Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952)

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Edward S. Curtis - 50% OFF Opportunity Offering - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
50% OFF Opportunity Offering
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 001 The Vanishing Race - Navaho - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - This image was captured in 1907, 1/3 of the way through the 1897 – 1927 project. No other photogravure makes this significant statement. When one understands the expansive nature of Edward Sheriff Curtis’ study and his focus on the character of the people, the evocative nature of this very image is felt as a story, not just another “snapshot” of Indians on horseback. <br> <br>The importance of his documentation are the portraits from North American Indian life that capture the individual people groups, their character and their culture. “Vanishing Race” makes the statement for all. <br> <br>“The thought, which this picture is meant to convey, is that the Indians as a race, already shorn in their tribal strength and stripped of their primitive dress, are passing into the darkness of an unknown future. Feeling that the picture expresses so much of the thought that inspired the entire work, the author has chosen it as the first of the series.” – Edward Curtis
Plate 001 The Vanishing Race - Navaho
1904
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 002 Geronimo - Apache - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - “This portrait of the historical old Apache was made in March, 1905. According to Geronimo's calculation he was at the time seventy-six years of age, thus making the year of his birth 1829. The picture was taken at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the day before the inauguration of President Roosevelt, Geronimo being one of the warriors who took part in the inaugural parade at Washington. He appreciated the honor of being one of those chosen for this occasion, and the catching of his features while the old warrior was in a retrospective mood was most fortunate.” – Edward Curtis <br> <br>Edward Curtis Apache images reveal the various elements of life in the warrior tribe. In the ethnographic study of the “The North American Indian” is rich in its depiction of the culture and lifestyle, with some emphasis on significant individuals. <br> <br>In the late 19th century, Geronimo had one of the most well-known Indian names, and is memorable today. There are a number of stories about him, some violent and some peacemaker. In the end he realized the fate of his people was set and pursued the importance of learning new ways to make it work. However, his many attempts at this were thwarted by the inconsistency of the Federal government. <br> <br>Toward the end, as a very independent persona, Geronimo became associated with resisting settling in the reservation, escaping three times with a band of renegades. As a result, he was captured and spent the rest of his life as a prisoner of war. <br> <br>“General Crook said to me, ‘Why did you leave the reservation?’ I said: ‘You told me that I might live in the reservation the same as white people lived. One year I raised a crop of corn, and gathered and stored it, and the next year I put in a crop of oats, and when the crop was almost ready to harvest, you told your soldiers to put me in prison, and if I resisted, to kill me. If I had been let alone, I would now have been in good circumstances, but instead of that you and the Mexicans are hunting me with soldiers." - Geronimo <br> <br>The following statement is telling regarding his spiritual perspective, which leaves room for both attempts at working toward a solution and defensive action. <br> <br>"When a child my mother taught me the legends of our people; taught me of the sun and sky, the moon and stars, the clouds and storms. She also taught me to kneel and pray to Usen for strength, health, wisdom, and protection. We never prayed against any person, but if we had aught against any individual, we ourselves took vengeance. We were taught that Usen does not care for the petty quarrels of men." ~ Geronimo
Plate 002 Geronimo - Apache
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 021 Chief Garfield - Jicarilla - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
SOLD
Plate 021 Chief Garfield - Jicarilla
1904
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 025 Jicarilla Women - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Edward Curtis describes this piece as: Women watching the races on their annual ceremonial or feast day. It will be observed that they are all dressed uniformly in garments cut after the primitive mode. This is the 25th piece in “The North American Indian” a project which represents the final compilation of decades of field photography and research by Edward S. Curtis who labored under Morgan’s patronage for 23 years, from 1907 - 1930, to complete the series.
Plate 025 Jicarilla Women
1904
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 028 Canon de Chelly - Navaho - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Written by Edward Curtis: A wonderfully scenic spot is this in northeastern Arizona, in the heart of the Navaho country - one of their strongholds, in fact. Cañon de Chelly exhibits evidences of having been occupied by a considerable number of people in former times, as in every niche at every side are seen the cliff-perched ruins of former villages. <br> <br>QUOTES FROM "THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN: "The Navaho are a pastoral, semi nomadic people whose activities center in their flocks and small farms...While the Navaho leads a wandering life, the zone of his movements is surprisingly limited; indeed the average Navaho's personal knowledge of his country is confined to a radius of not more than fifty miles." <br> <br>DWELLINGS: A Navaho house is called a "Hogan" and is made of logs, brush, and earth. Summer houses are also utilized and made of brush with a windbreak. <br> <br>"Although raiders and plunderers since known to history, the Navaho cannot be designated a warring tribe, for however courageous they may be, their lack of political integrity has been an obstacle to military organization. They never have had a tribal chief, properly so called, while many leading men could never command more than a small following."
Plate 028 Canon de Chelly - Navaho
1904
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 061 Mosa - Mohave - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - “It would be difficult to conceive of a more aboriginal than this Mohave girl. Her eyes are those of the fawn of the forest, questioning the strange things of civilization upon which it gazes for the first time. She is such a type as Father Garces may have viewed on his journey through the Mohave country in 1776.” <br> <br>The Mohave tribe was one of the most primitive; from their method of hunting, to lack of curiosity to see past where they lived, “along the backs of the Colorado river, an environment into which they have so fitted themselves that they seem to have been always a vital part of it. To describe the Mohave without first speaking of their river would be like telling of the Makah of wind-swept Cape Flattery without alluding to the sea that beats the sands at their very feet.” <br> <br>This quiet, simple life shows on the face of Mosa – there is no cynicism, or defiance. There is only the look of a young girl who is looking into Curtis' lens with the emotion and power that the photographer captured beautifully.
