The Adams Express Co.

Nathaniel Currier, whose successful New York-based lithography firm began 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 and its history. People eagerly acquired such lithographs featuring picturesque scenery, rural and city views, ships, portraits, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments. As the firm expanded, Nathaniel recruited his younger brother Charles into the business. In 1857, James Merritt Ives (the firm's accountant since 1852 and Charles's brother-in-law) was made a business partner; subsequently renamed Currier & Ives, the firm continued until 1907.

Starting in 1853, Nathaniel Currier (and later Currier & Ives) published thirty prints featuring trains for those Americans wanting pictures of the then-modern mode of transportation that provided a convenient way to travel and ship goods around the country. In this railroad scene, a train (with smoke puffing from its smokestack) heads towards the left side of the image. Behind the train's locomotive cab (with Its engineer visible) and a tender (with its fireman standing near the fuel supply), there is a closed cargo car and three passenger cars. At the right, a small crowd and a horse and buggy stand beside a small station building. In the left background, beyond two signalmen on the far side of the tracks, is a small town with a prominent church steeple. This scene suggests how trains transformed rural America, yet it also is a fine example of 1850s promotional advertising. The name "THE ADAMS EXPRESS CO." is boldly imprinted in the sky, along with the inscription in the lower margin, proclaim this railroad company as the fastest, safest way for delivering valuables throughout the nation.