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browsing 4487 items
displaying items 1401 to 1500
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 CURRIER & IVES (publishers)
The Grand Trotting Stallion Axtell by William L., by George Wilkes, record at 3 yrs. old 2: 12
New York: Currier & Ives, 1889. Lithograph, printed in colour. Sheet size: 24 3/4 x 34 3/4 inches.
A vigorous scene of the trotting stallion Axtell at full stretch.
'A harness-race scene. A horse draws its sulky and driver from left to right. The moustached driver wears a silver-gray jacket and cap, and yellow gloves. Beyond a rail fence is an extensive landscape, featuring prominent trees at left' (Gale)
Conningham 2532; Gale 2761
#6294 $2,250.00  
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 CURRIER & IVES (publishers)
Autumn Fruits
New York: Currier & Ives, 1861. Lithograph, printed in black and brown, coloured by hand. Sheet size: 15 7/8 x 19 15/16 inches.
A finely composed image of American fruits of the Fall.
A delightful arrangement of the bounties of nature. The effortless nature of the composition conceals the fine artistic eye that was able to produce an image of such pleasing balance and harmonious tones.
Conningham 317; cf. Gale 345-346
#6300$2,250.00
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 CURRIER & IVES (publishers) - After Francis F. PALMER (1812-1876)
The Mountain Spring. Near Cozzen's Dock, West Point
New York: Currier & Ives, 1862. Hand-coloured lithograph. Very good condition apart from a few small tears in the top margin and several light water stains in the margins, one of which slightly extends into the top of the image. Slight discolouration of the paper due to age. Image size (including text): 12 1/8 x 15 5/8 inches. Sheet size: 13 7/8 x 17 7/8 inches.
A scenic, tranquil landscape in upstate New York with a small glimpse of the Hudson River visible through the foliage between the two rocky outcroppings bordering the dirt road.
Frances Flora Bond Palmer, known as Fanny, worked for Nathaniel Currier for over than twenty-five years. She was, according to Gloria Deak, "the foremost woman lithographer of her time" (Picturing America, 647). Born and raised in England by a cultivated family, she was already an accomplished painter and lithographer when she came to America in 1844, at which time she exhibited two works at the National Academy of Design. By 1849, she was working for Currier producing landscapes and still lifes. She lithographed these prints herself usually after her own sketches.
Cf. Gale, Currier & Ives: A Catalogue Raisonné (1984), vol. 1, 4611.
#13817$1,850.00
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 CURRIER & IVES (publishers) - After Frances F. PALMER
[American Express Train]
[New York: Currier & Ives, 1864]. Lithograph, coloured by hand. Cut to the edge of the image. Visible image size: 17 1/4 x 27 inches. Matted, framed and glazed. .
One of Currier & Ives greatest images, an emblem of the great westward push and the realisation of the American Dream
'A passenger train moves forward, diagonally, toward the lower right corner of the print. Thick black smoke billows out the smokestack. There is a river with a riverboat and ... [three] sailboats in the right background' (Gale). The same image was also issued as Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad. (Gale 0319) - issued in 1864 according to Gale, but probably not issued until about 1870 when the A. M. & O. was formed. The link to A. M. & O. perhaps suggest that the view is imtended to represent a section of track beside the river Mississippi.
Conningham Currier & Ives Prints 0130; Gale Currier & Ives: A Catalogue Raisonné 0143
#18547$7,500.00
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 CURRIER & IVES (publishers) - After Frances F. PALMER
[Across the Continent: "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way"]
[New York: Currier & Ives, 1868]. Lithograph, coloured by hand, drawn on stone by James Merritt Ives. Visible image size: 17 3/8 x 26 3/4 inches. Matted, framed and glazed. Trimmed to just outside image.
A spectacular image of the West from the best known lithographic printers of the 19th century.
'A paradigm of the Old West. In the foreground, the populace of a small settlement of log buildings turn out to see a railroad train whose cars bear the legend "Through Line, New York, San Francisco." Belching smoke (which balks two mounted Indians on the right), the train is on tracks running on a diagonal to the upper left, disappearing over the hoizon. the tracks are paralleled by a dirt trail upon which a wagon train is seen in the distance.' (Gale).
