View on the Harlem River, New York – The Highbridge in the Distance

This splendid nineteenth-century view of north Manhattan features men fishing on the Harlem River, Macomb's Bridge and Toll House (on the opposite shore), with a view of the majestically arched High Bridge, New York City's oldest bridge (originally an aqueduct), in the distance. Macombs Bridge remained in use until 1858, when it was dismantled to make way for a turntable drawbridge so that boats could navigate the entire river. Today this area, on the Manhattan side of the 145th Street Bridge, is filled with buildings.

Nathaniel Currier, who established a successful New York-based lithography firm in 1835, produced thousands of hand-colored prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life. Expansion led, in 1857, to a business partnership with James Merritt Ives (1824–1895), a skilled accountant, who was the brother-in-law of Nathaniel's brother Charles. People eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs, such as those featuring spectacular American landscapes, or rural and city views, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments.

Frances (Fanny) Palmer immigrated to New York from England in 1844. Already an accomplished artist and printmaker, Fanny and her husband Seymour operated a small print-shop in lower Manhattan until 1849, when the couple moved to Brooklyn. Nathaniel Currier began to buy print designs from Palmer around this time, and she became a staff artist for Currier & Ives after 1857. As a designer able to transfer images to lithographic stones for printing, Palmer produced more than 200 prints for the firm and today is regarded as a leading woman lithographer of the period. Although it was unusual for a woman to achieve such prominence in a printing firm, Palmer filled an important role for Currier and Ives firm, as she created the firm's best landscapes and most engaging scenes of daily life. Here, she created a captivating picture that appealed to both urban and country collectors.