The United States Mutual Accident Association

This New York City view features the front facade and side of the five-story building of the United States Mutual Accident Association (established in 1877), located on the corner of Broadway near Thomas Street. Above street level, the stories are lined with arched windows, while the roofline is defined by a decorative balustrade ornamented with stone urns. The building's completion date "1857" is inscribed on the pediment of the main facade, although the insurance business (its name proclaimed by red lettering on the white flag flying above the pediment) became an occupant of this building more than two decades later. This architectural "portrait" dominates the urban scene; at street level, there are the bustling crowds of pedestrians, horse-drawn trollies, wagons, and other vehicles. Notice also the running newsboy at the lower center of the image.

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, railroads, 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 included his younger brother Charles in 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. Currier & Ives often gained additional revenue by obtaining business from advertisers, and a large proportion of the prints published were issued with this in mind, including several prints to promote the United States Mutual Accident Association.