SOLD
Plate 061 Mosa - Mohave
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 077 Ogalala War-Party - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Provenance: <br> <br>Private Collector | Mrs. Cunningham, CA <br> <br>With this photogravure, was a letter written by Edward Curtis to Robert Quarles Sr. (first state archivist of Tennessee) asking if Robert thought the photos were worthy of being published in a bound version. <br> <br>In the 1800s, Robert T. Quarles Sr. was a worker in the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville. Family lore says he was a "janitor" but that is uncertain. At one point, the Tennessee Capitol Building experienced a flood and Quarles went to heroic lengths to save documents housed in the basement of the building. As an expression of gratitude, Quarles was then named "Archivist" for the State of Tennessee. Upon his retirement, Robert Quarles passed the position down to his son, Robert T. Quarles Jr. <br> <br>Robert T. Quarles, Jr. took an enormous interest in Native American history and culture, and he was a member of a group called "The Loyal Order of the Red Man". Robert Quarles Jr. -- or possibly his sister Mary Ashby -- acquired one of the Curtis portfolios as a gift directly from Edward Curtis himself. Mary and her husband, Jeff Ashby, were enthusiastic collectors of artifacts and art from all over the world. <br> <br>The Ashby's were childless and when they passed away, the Curtis photogravures went to the three nephews of Robert Quarles Jr. in equal parts. These works were then passed down to their descendants, who are the previous owners of this artwork.
SOLD
Plate 077 Ogalala War-Party
1907
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 080 An Oasis in the Badlands - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 18 x 22 inches - Born 1854. First war-party in 1865 under Crazy Horse, against troops. Led an unsuccessful war-party at twenty-two against Shoshoni. First coup when twelve horse-raiding Blackfeet were discovered in a creek bottom and annihilated. Led another party against Shoshoni, but failed to find them; encountered and surrounded a white-horse troop. From a hill overlooking the fight Red Hawk saw soldiers dismount and charge. The Lakota fled, leaving him alone. A soldier came close and fired, but missed. Red Hawk did likewise, but while the soldier was reloading his carbine he fired again with his Winchester and heard a thump and "O-h-h-h!" A Cheyenne boy on horseback rushed in and struck the soldier, counting coup. Engaged in twenty battles, many with troops, among them the Custer fight of 1876; others with Pawnee, Apsaroke, Shoshoni, Cheyenne, and even with Sioux scouts. <br>Red Hawk fasted twice. The second time, after two days and a night, he saw a vision. As he slept, something from the west came galloping and panting. It circled about him, then went away. A voice said, "Look! I told you there would be many horses!" He looked, and saw a man holding green grass in his hand. Again the voice said, "There will be many horses about this season;" then he saw the speaker was a rose-hip, half red, half green. Then the creature went away and became a yellow-headed blackbird. It alighted on one of the offering poles, which bent as if under great weight. The bird became a man again, and said, "Look at this!" Red Hawk saw a village, into which the man threw two long-haired human heads. Said the voice,"I came to tell you something, and I have now told you. You have done right." Then the creature, becoming a bird, rose and disappeared in the south. Red Hawk slept, and heard a voice saying, "look at your village!" He saw four woman going around the village with their hair on the top of their heads, and their legs aflame. Following them was a naked man, mourning and singing the death-song. Again he slept, and felt a hand on his head, shaking him, and as he awoke a voice said, "Arise, behold the face of your grandfather!" He looked to the eastward and saw the sun peeping above a ridge. The voice continued, "Listen! He is coming, anxious to eat." So he took his pipe and held the stem toward the rising sun. This time he knew he was not asleep, or dreaming: He knew he was on a hill three miles from the village. A few days later came news that of five who had gone against the enemy, four had been killed; one returned alive, and followed the four mourning wives around the camp singing the death-song. Still later they killed a Cheyenne and an Apsaroke scout, and the two heads were brought into camp.
Plate 080 An Oasis in the Badlands
1905
Portfolio: 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 081 Jack Red Cloud - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Born 1822. The subject of this portrait is the son of the Ogalala Chief, Red Cloud. <br> <br>In 1868 Red Cloud was at the height of his powers. He’d just won the most significant treaty that the Indians had ever gained with the U.S. The 1868 treaty with the Sioux gave them the Black Hills “For as long at the rivers run and the sun shall shine.” The “Bloody Bozeman” trail and three forts were closed as a result. It was 1905 when, Curtis stopped to visit Red Cloud on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation, where he’d been forced to stay for the previous 30 years. Red Cloud, had held steadfastly to his principles. He had honored the treaty with the White Men, even though they had violated every part of it within a few years of its signing.
Plate 081 Jack Red Cloud
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 082 Hollow Horn Bear - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - The life of this Brule Sioux is briefly treated in Volume III, page 186. <br> <br>Born 1850. First war-party at twelve against Pawnee. At nineteen he took the pipe and led a party, which killed a number of Pawnee wood-haulers. Struck a first coup-"kill right"-in that battle. After that his father, Iron Shell, desired him to take that name, but he said that he would take his grandfather's name instead, and make the name Hollow Horn Bear good. During his career as a warrior, he counted coup many times and participated in twenty-three fights with Pawnee, Omaha, Ponca, Ute, Arikara, and United States troops. He was present at the Custer fight. <br> <br>*Additional biographical notes (not written by Curtis): <br>*A son of the famous, mid-19th century Brule chief Iron Shell, he nearly died as an infant during the first U.S. Army attack on a Lakota village, at the Blue Water battle near Fort Laramie in 1855. After the attack, his mother recovered the infant from the wreckage of the village. Hollow Horn Bear became a distinguished leader of the Brule. His portrait graced the old, U.S. 14-cent stamp. <br> <br>Hollow Horn Bear traveled often to Washington, D.C., rode in the inaugural parade of Theodore Roosevelt, and died in the Capitol in March, 1913, of pneumonia contracted while riding in the rain during the inaugural parade for Woodrow Wilson.
SOLD
Plate 082 Hollow Horn Bear
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 083 The Sun Dancer - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches - The sun dance was an important ritual in Native culture. From Edward S Curtis' Volume III: "As they dance, the performers never leave the spot on which they stand, the movement consisting in a slight upward spring from the toes and ball of the foot; legs and body are rigid. Always the right palm is extended to the yellow glaring sun, and their eyes are fixed on its lower rim. The dancer concentrates his mind, his very self, upon the one thing that he desires, whether it be the acquirement of powerful medicine or only success in the next conflict with the enemy." <br> <br>In this image the Dancer is smoking a peace pipe and the detail in the photograph is so clear that one can see the smoke rising from his pipe. The subject is wearing a single feather and a simple loincloth. Much like Curtis’ description of the Sun Dance, the subject has his right palm extended towards the sky and he appears to be looking up as well.