Conningham Currier & Ives Prints 0130; Gale Currier & Ives: A Catalogue Raisonné 0119.
#18548$7,500.00
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 CURRIER & IVES (publishers) - Charles PARSONS & Lyman ATWATER, artists
The Port of New York: bird's eye view from the Battery, looking South
New York: Currier & Ives, 1872. Chromolithograph. Printed on thick wove paper as usual. Sheet size: 25 3/4 x 37 1/2 inches. Image area: 20 x 32 3/4 inches.
A breathtaking view of New York Harbor by the celebrated American publishers, Currier & Ives
One of the grand Currier and Ives' lithographs of New York, this sweeping view from Battery Park looks out over a bustling New York Harbor. The view takes us past the Narrows and out to the open sea, where the horizon is punctuated by numerous ships masts. The harbor also is dotted with a myriad of steam ships, sailing schooners, yachts, barges, rowing boats, etc.: all proving the city's position as one of the world's most important ports. Along the walkways of Battery Park crowds stroll or stand and marvel at the bustle of the river. Castle Garden sits prominently in the right foreground and is surrounded by numerous outbuildings. "[F]rom 1855 to 1900, Castle Garden was used as an immigration depot, processing more than 7.5 million people." (Symes p.134). Bedloe's Island can be seen in middle-distance, sans the Statue of Liberty, which was erected in 1885. Forty-eight landmarks are listed below the image including Greenwood Cemetery, Bergen Bay, and Ellis Island. This fascinating print is one of the most picturesque of all the Currier & Ives views of Manhattan. The lithographers' and artists' careful attention to detail and the beautiful overall composition all make this one of the greatest of all the images issued by this prolific American printing house.
Currier and Ives are the most famous lithographic print publishers of the nineteenth century. Among their vast body of work are a number of topographical views; these are usually restricted to the large metropolises, especially New York, which was not only their hometown but also their largest market. Their strategy to attract their audience appears to have been to create very large, highly detailed views from a breathtaking bird's-eye perspective, and to issue new editions of their views as frequently as was necessary to keep up with the ever-changing skyline of the city. Parsons and Atwater produced almost all the city views published by Currier & Ives in the years following the Civil War. In particular they were responsible for creating almost all the views of New York published by the firm between 1872 and 1892.
Gale, Currier & Ives: A Catalogue Raisonné, 5257; Reps, Views and Viewmakers of Urban America, 2711, p. 196-198; Conningham, Currier & Ives Prints, 4847; Peters, Currier & Ives, 4010; Weitenkampf, The Eno Collection of New York City Views, 49; Symes Impressions of New York (2005) #65. Not in Stokes or Deak.
#19500$12,000.00
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 CURRIER & IVES, publishers. - George H. DURRIE(1820-1863)
The Old Homestead in Winter
New York: Currier & Ives, 1864. Hand-coloured lithograph after Durrie, signed and dated 1862 in the stone. Expert marginal repairs. Image area: 18 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches. Sheet size: 23 3/4 x 31 3/8 inches.
A beautiful and very rare Currier & Ives print of a New England farm under snow
George H. Durrie was one of the artists of real talent that Currier and Ives employed. His images of the country scene, which he painted in an unusually realistic fashion, invariably showed placid scenes, generally picturing the farm as home and the centre of a happy family. The emotions he provoked evidently touched the American psyche and his Currier & Ives prints sold widely. However, like all prints, they were ephemeral by nature, and today very few remain in good condition.
Durrie was born and grew up in New Haven, Connecticut where he opened a studio in 1841. He initially tried to make living painting portraits and lived for a while in Freehold, New Jersey, then briefly in Petersburg, Virginia, before returning to his home town. There he remained for the rest of his life, and it was the countryside surrounding New Haven (notably the farms in the town of Cheshire) that provided the inspiration for so many of the rural scenes which he then began to paint. These were much admired during his lifetime, and are now keenly collected.
Conningham 4563
#19867$12,000.00
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 CURRIER & IVES, publishers. - Charles PARSONS (1821-1910)
The Yacht "Maria" 216 Tons: Modelled by R. L. Stevens Esq. Built by Mr. Capes 1844 and Owned by Messes JC. RL. & E.A.Stevens of Hoboken, N.J. To E.A. Stevens ... this Print is with permission respectfully dedicated
New York: Currier & Ives, 1861. Hand-coloured lithograph by Charles Parsons (signature in image). Expert marginal repairs. Sheet size: 22 1/2 x 32 inches. Image size: 17 1/2 x 27 1/4 inches.
