Antique Prints, Maps, & Books of Natural History, Botanicals, & More
Lot 7076:
Description
Curtis’s description of the image:
The Western Woods Cree, Bush Cree, Swampy Cree, or Maskegon, as they are variously known, are scattered in numerous bands through the wooded country north of the prairies between Hudson bay and the Peace river drainage. Other members of this large family inhabit the plains of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and the country from Lake Winnipeg to Lakes Mistassini and Nitchequon in the Province of Quebec. They are members of the great Algonquian stock, and are closely related to the Chippewa. Lac les Isles, locally known as Big Island lake, is in west-central Saskatchewan, near the Alberta border. The canoe is a well-made craft of birch-bark.
Description of the work:
This moving photogravure in folio size is from Edward Curtis’s
The North American Indian being a Series of Volumes Picturing and Describing the Indians of the United States and Alaska. Edited by Frederick Webb Hodge. Foreword by Theodore Roosevelt. Field Research conducted under the patronage of J. Pierpont Morgan. The work was published in 1928 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The photogravure is on Japanese vellum.
The photogravures depict Native Americans from the Chipewyan, Cree and Sarsi cultures. Curtis’s work was a remarkable record of native American life and one of the most ambitious anthropological studies done. W. H. Holmes, Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1910, stated that this "publication should last for a thousand years."
The North American Indian was referred to as “the most gigantic undertaking since the making of the King James Edition of the Bible” and containing “the most exquisite book art of our time.”
Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952) was an American photographer and ultimately historian of the American West. He travelled extensively for three decades living with the Native American tribes. He immersed himself in their customs, languages and beliefs. He detailed and photographed the tribes creating a truly comprehensive look into their lives.
Paper Size: ~ 17 1/2" by 21 1/2"
Paper Type or Special Features: Photogravure
Condition report:
The work is in very good to excellent condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.
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