Plate 083 The Sun Dancer
1907
Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 085 Brule War-Party - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Provenance: <br> <br>Private Collector | Mrs. Cunningham, CA <br> <br>With this photogravure, was a letter written by Edward Curtis to Robert Quarles Sr. (first state archivist of Tennessee) asking if Robert thought the photos were worthy of being published in a bound version. <br> <br>In the 1800s, Robert T. Quarles Sr. was a worker in the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville. Family lore says he was a "janitor" but that is uncertain. At one point, the Tennessee Capitol Building experienced a flood and Quarles went to heroic lengths to save documents housed in the basement of the building. As an expression of gratitude, Quarles was then named "Archivist" for the State of Tennessee. Upon his retirement, Robert Quarles passed the position down to his son, Robert T. Quarles Jr. <br> <br>Robert T. Quarles, Jr. took an enormous interest in Native American history and culture, and he was a member of a group called "The Loyal Order of the Red Man". Robert Quarles Jr. -- or possibly his sister Mary Ashby -- acquired one of the Curtis portfolios as a gift directly from Edward Curtis himself. Mary and her husband, Jeff Ashby, were enthusiastic collectors of artifacts and art from all over the world. <br> <br>The Ashby's were childless and when they passed away, the Curtis photogravures went to the three nephews of Robert Quarles Jr. in equal parts. These works were then passed down to their descendants, who are the previous owners of this artwork.
Plate 085 Brule War-Party
1907
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 089 Little Hawk - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Description by Edward Curtis: This portrait exhibits the typical Brule physiognomy. The Brule are a subset of the Lakota Sioux and could be found in North and South Dakota and Montana-Big Sioux and James valleys in South Dakota, Missouri river, and Black Hills. <br> <br>From Curtis' North American Indian: "No tribe which the writer has studied is so lacking in traditional knowledge of its original home and early migration. In fact, no creation and early migration legend worthy of the name has been found to exist among any of the western Sioux tribes. On the other hand, other tribes of Siouan stock, the Apsaroke, Hidatsa, and Mandan, have definite creation and migration stories, which make it clearly evident that at one time they had their home on the South Atlantic seaboard, where Siouan tribes are known to have lived well within the eighteenth century, and where indeed the remnant of the Catawba still live." <br> <br>This image is uniquely cropped by Curtis, elongating the subject. The photographer used artistic effects to have the photograph fade into the bottom of the paper.
SOLD
Plate 089 Little Hawk
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 092 Fast Elk - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Born 1838. He first went on the war path at age eighteen; the party searched for the Pawnee, but finding only a deserted village, returned. Fast Elk never led a war-party, but fought in four great battles with other tribes, and participated in the Fetterman massacre in 1866. He counted coup once in a fight with the Apsaroke, when their village on Pryer creek was surrounded by the Sioux.
Plate 092 Fast Elk
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 097 Sioux Girl - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - A young Sioux woman in a dress made entirely of deerskin, embroidered with beads and porcupine-quills. <br> <br>The decorative art of the Lakota found expression on their deerskin garments, pipe-bags, saddle-blankets, robes, parfleches, shields and tipis… There seems to be no fixed motif in many of their designs, each woman reading into her art whatever may be prompted by her thoughts, the same figure sometimes meaning as many different things as there are workers.
Plate 097 Sioux Girl
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 101 Black Eagle - Assiniboin - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Black Eagle was born in 1834 in North Dakota to the Assiniboin tribe, a subset of the Sioux. Like many young native men, he entered the war path early in his case only thirteen years old. By his fourth time in battle he was a seasoned warrior and was able to capture 6 Yanktonai horses on his own. By the time he was photographed by Edward S. Curtis at age 74, he had killed many men in battle and had led 3 war parties. He had also had a fulfilled vision of capturing horses and had been married for 56 years. <br> <br>This powerful image displays Black Eagles full body which is adorned with a long bear robe and an eagle wing. According to legend he refused for many years to have his picture taken by Edward S. Curtis until one time he came to Curtis in the middle of the night and said “I’m ready” and that is where this photogravure came from. Photographed in 1908 this image is printed on Dutch Van Gelder paper and is available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery.
Plate 101 Black Eagle - Assiniboin
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 103 Red Cloud - Ogalala - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 21 3/8 x 17 3/16 inches
Plate 103 Red Cloud - Ogalala
1905
Portfolio, 21 3/8 x 17 3/16 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 107 An Assiniboin Camp - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Provenance: <br> <br>Private Collector | Mrs. Cunningham, CA <br> <br>With this photogravure, was a letter written by Edward Curtis to Robert Quarles Sr. (first state archivist of Tennessee) asking if Robert thought the photos were worthy of being published in a bound version. <br> <br>In the 1800s, Robert T. Quarles Sr. was a worker in the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville. Family lore says he was a "janitor" but that is uncertain. At one point, the Tennessee Capitol Building experienced a flood and Quarles went to heroic lengths to save documents housed in the basement of the building. As an expression of gratitude, Quarles was then named "Archivist" for the State of Tennessee. Upon his retirement, Robert Quarles passed the position down to his son, Robert T. Quarles Jr. <br> <br>Robert T. Quarles, Jr. took an enormous interest in Native American history and culture, and he was a member of a group called "The Loyal Order of the Red Man". Robert Quarles Jr. -- or possibly his sister Mary Ashby -- acquired one of the Curtis portfolios as a gift directly from Edward Curtis himself. Mary and her husband, Jeff Ashby, were enthusiastic collectors of artifacts and art from all over the world. <br> <br>The Ashby's were childless and when they passed away, the Curtis photogravures went to the three nephews of Robert Quarles Jr. in equal parts. These works were then passed down to their descendants, who are the previous owners of this artwork.
Plate 107 An Assiniboin Camp
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 113 Two Leggings - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Born about 1848. River Crow; Not Mixed clan; Lumpwood organization. Having no great medicine derived from his own vision, he was adopted into the Tobacco order by Bull Goes Hunting, who gave him his medicine of a fossil, or a stone, roughly shaped like a horse facing two ways. Two Leggings thus became a war-leader. In pursuing some Piegan who had killed a woman in the Apsaroke camp opposite Fort C.F. Smith on the Bighorn, he counted "dakshe" and captured a gun by the same act-a high honor. Led two parties against the Hunkpapa Sioux, each time taking scalps. Captured fifty horses from the Yanktonai at Fort Peck, and with Deaf Bull led a party that brought back eighty horses from the Teton Sioux.