A magnificent Currier & Ives portrait of one of the premier yachts in the New York Yacht Club: the yacht that beat the "America" in her speed trials
The Stevens brothers listed in the title were members of a prominent American family, their father had served in the American Revolution. John Cox Stevens was one of the founding members of the New York Yacht Club, the first Commodore and one of five sponsors of the "America", the yacht that went to England in 1851 and won the race thereafter known as the America's Cup Race. His brother Robert L. Stevens designed the "Maria", which beat the "America" during the series of speed trial races to Sandy Hook, prior to the latter's epoch-making trip to England.
The "Maria" was one of the most beautiful yachts in an era of exceptionally beautiful boats: an icon amongst American yachts. It was estimated that the Stevens spent a total of $100,000 on experiments and alterations involving Maria in the 22 years that she was in the family. A 1914 article in the New York Times described her as "a scientific racing machine, the first of her kind" (cf. NYT, 17 May 1914).
Conningham 6805; Gale 7360
#19902$4,500.00
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 CURRIER & IVES, publishers. - Charles PARSONS (1821-1910)
The Royal Mail Steam Ship "Australasian" 3100 Tons, To the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Sip Company this print is ... dedicated
New York: Currier & Ives, 1861. Hand-coloured lithograph signature in image, "C. Parsons". Image size: 17 x 27 1/2 inches. Sheet size: 20 1/4 x 29 inches. Various expert repairs. .
A spectacular Currier & Ives portrait of the beautiful but unfortunate "Australasian": the Cunard Line's "first iron screw mail steamer ... [and] the worst vessel that the company ever owned".
The Australasian was built in Clydebank, Scotland, in 1857, "at a time when auxiliaries [vessels with both steam and sail power available to them] were much in favour and when she was regarded as a magnificent vessel" (India House p.63). She was a 338-foot iron screw steamer, designed to carry mail for the European and Australian Royal Mail Company, with two smokestacks and three masts. "the company for which she was built did not last very long, and she was purchased by the Cunard Line [initially called the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Ship Company], in whose fleet she was the first screw mail steamer. They adapted her to their requirements ... but she was never a success. It was often said that she was the worst vessel that the company ever owned, for although a remarkable fast ship in smooth water, she rolled like a barrel when it was rough, and her vibration was excessive" (India House pp.63-4).
Charles Parsons, British born, spent most of his long life in America creating superb marine prints and paintings. Much of his print work was published by the two major New York lithography firms: Currier & Ives and Endicott & Co. His ship portraits are among the finest of the era and demonstrate a love and a profound understanding of ships, their constuction and life at sea.
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Marine Collection to be found at India House (New York: 1935) item number 255; Gale 5673; Parker & Bowen Mail and Passenger Steamships of the Nineteenth Century (london: 1928) pp.24-5
#19904$3,500.00
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 CURRIER & IVES (publishers) - After Francis F. PALMER
High Water in the Mississippi
New York: Currier & Ives, 1868. Hand-coloured lithograph by James Merrit Ives after Fanny Palmer. Sheet size: 21 1/4 x 30 1/2 inches.
A poignant image, demonstrating the triumph of the human spirit.
In the foreground, uprooted trees bob in the current, using a roof as a raft two men pole themselves and nine others to safety, one of their companions holds tight to reins of a mule swimming beside the roof, whilst two others rescue furniture and a barrel. In the mid-ground: a large white-painted house with second-floor balconies front and back, and a smaller cook-house off to the right side. Two men in a row boat approach the back of the house, a lady stands on the balcony speaking to the men; on the widow's walk on the roof a man and a woman stand: the man waves a handkerchief to the twin-stack riverboat. The riverboat, "Stonewall Jackson" is travelling at speed: the near-side paddle creates a substantial wake, the flags fly in the stiff breeze and the smoke from the stacks steams backwards: passengers line the rails attracted by the human drama they are passing. The overall impression is of a crisis that is being survived and dealt with by man's ingenuity, whilst life continues.
