Currier & Ives from the collection of Marshall Richard Berkoff (1937-2017) and Bebe R. Berkoff (1940-2023).
 

Marshall was very passionate about collecting and selling American historical prints, especially Currier & Ives lithographs. He began buying and selling lithographs while he was in college, finding he could purchase two, sell one for a profit, and then keep the other for himself. Summer vacations usually included family car trips through New England, stopping at every antique shop, looking for Curriers, and visiting fellow collectors and dealers.
 

Over the years he amassed an extraordinary collection of Currier & Ives lithographs.  He became a charter member of the American Historical Print collectors society in 1975 and served as its sixth president between 1987 and 1990.  During his tenure as president, Marshall organized The New Best 50, covering 100 Currier & Ives lithographs, 50 large folio, and 50 small folio. The basis of the project was to revisit the 1932 Best Fifty Currier & Ives Lithographs, Large folio size, and the 1933 Best Fifty Currier & Ives Lithographs, Small folio size, using the full membership of the American Historical Print Collectors Society to vote. Once all the votes were tallied, an exhibition was held at the Milwaukee Art Museum where 99 of 100 Currier & Ives lithographs selected were exhibited, largely through Marshall's considerable efforts to curate and oversee the exhibition. In 1991, a book entitled The New Best 50 was published by the American Historical Print Collectors Society. Marshall served as Editor of that publication, and his work on the exhibition and the book were years in the making. This was a labor of love for Marshall, and it was a great source of pride that he could be a small part of the Currier & Ives legacy. It was a thrill for Marshall and Bebe to be able to see the fulfillment of everyone's efforts in bringing the exhibition and book to life and being able to enjoy the exhibition in person with so many close friends and colleagues in the field.
 

Marshall and his wife, Bebe, had three sons, Mark, Jonathan, and Adam, along with many grandchildren they loved to dote over. Marshall was a highly respected lawyer who assisted many nonprofit organizations with his expertise as a board member, including the War Memorial Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (part of the Milwaukee Art Museum complex), Charles Allis & Villa Terrace Art Museum, St. Michaels Hospital (for a time as Chairman of the Board) and The American Historical Print Collectors Society.
 

The prints included in this exhibition were collected by Marshall and Bebe over the years. His first prints were a gift from Bebe, and they had assembled their collection together over a lifetime. The collection was extensive and included many subjects, both large and small folio. Some were part of the exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum, many were proudly displayed and enjoyed at their home, and others were available to other collectors for purchase.