Plate 113 Two Leggings - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 115 White Man Runs Him (One of Custer’s Crow Scouts) - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Born about 1854 or 1855. Mountain Crow; Big Lodge clan; Lumpwood organization. His only coup was counted by the capture of a tethered horse. Noted for his many successful horse-raiding expeditions against the Sioux. <br>Scouted with Custer in his last campaign, and was one of the party of three or four scouts who, at the dawn of the morning of the Custer fight, first sighted the Sioux camp. A small party of Crow and Arikara scouts under Lieutenant Varnum, having traveled nearly all night, arrived shortly before dawn almost a the summit of the highest peak in the Wolf mountains, where the party slept for a short time. At approaching light White Man Runs Him and a couple of companions went to the top of the high peak which gave them the first view of the Sioux encampment. Following Custer's coming up to view the valley and its camp of hostiles, he was with Custer until the Sioux made their attack on him. White Man Runs Him's recollections of that day are exceedingly clear. The author spent several days with him traveling carefully over the ground covered on the day of the disastrous fight on the Little Bighorn, part of this time being accompanied by general C.A. Woodruff. <br>White Man Runs Him possesses no medicine derived from his own vision, but once fasted four days and four nights in the Bighorn mountains on a peak known to the Apsaroke as "Where White Man Runs Him Fasted." Of his seven wives he gave up six "good ones," that is, those who had borne him children; to discard such was an indication of a strong heart.
Plate 115 White Man Runs Him (One of Custer’s Crow Scouts)
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Provenance: <br>Edward S. Curtis Studio. <br>Original Subscriber Set #96 William Henry Moore, The Moore Memorial Library. <br>The Christopher G. Cardozo Collection, 1998. <br>Valley Fine Art, Ltd.
SOLD
Plate 120 Red Wing – Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 121 Bread - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Born 1863. A Mountain Crow, (he was a member of the) Whistle Water clan. First war experience under Young Wolf Calf, when the party captured a hundred horses from the Piegan. On another occasion, under Wet, he himself captured a horse from the Yanktonai. Married five times; "threw away" four wives; is the father of one child. Never fasted and never achieved an honor. <br> <br>The Apsaroke were and are the proudest of Indians, and although <br>comparatively few, they rarely allied themselves with other tribes for purposes of defence. For probably two and a half centuries they were the enemy of every tribe that came within striking distance, and for a goodly part of this time they were virtually surrounded by hostile bands with a common hatred against this mountain tribe that likened itself to a pack of wolves. The swarming thousands of the western Sioux, aided by the Cheyenne and Arapaho, tried to force them westward. The powerful Blackfeet invaded their territory from the north and northwest, Flatheads and Nez Percés were worthy foes from the west, and the wily Shoshoni pressed in from the south; yet the Apsaroke were ever ready to repel invasion from whatever direction it might come.
Plate 121 Bread - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 130 Autumn - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Description by Edward Curtis: An autumn scene in the valley of Little Bighorn. <br> <br>A peaceful scene, this Apsaroke camp is tucked into the trees and displays one simple tipi and two horses. <br> <br>"The country which the Apsaroke ranged and claimed as their own was an extensive one for so small a tribe. In area it may be compared, east and west, to the distance from Boston to Buffalo, and north to south, from Montreal to Washington — certainly a vast region to be dominated by a tribe never numbering more than fifteen hundred warriors. The borders of their range were, roughly, a line extending from the mouth of the Yellowstone southward through the Black Hills, thence westward to the crest of the Wind River mountains, northwestward through the Yellowstone Park to the site of Helena, thence to the junction of the Musselshell and the Missouri, and down the latter stream to the mouth of the Yellowstone. This region is the veritable Eden of the Northwest. With beautiful broad valleys and abundant wooded streams, no part of the country was more favorable for buffalo, while its wild forested mountains made it almost unequalled for elk and other highland game."
Plate 130 Autumn - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 132 Passing the Cliff - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - A winter scene on Pryor Creek, Montana <br> <br>The country which the Apsaroke ranged and claimed as their own <br>was an extensive one for so small a tribe. In area it may be compared, <br>east and west, to the distance from Boston to Buffalo, and north to <br>south, from Montreal to Washington — certainly a vast region to <br>be dominated by a tribe never numbering more than fi fteen hundred <br>warriors. The borders of their range were, roughly, a line extending <br>from the mouth of the Yellowstone southward through the Black <br>Hills, thence westward to the crest of the Wind River mountains, <br>northwestward through the Yellowstone Park to the site of Helena, <br>thence to the junction of the Musselshell and the Missouri, and down <br>the latter stream to the mouth of the Yellowstone. This region is the <br>veritable Eden of the Northwest. With beautiful broad valleys and <br>abundant wooded streams, no part of the country was more favorable <br>for buffalo, while its wild forested mountains made it almost unequalled <br>for elk and other highland game.
Plate 132 Passing the Cliff
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 136 In Black Canon - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Description by Edward Curtis: The Apsaroke, although not exclusively mountain dwellers, were ever fond of the hills, preferring the forest shade and the clear mountain streams to the hot ill-watered, monotonous prairies. The picture illustrates the Apsaroke custom of wearing at the back of the head a band from which fall numerous strands of false hair ornamented at regular intervals with pellets of bright-colored gum. Black Cañon is in the northern portion of the Bighorn Mountains, Montana. <br> <br>An interesting thing to note about this image is that one of the riders is carrying a coup stick. There are 3 riders in total and they are riding away from the viewer into a mountainous area.
