the relationship between colonists and Native Americans was complex, marked by a mixture of cooperation, cultural tension, and conflict.

The First Indian War is considered one of the deadliest conflicts in American history. The war lasted 14 months and both sides experienced devastating losses. Those losses would be felt for generations and, in 1903, the people of Amesbury, Massachusetts (about 80 miles North of Plymouth) found a way to express their grief in a tangible way. They did so by erecting a marker on the site of Amesbury's first burying ground and calling that place “Golgotha” meaning, "a place of great suffering."

A picture of that marker is shown here, and you will note that the first name listed on the marker is Richard Courier. Richard Courier was one of the first settlers of Amesbury and he is the Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather of Nathanial Courier.

Nathanial Courier was born about halfway between Amesbury and Plymouth, in Roxbury Massachusetts in 1813. When he was only 8 years old, he experienced a bit of his own great suffering when his father died unexpectedly of a stroke.

His father’s death impacted him deeply. It would shape the way Nathaniel saw the world.

He attended public school until age 15 and then began an apprenticeship at a printing firm in Boston. The firm was called Pendleton’s, and they were award-winning pioneers in lithography.

Young Nathanial was learning from the very best.

He became a prolific artist, creating and printing hundreds of illustrations. Then, at age 21, he set out on his own. He landed in New York City where he started his own lithography company.

He initially intended to operate a standard printing business – producing sheet music, letterheads, and handbills. But the profound sadness he felt after losing his father never left him and before long, he harnessed that sadness in a very unexpected and creative way.

Nathaniel Currier, lithographer (John H. Bufford, artist; J. Disturnell and J. H. Bufford, publishers), View of the Great Conflagration of Dec 16th and 17th 1835; from Coenties Slip, 1836. Lithograph, 9 x 12 in. From the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

Currier, Lithographer was located at 152 Nassau Street, just a few blocks away from Wall Street, where on December 16, 1835, a five-story warehouse caught fire. Fanned by strong winds, the fire quickly spread across Lower Manhattan, destroying hundreds of buildings, and causing millions of dollars in damage. Despite efforts by firefighters, the fire raged for nearly two days, leaving a significant portion of the city in ruins.

That fire would become known as the Great Fire of New York City and the news story about it, published by the New York Sun, was accompanied by something new to newspapers: a detailed, graphic illustration. The artist was Nathanial Courier.

This was a time before photography and the talk about the great fire was eclipsed by the talk about that illustration. Currier saw this as an opportunity, and he began creating more illustrations. He printed them and sold them by the thousands.

In 1850, Currier hired a young bookkeeper named James Ives (Ives had skills in business and marketing that Currier lacked) and their partnership thrived. In 1857, Currier offered Ives a full partnership and thus was born the company known as Currier & Ives.

Over the decades, their firm created more than 7,500 images. Through their partnership, Currier & Ives harnessed the printing press to create a visual narrative of their era. It was unprecedented in terms of breadth and depth. It would be no exaggeration to describe it as something that shaped the collective consciousness of our nation.

To me, at the heart of this journey – the journey from 1903 Amesbury to 19^th century New York – lies the transformative power of our profession.

In Amesbury’s first burial ground, the weight of grief found expression in that cemetery marker at "Golgotha.” In New York, generations later, the weight of grief inspired a lithographer to freeze moments in time and to print them. Many of Nathaniel Courier’s first prints were disaster images.

This thing we call printing serves us in so many ways, but we cannot forget that it also serves us as a conduit for emotion, memory, and reflection.

When is the last time you thought about your profession in this often-overlooked manner – printing as an innovative expression rooted in the shared human experiences of loss and resilience?

Whether it is through a shrine of remembrance or in the legacy of Currier & Ives, I am reminded of the enduring power of a printed image. I am inspired by it, not only to remember the past but also to visualize the future. Through technological innovation, collaborative efforts, and a commitment to cultural exchange, printing will continue to serve as a powerful medium for storytelling, expression, and understanding across generations and geographies.

For further reading on those first inspired years of the printer, Nathanial Courier, and for a look at his image of The Great Fire of the City of New York, I highly recommend visiting this web link. You will not be disappointed.

https://journalpanorama.org/article/by-which-melancholy-occurrence-the-disaster-prints-of-nathaniel-currier-1835-1840/