Professional Activity in New York City

After arriving in the United States, William Momberger settled in New York City and established a lithography firm by 1852. He worked alongside his partner, John Coughey, a wood engraver. Together, they operated under the name Coughey and Momberger. The studio was a place of constant production. Throughout the 1850s and 1860s, Momberger spent his days producing lithographs and engravings. His work appeared on many different surfaces, from the pages of books and newspapers to the more formal surfaces of banknotes and other official documents.

His life in the city was marked by the steady rhythm of a working artist. By the time of the 1860 census, he was living in Morrisania, New York, where he was recorded simply as an artist. He moved through the city's professional circles, translating complex imagery into the precise lines required for printmaking. His hands were accustomed to the technical demands of engraving and the chemical nuances of lithography, contributing to the visual landscape of mid-nineteenth-century American print culture.

Travels and Major Commissions

The movement of his life took him far from the established lithography firms of New York. By 1855, his hand was already documenting the American frontier through illustrations for the book New Purchase, or Early Years in the Far West. His presence in the Midwest left a trail of work across Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. In Indiana specifically, his lithographs place him in the streets and landscapes of Fort Wayne, Evansville, and Vincennes.

During the years of the Civil War, his focus shifted toward the immediate realities of the conflict. He produced images of the war, including a lithograph of the landing of troops on Roanoke Island in 1862. His work often carried heavy symbolism; for a commemorative lithograph of Abraham Lincoln around 1865, he designed a decorative border. This border featured a woman struggling with a soldier and freedpeople emerging from slavery, while an allegorical figure of liberty faced a many-headed dragon of rebellion. At the base, hands clasped over a banner reading “The Union Forever.”

Later Years and Death

By the 1870 census, the focus of his work had shifted toward the faces of individuals. Living in Morrisania, New York, he was recorded as a portrait painter, moving away from the broad lithographic prints and engravings that had defined his earlier career. This period saw him settling into the rhythms of a working artist in the city, capturing likenesses as the decades progressed.

His hand remained active in his craft for a long time. Records show he was still engaged in his professional life as late as 1888. He lived through the changing landscape of the late nineteenth century, maintaining his presence in the art community until his death on April 9, 1895. He was laid to rest in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York.