Plate 136 In Black Canon - Apsaroke
1905
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 137 The Chief and His Staff - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - In stature and in vigor the Apsaroke, or Crows, excelled all other <br>tribes of the Rocky Mountain region, and were surpassed by none <br>in bravery and in devotion to the supernatural forces that gave <br>them strength against their enemies. Social laws, rigidly adhered to, <br>prevented marriage of those even distantly related, and the hardships <br>of their life as hunters eliminated infant weaklings. The rigors of this <br>life made the women as strong as the men; and women who could <br>carry a quarter of a buffalo apparently without great exertion, ride all <br>day and all night with a raiding war-party, or travel afoot two hundred <br>and fifty miles across an unmarked wilderness of mountains, plains, <br>and swollen streams in four days and nights, were not the women to <br>bring forth puny offspring. <br> <br>The Apsaroke were and are the proudest of Indians, and although <br>comparatively few (they now number only one thousand seven <br>hundred and eighty-seven, and are constantly decreasing), they rarely <br>allied themselves with other tribes for purposes of defence. For <br>probably two and a half centuries they were the enemy of every tribe <br>that came within striking distance, and for a goodly part of this time <br>they were virtually surrounded by hostile bands with a common hatred <br>against this mountain tribe that likened itself to a pack of wolves. The <br>swarming thousands of the western Sioux, aided by the Cheyenne <br>and Arapaho, tried to force them westward. The powerful Blackfeet <br>invaded their territory from the north and northwest, Flatheads and <br>Nez Percés were worthy foes from the west, and the wily Shoshoni <br>pressed in from the south; yet the Apsaroke were ever ready to repel <br>invasion from whatever direction it might come. <br> <br>While the general status was one of hostility, there were brief <br>intervals of peace with the different tribes, even with the Sioux, their <br>bitterest foe, with whom at times they smoked the pipe and negotiated <br>peace for a year. Such truces so seriously made in many smokes, <br>were often quickly broken by some impetuous or irresponsible young <br>man stealing a horse or a woman; then in a moment peace was at <br>an end and conflict raged again. As a rule, however, these periods of <br>1 <br> <br>Tranquillity lasted long enough to permit discussion of previous fights <br>and a general comparison of the honors therein won. <br>The country which the Apsaroke ranged and claimed as their own <br>was an extensive one for so small a tribe. In area it may be compared, <br>east and west, to the distance from Boston to Buffalo, and north to <br>south, from Montreal to Washington — certainly a vast region to <br>be dominated by a tribe never numbering more than fi fteen hundred <br>warriors. The borders of their range were, roughly, a line extending <br>from the mouth of the Yellowstone southward through the Black <br>Hills, thence westward to the crest of the Wind River mountains, <br>northwestward through the Yellowstone Park to the site of Helena, <br>thence to the junction of the Musselshell and the Missouri, and down <br>the latter stream to the mouth of the Yellowstone. This region is the <br>veritable Eden of the Northwest. With beautiful broad valleys and <br>abundant wooded streams, no part of the country was more favorable <br>for buffalo, while its wild forested mountains made it almost unequalled <br>for elk and other highland game.
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Plate 137 The Chief and His Staff
1905
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 139 Upshaw - Asparoke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - With the money granted to him by J.P. Morgan for his North American Indian project, Curtis was able to employ Native American assistants to help him in the field. These assistants were interpreters, informants, and even friends. The most notable of his assistants was Alexander B. Upshaw a Crow Indian who had been well educated but had turned his back on “White” ways. <br> <br>Upshaw was a tireless campaigner for Indian land rights and was much admired by his own people. He was employed by Curtis and worked with the project from 1905 until his death in 1909. He was essential in collecting ethnological data from members of a number of tribes, including the Sioux, Arikaras, and the Blackfeet. His hard work gained them access to ceremonies and more importantly helped with a thorough investigation of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. <br> <br>Upshaw was an intelligent and trusted aide in the project, “In one sense Upshaw become more famous than any other member of the project except Curtis himself”, said Mick Gidley. It is safe to say, especially for the material on the Apsaroke and Hidatsa peoples, that Upshaw played a key role in Curtis’ ability to gain the relationships and acquire the knowledge he sought after.
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Plate 139 Upshaw - Asparoke
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 141 Apsaroke Medicine Tipi - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Plate 141 Apsaroke Medicine Tipi
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 149 Spotted Bull - Mandan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - from Volume V in "The North American Indian" by Edward S. Curtis: <br> <br>"No more impaired than the Mandan material culture were their religious and ceremonial beliefs and practices. Nothing had yet shaken their faith in their own gods. As the bird instinctively builds its own nest to meet its own needs, the Mandan had formulated their religion to fit the requirements of their life, and were strong in precepts. Their well developed political organization enabled them to execute effectively the tribal laws. <br> <br>The society organization of the Mandan is worthy of particular notice. The system comprised seven societies, or lodges, though which a man passed successively, beginning with the Fox order. The usual age of entrance into this grade was eighteen to twenty years, and no one younger than fifty years was permitted to enter the Bull society, the sixth organization of the system. To become a member of this system one had first to purchase the rights of a member of the lowest order before passing successively through the others. This could not be done individually, but only when it was arranged that the whole society purchase the right of the next highest one."
Plate 149 Spotted Bull - Mandan
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 150 Bear's Belly - Arikara - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Born in 1847 in present-day North Dakota, Bear's Belly was a highly respected and honored warrior of the Arikara tribe. <br> <br>He acquired his bearskin in a dramatic battle in which he single-handedly killed three bears, thus gaining his sacred medicine to remain part of him always. <br> <br>"Needing a bear-skin in my medicine-making, I went into the White Clay hills. Coming suddenly to the brink of a cliff I saw below me three bears. <br> <br>I wanted a bear, but to fight three was hard. I decided to try it, and, descending, crept up to within forty yards of them. I waited until the second one was close to the first, and pulled the trigger. <br> <br>The farther one fell; the bullet had passed through the body of one and into the brain of the other. The wounded one charged, and I ran, loading my rifle, then turned and shot again, breaking his backbone. He lay there on the ground only ten paces from me. <br> <br>A noise caused me to remember the third bear, which I saw rushing upon me only six or seven paces away. I was yelling to keep up my courage, and the bear was growling in his anger. He rose on his hindlegs, and I shot, with my gun nearly touching his chest. <br> <br>The bear with the broken back was dragging himself about with his forelegs, and I went to him and said: <br> <br>'I came looking for you to be my friend, to be with me always.' Then I reloaded my gun and shot him through the head. His skin I kept, but the other two I sold." <br> <br>Volume V, The North American Indian <br>"Bear's Belly," 1908 <br> <br>Courtesy of www.CurtisLegacyFoundation.com
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Plate 150 Bear's Belly - Arikara
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 152 White Shield - Arikara - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - “A mixed-blood member of the medicine fraternity.” <br> <br>Spend a moment to look at the details in this extraordinary tunic. <br> <br>This Arikara wears an elaborate shirt, with meticulous details in this and the headdress. The details in the weaving are significantly different than designs in other Indian clothing. <br> <br>What we find in Arikara clothing is most like what we remember in many pictorial descriptions of the North American Indian; breechcloths, fringed buckskin tunics shirts and leggings. For protection from rain and cold a warm, buffalo robe was worn. When dressed for ceremony they wore elaborately decorated shirts and war bonnets with eagle feathers and beadwork, which symbolize courage and accomplishment. <br> <br>"The Arikara are a semi-agricultural people, and have apparently been such from an early period, many myths and ceremonies bearing relation to growing corn and other products of the soil. The variety of corn raised is characteristic of the agricultural tribes in the Southwest-dwarf-like but very leafy stalks with many small ears of varicolored grains growing near the ground." <br> <br>"The basket common to these three tribes is claimed by the Arikara as originally a product of their own art, and writers acquainted with the basketry of southern Caddoan tribes assert this is a Caddoan pattern." <br> <br>"The soul, called "Sishu," is responsible for all acts of man during life: it resides in the breast, and appears in the spoken word, in the look of the eye, in the movement of the muscles. It is the Sishu that rattles in the throat of the dying in an attempt to escape… All animals have Sishu, but not trees and inanimate objects." <br> <br>"The Arikara developed the legerdemain of their all summer medicine ceremony to such an extent that other tribes, far and near, learned of their wonderful and potent magic. The superstition and credulity of the Indian are such that medicine-men living afar, as well as the tribesmen of the performers, believed these tricks to be the mysterious tricks of supernatural powers.
