History of the Indian Tribes of North America

Descripción

3 volumes, folio (20 1/4 x 14 1/4 in.; 51.4 x 36.2 cm). 120 hand-colored lithographed plates, 1 page of lithographed maps, and 17 pp. of subscribers' signatures, Volume I in state C with "War Dance" plate and "Red Jacket" plate in State D; vol II in state B; and vol III in state A. This copy has coloring darker and richer than is sometimes seen; a few plates toned, or with scattered light foxing, minimal offset from text to plates, first volume with "Kiontwogky" plate incorrectly pulled with text smeared below image, "Okeemakeequid" plate with slight shadow to text, "Buffalo Hunt" plate (lightly), and the subsequent text leaf, "Katawabeda" plate creased not affecting image, contents leaf creased. Early crimson half morocco over marbled boards, spine gilt-lettered and with Native American and tomahawk and peace pipe devices, by J. Wright; hinges cracked, all volumes with shelfwear to bindings, a few stray stains, joints and corners rubbed and with some flaking, some oxidation to gilt. Custom red cloth clamshell boxes. Soon after Thomas L. McKenney was appointed Superintendent of Indian Trade in 1816, he struck upon the idea of creating an archive to preserve the artifacts, implements, and history of the Native Americans. The Archives of the American Indian became the first national collection in Washington and were curated with great care by McKenney through his tenure as Superintendent and also when he served as the first head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs beginning in 1824. A visit to the studio of artist Charles Bird King inspired McKenney to add portraits to the archives. King would, for the following twenty years, capture the likenesses of the many visiting Indian dignitaries, as well as rework the less skillful watercolors created in the field by the less able James Otto Lewis. Many saw the great value in preserving what was already known to be a vanishing race, but others in government criticized the expenses incurred. The original paintings were deposited with the War Department and eventually transferred to the Smithsonian, where in 1865, a fire destroyed most of them. Consequently, their appearance in Indian Tribes is the only recorded likeness of many of the most prominent Indian leaders of the nineteenth century. McKenney was preparing to publish a collection of the Indian portraits when he lost his position at the Bureau during Andrew Jackson's house cleaning in 1830. Other setbacks befell the project: publishers went bankrupt, investors dropped out, and expenses soared mostly like as a result of the depression that followed the financial panic of 1837. McKenney finally enlisted Ohio jurist and writer James Hall to assist with the project. Hall completed the individual biographies of each subject and put the finishing touches on the general history. Meanwhile, James Otto Lewis, likely bitter that he would receive no credit for his portraits that King had reworked, published his own Aboriginal Port-Folio in 1835. Unfortunately for Lewis, the illustrations were of inferior quality and few of its later numbers were ever completed. By contrast, McKenney and Hall's work was a resounding artistic success-the lithographs were of such impeccable quality that John James Audubon commissioned James T. Bowen to produce the illustrations for a revised edition of his Birds of America. While an artistic tour de force, the work was a financial failure-its exorbitant price prohibited all but the wealthy and public libraries from subscribing to it. REFERENCES: BAL 6934; Howes M129; Reese Stamped with a National Character 24; Sabin 43410a; Viola The Indian Legacy of Charles Bird King. BAL 6934; Howes M129; Reese Stamped with a National Character 24; Sabin 43410a; Viola,The Indian Legacy of Charles Bird King. PROVENANCE: Bruce McKinney, his sale The American Experience: 1630-1890, Bonham's 2 December 2010, lot 223. Acquisition: Sotheby's New York, 21 May 1993, lot 103 (L64F11bisC). N° de ref. del artículo 72lib1053

Contactar al vendedor

Denunciar este artículo

Detalles bibliográficos