Conningham 2819; Gale 3057
#20565$15,000.00
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 CURRIER, Nathaniel (publisher) - After Louis MAURER (1832-1932)
The Life of a Fireman. The race. - "Jump her boys, jump her!"
New York: Nathaniel Currier, 1854. Lithograph, coloured by hand, by and after Louis Maurer. (Expert repairs to marginal tears, one just touching the image area). Sheet size: 20 1/4 x 27 3/4 inches.
A dramatic fire-fighting scene: a fire-fighting team race towards a fire-glow in the background, urged on by their leader, they haul a wheeled water tank and pumper.
Louis Maurer was born in Germany, but after a short apprenticeship he emigrated to America. He arrived in New York in August 1851, and initially worked for T. W. Strong at 98 Nassau Street. After meeting Charles Currier, he visited his brother Nathaniel and showed him some of his work. Nathaniel was impressed but directed him to Ives who interviewed all new employees. He was immediately hired and put to work in the basement of 152 Nassau Street where he worked for eight years before leaving, initially because he was offered more money by a rival, but later to set up as a lithographic printer in his own right.
This is one of a number of tableaux constituting The Life of the Fireman. It is particularly popular because it includes a view of the cupola and bell tower on City Hall, which later burned down, and because it demonstrates, as the whole series does, the valiant efforts of a volunteer FIre Department, of which Currier was a proud member.
Conningham 3519; Gale 3787
#6286$3,500.00
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 CURRIER AND IVES
Grand Bird's Eye View of The Great River Suspension Bridge. Connecting the Cities of New York & Brooklyn Showing also the splendid panorama of the Bay and the Port of New York. Construction commenced January, 1870 - Completed May, 1883. Estimated cost $ 15,000,000
New York: Currier & Ives, 1885. Tinted lithograph. Sheet size: 30 x 36 inches. Gold leaf Federal style frame. Framed Size: 34 x 46 inches.
"Splendid Panorama" view of the recently finished Brooklyn Bridge, including southern Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, Governor's Island, Staten Island and a large slice of Brooklyn
This extraordinary view takes liberties with strict perspective in order to convey the incredibly hyperactive, dynamic place New York City was in the 1880s, and remains to this day. A disproportionately large Statue of Liberty, who stands in the middle of New York Bay (the statue was not actually unveiled until 1886), presides in tireless exaltation over this vast vortex. On the bridge itself are trains, carriages and pedestrians, while on the river below, the ferries are still active amid all kinds of river traffic traveling in every direction.
The bridge itself was American's technological triumph of the 19th century. More than a mile long, for the first fifty years of its life it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It has also enjoyed a prestige and "personal" identity akin to the old London Bridge, having an existence in the collective imagination quite beyond its functional role in city life. But of course functionally, it wedded the two cities: Brooklyn and New York, the foundation of what would soon become Greater New York.
Unfortunately, the name of Currier's lithographer is not known. This vast panorama that extends to the Atlantic Ocean is very carefully drawn and is full of interesting detail. There are fifteen landmark sites above the titles, and two boxes of data concerning the bridge itself.
Gale, 2683
#20822$8,500.00
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 [CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
Hónvi - Walpi Snake Priest, with Totókya Day Painting [Pl. 408]
[Pl. 408]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, wove paper (watermarked 'Van Gelder Zonen Made in Holland'). Very good condition. Plate mark: 17 3/8 x 12 inches. Sheet size: 22 1/8 x 17 3/4 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian", the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "Birds of America" surpasses Curtis in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities... (Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume I)
In this plate, Hónovi, one of Curtis' chief Indian informants, is depicted on the day of the Antelope Dance. He is adorned in the costume of a Snake Dancer, his right hand holding the eagle feather "snake whip" and his left clutching a small bag filled with ceremonial corn meal. The Hopi ritual of the sacred Rain (Snake) Dance, in which the Antelope and Snake fraternities participated, lasted for 16 days in the month of August. In 1912, Curtis was permitted to participate in the Dance, the preparation for which he wrote, "We smeared pink clay over our moccasins and other parts of our costume and corn smut mixed with `man medicine' (a concoction of root juices and whatnot) over our forearms, calves and the right side of our head. We whitened our chin and blackened the rest of our face. Around our waist we placed the customary brightly woven fringed belt and in the rear, we hung a fox skin, which moves in rhythm of the dance" (Curtis, Volume XII).