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Plate 152 White Shield - Arikara
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 172 Atsina Chiefs - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - In this image two Atsina Chiefs are riding strong horses. One carries a long stick adorned with feathers which is perhaps a Coup stick. The picture was taken from below so that the chiefs looks extremely large and important. We also get a full view of the entire horse and rider. <br> <br>Edward S. Curtis' description from, "The North American Indian”: "The Atsina, commonly designated Gros Ventres of the Prairie, are of the Algonquian stock and a branch of the Arapaho. Their name for themselves is "Aaninen," Atsina being their Blackfoot name. Judging by their vague tradition, their original separation from the Arapaho must have occurred in early times; but care should be taken not to confuse with this primal separation their return to the north from an extended visit to the Arapaho during the last century." <br> <br>"The tribe was composed of ten bands, all under one head, who with the chiefs of the bands, formed the council. The head-chief conducted treaties on the part of the tribe, selected camp sites, and directed tribal affairs generally. When he and the council disagreed, two young men, each representing a faction, were sent out with a bundle of sticks. passing around in the camp in opposite directions they stopped at each sub-chiefs lodge and asked what side of the question he favored....having completed the circuit of the camp, the two young men returned to the head-chief's lodge, the decision of those represented by the messenger with the fewest sticks....."
Plate 172 Atsina Chiefs
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 175 Atsina Camp - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - A great peak at what an Atsina camp looks like. The tipis are large and well-constructed. The composition of this photograph is interesting with the dark hill in the background creating an intersection with the triangular tipis. <br> <br>Description by Edward S. Curtis: The Atsina lived in tipis of twenty buffalo skins and twenty four poles, the latter about thirty feet in length. <br> <br>"It is believed that when a man dies he goes northward to 'Bashnobe,' the Big Sand, where he joins the spirits finds plenty of game and follows the customs and habits of their former existence. The ghosts of the dead are believed to haunt graves, to travel with the whirlwind, and to have the power of shooting invisible arrows into people." - From Edward Curtis' North American Indian
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Plate 175 Atsina Camp
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 188 In a Piegan Lodge - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Description by Edward S. Curtis: <br> <br>Little Plume with his son Yellow Kidney occupies the position of honor, the space at the rear opposite the entrance. The picture is full of suggestion of the various Indian activities. In a prominent place lie the ever-present pipe and its accessories on the tobacco cutting-board. From the lodge-poles hang the buffalo-skin shield, the long medicine-bundle, an eagle-wing fan, and deerskin articles for accoutering the horse. The upper end of the rope is attached to the intersection of the lodge-poles, and in stormy weather the lower end is made fast to a stake near the centre of the floor space. <br> <br>Desiring to keep the photographs as traditional and accurate as possible Curtis is accused of altering this photograph. It is said that he manipulated a clock out of the center of the piece. This is all the more interesting a photograph because of that, and showed Curtis' dedication to preserving this incredible group of people.
Plate 188 In a Piegan Lodge
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 193 Travaux - Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Edward Curtis' Description: With the most of the plains tribes the travois was the universal vehicle for transporting camp equipment, but is now rarely seen. In the days before the acquisition of horses a smaller form of the same device was drawn by dogs. The occasion of this picture was the bringing of the sacred tongues to the medicine-lodge ceremony. <br> <br>Medicine culture in Native tribes is fascinating. Anyone seeking aid of medicine man would first fill a pipe, take it reverently to his lodge, and lay it on the ground in front of the scaffold. The healer’s acceptance of the case was indicated by smoking the pipe.
Plate 193 Travaux - Piegan
1911
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 195 At the Water's Edge - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - from Volume VI in "The North American Indian" by Edward S. Curtis: <br> <br>"In disposition the Piegan are particularly tractable and likable. One can scarcely find a tribe so satisfactory to work among. In the old days of primitive customs and laws, they were fond of formalities, especially in their social relations, and these exactions were, of course, largely a part of their religion. A noteworthy phase of such form in their daily and hourly life was the excessive use of the pipe."
Plate 195 At the Water's Edge
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 196 Yellow Kidney - Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - The portrait shows Apuyotoksi (Light-colored Kidney) wear a wolf-skin war bonnet. <br> <br>Similar to the well-known headdress the war bonnet would be worn into battle or for ceremonial purposes. Generally the war bonnets or headdresses would only be worn by someone of great respect in their tribe. This photograph by Edward S. Curtis was taken in 1910 and shows the subject in profile. Yellow Kidney is of young or middle age and very attractive, he appears to be posing in front of a tipi backdrop which likely would have been Edward S. Curtis’ tipi. <br> <br>The men of the Piegan tribe were organized into a series of warrior societies in which membership was based on age. Arranged in the order of the age of their members these groups were: Doves, Flies, Braves, All Brave Dogs, Tails, Raven bearers, Dogs, Kit-foxes, Catchers, and Bulls. As a whole they were known as 'All Comrades.' The function of the societies was primarily to preserve order in the camp during the march, and on the hunt; to protect the camp by guarding against possible sunrise by the enemy; to be informed at all times as to the movement of the buffalo herds; and secondarily by intersociety rivalry to cultivate the military spirit, and by their feasts and dances to minister to the desire of members for social recreation.