"The Hopi are without doubt among the most interesting of our surviving American Indians, and one of the few groups recently living in a state similar to that of a hundred years ago. They call themselves "Hopitu," The Peaceable people, and peace loving they have always been...Affability and sunny disposition are apt to be one's first impression of the dominating traits of Hopi character..." (Curtis) Originally related to the Pueblo and Zuñi Indians, they inhabited Southwest region of the United States.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#10168$3,000.00
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 [CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
Pomo Seed-Gathering Utensils [Pl. 484]
[Pl. 484]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, wove paper (watermarked 'Van Gelder Zonen Made in Holland'). Excellent condition. Plate mark: 13 1/2 x 16 3/4 inches. Sheet size: 17 3/4 x 22 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian", the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "Birds of America" surpasses Curtis in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities... (Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume I)
"The group includes a tight mesh burden basket for seeds, an open mesh burden basket for acorns, and other nuts, two winnowing trays, and a seed beater with which the seeds are brushed from the plant into the burden basket" (Curtis, Frontispiece to Volume XIV). Renowned for their unrivalled basketry skills, the Pomo tribe inhabited Northern California.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#10170$1,800.00
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 [CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
By the Pool - Tule River Reservation [Pl. 501]
[Pl. 501]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, wove paper (watermarked 'Van Gelder Zonen Made in Holland'). Excellent condition. Plate mark: 13 5/8 x 16 3/4 inches. Sheet size: 17 3/4 x 22 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian", the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "Birds of America" surpasses Curtis in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities... (Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume I)
"Tule River reservation, a tract of nearly fifty thousand acres on the edge of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Tulare County, is the home of about a hundred and fifty Indians, practically all of whom are members of the Yokuts family. Only a small portion of the reservation is suited to agriculture (Curtis, Frontispiece to Volume XIV). Renowned for their unrivalled basketry skills, the Pomo tribe inhabited Northern California.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#10173$1,200.00
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 [CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
The Hunter - Lake Pomo [Pl. 474]
[Pl. 474]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, wove paper (watermarked 'Van Gelder Zonen Made in Holland'). Very good condition apart from some slight discolouration of the paper along the extreme edge of the top right margin. Plate mark: 13 1/2 x 16 5/8 inches. Sheet size: 17 7/8 x 21 3/4 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian", the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "Birds of America" surpasses Curtis in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities... (Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume I)
"The scene is Clear Lake. The abundant tules along its shallows formerly supplied the natives with material for house coverings, mats, garments, and balsas, and sheltered teeming flocks of waterfowl" (Curtis, Frontispiece to Volume XIV). Renowned for their unrivalled basketry skills, the Pomo tribe inhabited Northern California.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#10175$2,500.00
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 [CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
Wolf Lies Down - Apsaroke [Pl. 123]
[Pl. 123]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, Japon paper. Very good condition apart from a mild surface abrasion in the top left corner of the plate mark. Plate mark: 17 1/2 x 11 3/8 inches. Sheet size: 21 7/8 x 17 7/4 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian", the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "Birds of America" surpasses Curtis in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities... (Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume I)
A member of the Never Packs Game clan, Wolf Lies Down was a Mountain Crow leader, who fought against the Sioux in the Battle of Pryor Creek near Billings, Montana in 1860. According to Curtis, in "stature and in vigor the Apsaroke, or Crows, excelled all other tribes of the Rocky Mountain region, and were surpassed by none in bravery and in devotion to the supernatural forces that gave them strength against their enemies." (Volume IV) Originally planters from the upper Midwest, they inhabited the Plains and Prairies region of the United States, where they became hunters and skilled horsemen.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#10186$7,500.00
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 [CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
Fish Shows - Apsaroke [Pl. 135]