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Plate 196 Yellow Kidney - Piegan
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 197 An Idle Hour-Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - In this serene moment, two native girls sit and look out upon a still lake. The two girl’s backs are towards the camera so that the viewer can participate in the moment. Both are wearing beautiful garments and have beautiful hair, one can see how shiny it is in the detail of the photogravure. <br> <br>"In disposition the Piegan are particularly tractable and likable. One can scarcely find a tribe so satisfactory to work among. In the old days of primitive customs and laws, they were fond of formalities, especially in their social relations, and these exactions were, of course, largely a part of their religion. A noteworthy phase of such form in their daily and hourly life was the excessive use of the pipe." written by Edward S. Curtis
Plate 197 An Idle Hour-Piegan
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 199 A Medicine Pipe - Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Curtis' Description: Medicine-pipes, of which the Piegan have many, are simply long pipe-stems variously decorated with beads, paint, feathers, and fur. Each one is believed to have been obtained long ago in some supernatural manner, as recounted in a myth. The medicine-pipe is ordinarily concealed in a bundle of wrappings, which are removed only when the sacred object is to be employed in healing sickness, or when it is to be transferred from one custodian to another in exchange for property. Such exchanges, occurring at intervals of a few years in the history of each pipe, are attended by much ceremony
Plate 199 A Medicine Pipe - Piegan
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 204 Old Person - Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Description by Edward Curtis: The young men eagerly seize every occasion of public festivity to don the habiliments of their warrior fathers. <br> <br>This image of Old Person is in fact a young man. His elaborate costume is likely that of his fathers who was a great warrior. The incredible feathered headdress her wears extends down his entire body. White furry tails surround his face, neck and chest and there is no lack of detail on any part of his attire. Facing sideways to get a view of the many feathers trailing down his body and the portrait view of a handsome face. <br> <br>"The Sun dance of the Piegan, their most important religious ceremony, was performed annually in the fulfillment of a pledge to the sun made by some woman (who thus avowed herself virtuous) in the belief that her promise to erect a lodge to the sun would result in the recovery of some relative from illness or in his escape from threatening danger." From The North American Indian written by Edward Curtis <br> <br>"The enemies of the Piegan were the Kutenai, Flatheads, Nez Perces, Shoshoni, Apsaroke, Sioux, Cree, and Atsina." - Curtis
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Plate 204 Old Person - Piegan
1911
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 218 Waiting in the Forest-Cheyenne - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - A mysterious image of a Cheyenne standing fully draped in the forest. Though often thought to be female, the subject is in fact a male. The men would wait for their girlfriends dressed this way in the forest. <br> <br>Description by Edward Curtis: At dusk in the neighborhood of the large encampments young men, closely wrapped in non-comittal blankets or white cotton sheets, may be seen gliding about the tipis or standing motionless in the shadow of the trees, each one alert for the opportunity to steal a meeting with his sweetheart.
Plate 218 Waiting in the Forest-Cheyenne
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 219 Little Wolf - Cheyenne - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - This photograph was taken by Edward S. Curtis in 1905 for portfolio VI of his North American Indian project. Edward Curtis was about 5 years in to what would become a 30 year undertaking in documenting the Native American Indians. Pictured here is an elderly man named Little wolf. He is pictured in profile in traditional Cheyenne dress. Cheyenne men would generally wear hip leggings of deerskin or buffalo and deerskin shirts. The tribe was located around Minnesota and North Dakota, they were nomadic and migrated from the upper Mississippi river area in Minnesota to the Cheyenne River in North Dakota. <br> <br>This Edward S. Curtis photograph was printed on Japon Vellum and is available for sale in our Aspen art Gallery.
Plate 219 Little Wolf - Cheyenne
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 232 Flathead Camp on Jocko River - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Plate 232 Flathead Camp on Jocko River
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 235 Flathead Childhood - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - This image was published in Volume VII of "The North American Indian" by Edward S. Curtis. Volume VII recorded Salishan and Tribes of the Interior: Collvilles, Kalispel, Lakes, Methow, Nespilim and Sanpoel, Sinkiuse, Spokan, Coeur D'Alenes, Flatheads, and Pend D'Oreilles. These tribal regions consisted of Washington, Idaho, and Montana- The country lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades, and south of the Canadian border to the forty seventh parallel (forty-sixth in Montana). <br> <br>This portrait depicts a young Flathead child fully dressed in traditional garb smiling in the outdoors.
Plate 235 Flathead Childhood
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Provenance: Hill Reference Library, St. Paul
Plate 242 On Spokan River
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 249 Kutenai Duck Hunter - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - The Kutenai Duck Hunter is one of Edward Curtis’ most iconic images, right alongside with Canon de Chelly or Bear’s Belly. The photo depicts a lone hunter, looking for ducks according o Edward Curtis “In the gray dawn of a foggy morning the hunter crouches in his canoe among the rushes, waiting for the water-fowl to come within range” from his North American Indian. The image is printed on Deluxe Japanese Tissue and is available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery. <br> <br>"Inhabiting a mountainous country dotted with lakes and traversed by long winding rivers, the Kutenai very naturally became expert boatmen. The commoner form of craft was made of pine-bark or spruce-bark laid over a framework of split-fur. It was sharp at bow and stern, of a form still seen among the Kalispel." from Edward S. Curtis' "The North American Indian", Volume VII
Plate 249 Kutenai Duck Hunter
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 251 On the Shore of the Lake - Kutenai - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Provenance: <br> <br>Private Collector | Mrs. Cunningham, CA <br> <br>With this photogravure, was a letter written by Edward Curtis to Robert Quarles Sr. (first state archivist of Tennessee) asking if Robert thought the photos were worthy of being published in a bound version. <br> <br>In the 1800s, Robert T. Quarles Sr. was a worker in the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville. Family lore says he was a "janitor" but that is uncertain. At one point, the Tennessee Capitol Building experienced a flood and Quarles went to heroic lengths to save documents housed in the basement of the building. As an expression of gratitude, Quarles was then named "Archivist" for the State of Tennessee. Upon his retirement, Robert Quarles passed the position down to his son, Robert T. Quarles Jr. <br> <br>Robert T. Quarles, Jr. took an enormous interest in Native American history and culture, and he was a member of a group called "The Loyal Order of the Red Man". Robert Quarles Jr. -- or possibly his sister Mary Ashby -- acquired one of the Curtis portfolios as a gift directly from Edward Curtis himself. Mary and her husband, Jeff Ashby, were enthusiastic collectors of artifacts and art from all over the world. <br> <br>The Ashby's were childless and when they passed away, the Curtis photogravures went to the three nephews of Robert Quarles Jr. in equal parts. These works were then passed down to their descendants, who are the previous owners of this artwork.