[Pl. 135]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, Japon paper. Very good condition. Plate mark: 17 3/8 x 11 3/8 inches. Sheet size: 21 7/8 x 18 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian", the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "Birds of America" surpasses Curtis in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities... (Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume 1)
Born around 1848, Fish Shows or 'Buusish' was a gallant Apsaroke warrior, who first fought under the renowned chief Red Bear against the Sioux. According to Curtis, in "stature and in vigor the Apsaroke, or Crows, excelled all other tribes of the Rocky Mountain region, and were surpassed by none in bravery and in devotion to the supernatural forces that gave them strength against their enemies." (Volume IV) Originally planters from the upper Midwest, they inhabited the Plains and Prairies region of the United States, where they became hunters and skilled horsemen.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#10187$4,500.00
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 [CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
Otter Robe - Atsina [Pl. 183]
[Pl. 183]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, Japon paper. Very good condition. Plate mark: 17 1/2 x 12 inches. Sheet size: 21 7/8 x 18 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian", the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "Birds of America" surpasses Curtis in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities... (Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume I)
A respected Atsina warrior who fought in several battles against the Piegans, Otter Robe or 'Neyunituwich' was born near Fort Benton, Montana in 1851. "When a young man he fasted two days and two nights by the river, and had a vision in which a tree became transformed to a warrior who told him he was to obtain many honors. The faster was instructed to paint as was the spirit - yellow on the temples, with a streak of red across the forehead-and to wear a strip of otter-fur around his scalp-lock." (Curtis, Volume V, p. 182) Alternatively known as the Gros Ventre, the nomadic Atsina are an offshoot of the Arapaho tribe and inhabited the Plains and Prairies region of the United States.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#10189$3,000.00
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 [CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
Bull Chief - Apsaroke [Pl. 128]
[Pl. 128]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, Japon paper. Very good condition. Plate mark: 17 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches. Sheet size: 21 3/4 x 17 7/8 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian", the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "Birds of America" surpasses Curtis in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities... (Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume I)
A revered Apsaroke warrior, Bull Chief or 'Tsidup-batsetsish' was born in 1825 and was a distinguished member of the Fox warrior society. He is pictured here in the buffalo robes he customarily wore to symbolize his rank. "In stature and in vigor the Apsaroke, or Crows, excelled all other tribes of the Rocky Mountain region, and were surpassed by none in bravery and in devotion to the supernatural forces that gave them strength against their enemies" (Curtis, Volume IV). Originally planters from the upper Midwest, they inhabited the Plains and Prairies region of the United States, where they became hunters and skilled horsemen.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#10191$3,500.00
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 CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
Piegan Encampment [Pl. 207]
[Pl. 207]. [Boston: D. Sacilotto for Charles Lauriat's: 1967]. Photogravure by Curtis, finely printed from the original plate, on wove paper watermarked "Tweedweave", by the master printmaker D. Sacilotto. A rare edition, not to be confused with later restrikes. A fine print, the beauty and quality of which rivals that of the original plates.(Small discrete collection stamp outside of plate mark on verso.) Very good condition apart from some mild rippling. Plate mark: 12 7/8 x 16 3/8 inches. Sheet size: 18 x 22 3/8 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian", the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on American Indians, and the single greatest book in Western Americana.
"The picture not only presents a characteristic view of an Indian camp on an uneventful day, but also emphasizes the grand picturesqueness of the environment of the Piegan, living as they do almost under the shadow of the towering Rocky mountains." (Curtis, List of Large Plates Supplementing Volume Six) A subgroup of the Blackfoot tribe, the Piegan are of Algonquin stock and inhabited the Plains and Prairies region of North America. They were the quintessential Plains Indians, and in his notes, Curtis described them as amiable people, who had a propensity for social formalities and were easy to work with.
The original edition of Curtis' The North American Indian had 214 subscribers and Curtis himself handled the distribution. After Curtis declared bankruptcy, the booksellers Charles Lauriat's of Boston purchased the outstanding stock, and the edition from which this print comes was commissioned in order to complete a number of incomplete portfolios. According to information supplied by the printers, the edition was strictly limited with only 17 sets being produced.
Edward Curtis was fascinated with the story of the American Indian from an early age, honing both his knowledge of them and his skill as a photographer on numerous scientific expeditions in the 1890s. With the enthusiastic backing of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword), Curtis evolved his plan for a comprehensive work that would illustrate his romantic vision of American Indian life before the disastrous impact of European contact. He obtained the patronage of J. Pierpont Morgan, whose support (and later, that of his son) enabled the project to go forward. What had originally been projected to take five or six years stretched to twenty-three, consumed $1,200,000 (a third in subsidy from the Morgans), and finally reached a conclusion in 1930, leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, he succeeded in accomplishing his grand design, and the set remains his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#11429$950.00
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 CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
A Flathead Chief [Pl. 229]
[Pl. 229]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, Japan paper. Very good condition. Plate mark: 17 3/8 x 12 5/8 inches. Sheet size: 22 x 18 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian," the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "The Birds of America" surpasses Curtis's in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities...(Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume I)
"Through the medium of their annual incursions into the buffalo plains east of the Rocky mountains, the Flatheads adopted much of the plains culture. Not only their domicile (the tipi), their garments, weapons, and articles of adornment, came from this source, but many of their dances were in imitation of similar ceremonies practiced by the prairie tribes. Prominent features of the accoutrement of this Flathead chief are his war club of the plains type, and an eagle bone whistle, such as was used in the Sun Dance. The Flatheads however never acquired the sun rite." (Curtis, List of Large Plates Supplementing Volume Seven) Known for their excellent horsemanship, the Flatheads primarily inhabited the Great Basin and were part of the Interior Salish group of tribes that included the Coeur d'Alene, Pend d'Oreille, Spokane, Kalispel, and Nespilim. Like other Salish tribes, they were semi-nomadic and practiced the religion of animism.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#13161$1,350.00
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 CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
The Moose Hunter - Cree [Pl. 623]
[Pl. 623]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, Japan paper. Very good condition. Plate mark: 13 3/4 x 17 inches. Sheet size: 17 7/8 x 21 3/4 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian," the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "The Birds of America" surpasses Curtis's in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities...(Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume I)
"Cree hunters are masters of the art of imitating, by means of a birch bark trumpet, the call of a moose of either sex, and thus luring within gunshot an animal seeking a mate during the rutting season." (Curtis, List of Large Plates Supplementing Volume Eighteen) Close relations of the Ojibwa, the Crees were the chief tribe in Canada and one of the largest in North America. They inhabited an extensive western region north of the prairies and south of the Peace River and were comprised of two principal divisions, the Wood and Plains Cree, which consisted of numerous individual bands.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.
Cf. Naef & Goldschmidt The Truthful Lens 40; cf. Howes C-965.
#13165$2,750.00
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 CURTIS, Edward Sheriff (1868-1952)
Old Eagle-Oto [Pl. 679]
[Pl. 679]. Boston: Suffolk Engraving Company, [1907-1930]. Photogravure after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, wove paper (watermarked 'Van Gelder Zonen Made in Holland'). Very good condition. Plate mark: 17 5/8 x 12 7/8 inches. Sheet size: 21 7/8 x 17 3/4 inches.
A breath-taking image from "The North American Indian," the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Only the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's "The Birds of America" surpasses Curtis's in its massive ambition and beauty of execution. "...Because of the singular combination of qualities with which he has been blessed, and because of his extraordinary success in making and using his opportunities...(Curtis) has been able to do what no other man has ever done; what, as far as we can see, no other man could do. He is an artist who works out of doors and not in a closet. He is a close observer, whose qualities of mind and body fit him to make his observations out in the field, surrounded by the wild life he commemorates. He has lived on intimate terms with many different tribes of the mountains and the plains. He knows them as they hunt, as they travel, as they go about their various avocations on the march and in camp. He knows their medicine men and their sorcerers, their chiefs and warriors, their young men and maidens. He has not only seen their vigorous outward existence, but has caught glimpses, such as few white men ever catch, into that strange spiritual and mental life of theirs; from whose inner most recesses all white men are forever barred...." (Theodore Roosevelt, Foreword to Volume I)
"The head dress of this Oto is characteristic of the older style...The medal worn by Old Eagle, in this case bearing the portrait of Lincoln, is like other medals given by the Government to noted chiefs from Washington's time." (Curtis, List of Large Plates Supplementing Volume Nineteen) A band of the Southern Sioux, the Otos inhabited the region along the Missouri River, near the border of Nebraska and Missouri. According to Curtis, they closely resembled other tribes of the western prairies, particularly in their reliance on buffalo for subsistence.
Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote t | | | |