Plate 251 On the Shore of the Lake - Kutenai
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 256 Chief Joseph - Nez Perce - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - The man who became a national celebrity with the name "Chief Joseph" was born in the Wallowa Valley in what is now northeastern Oregon in 1840. He was given the name Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain, but was widely known as Joseph, or Joseph the Younger, because his father had taken the Christian name Joseph when he was baptized at the Lapwai mission by Henry Spalding in 1838. <br>Joseph the Elder was one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity and an active supporter of the tribe's longstanding peace with whites. In 1855 he even helped Washington's territorial governor set up a Nez Percé reservation that stretched from Oregon into Idaho. But in 1863, following a gold rush into Nez Percé territory, the federal government took back almost six million acres of this land, restricting the Nez Percé to a reservation in Idaho that was only one tenth its prior size. Feeling himself betrayed, Joseph the Elder denounced the United States, destroyed his American flag and his Bible, and refused to move his band from the Wallowa Valley or sign the treaty that would make the new reservation boundaries official. <br>When his father died in 1871, Joseph was elected to succeed him. He inherited not only a name but a situation made increasingly volatile as white settlers continued to arrive in the Wallowa Valley. Joseph staunchly resisted all efforts to force his band onto the small Idaho reservation, and in 1873 a federal order to remove white settlers and let his people remain in the Wallowa Valley made it appear that he might be successful. But the federal government soon reversed itself, and in 1877 General Oliver Otis Howard threatened a cavalry attack to force Joseph's band and other hold-outs onto the reservation. Believing military resistance futile, Joseph reluctantly led his people toward Idaho. <br>Unfortunately, they never got there. About twenty young Nez Percé warriors, enraged at the loss of their homeland, staged a raid on nearby settlements and killed several whites. Immediately, the army began to pursue Joseph's band and the others who had not moved onto the reservation. Although he had opposed war, Joseph cast his lot with the war leaders. <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br>What followed was one of the most brilliant military retreats in American history. Even the unsympathetic General William Techumseh Sherman could not help but be impressed with the 1,400 mile march, stating that "the Indians throughout displayed a courage and skill that elicited universal praise… [they] fought with almost scientific skill, using advance and rear guards, skirmish lines, and field fortifications." In over three months, the band of about 700, fewer than 200 of whom were warriors, fought 2,000 U.S. soldiers and Indian auxiliaries in four major battles and numerous skirmishes. <br>By the time he formally surrendered on October 5, 1877, Joseph was widely referred to in the American press as "the Red Napoleon." It is unlikely, however, that he played as critical a role in the Nez Percé's military feat as his legend suggests. He was never considered a war chief by his people, and even within the Wallowa band, it was Joseph's younger brother, Olikut, who led the warriors, while Joseph was responsible for guarding the camp. It appears, in fact, that Joseph opposed the decision to flee into Montana and seek aid from the Crows and that other chiefs – Looking Glass and some who had been killed before the surrender -- were the true strategists of the campaign. Nevertheless, Joseph's widely reprinted surrender speech has immortalized him as a military leader in American popular culture: <br>I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohoolhoolzote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say, "Yes" or "No." He who led the young men [Olikut] is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are -- perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever. <br>Joseph's fame did him little good. Although he had surrendered with the understanding that he would be allowed to return home, Joseph and his people were instead taken first to eastern Kansas and then to a reservation in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) where many of them died of epidemic diseases. Although he was allowed to visit Washington, D.C., in 1879 to plead his case to U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes, it was not until 1885 that Joseph and the other refugees were returned to the Pacific Northwest. Even then, half, including Joseph, were taken to a non-Nez Percé reservation in northern Washington, separated from the rest of their people in Idaho and their homeland in the Wallowa Valley. <br>In his last years, Joseph spoke eloquently against the injustice of United States policy toward his people and held out the hope that America's promise of freedom and equality might one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well. An indomitable voice of conscience for the West, he died in 1904, still in exile from his homeland, according to his doctor "of a broken heart."
Plate 256 Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
1903
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 259 Raven Blanket - Nez Perce - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - This profile reveals the details of the Nez Perce headdress and clothing. <br>“The war-bonnet of eagle-feathers, with pendant weasel-skins, as well as the otter-fur wrappings of his hair braids, indicates the extent to which the Nez Perce were influenced by the Indians of the prairies, whom they met in their annual pilgrimage to the buffalo country.” – Edward Curtis <br> <br>The North American Indian lifestyle included shared hunting and summering grounds. As a result, many clothing, customs and mythologies were adopted for their practicality and, in the case of this headdress, grandeur. <br> <br>Outside of the ceremonial, the clothing of both sexes was plains style, with the single exception of the fez shaped basket hats of the women. The usual material for clothing was deerskin, but the dresses of women were frequently of mountain-sheep skin. <br> <br>Raven Blanket is dressed in a full headdress here and is staring off into the distance. His sad eyes are representative of the treatment that his people endured since the White Man come to his land. <br> <br>"The history of the Nez Perces, when studied as a part of the North American Indian's conflict with civilization, is convincing that there was absolutely no course, policy, or conduct open to him which insured fair treatment, nor was there any road open to him which seemed materially to alleviate the situation or to stay the grasping encroachment. The inert, unorganized Indians of southern California were literally crowded from the earth. The fact that they, with their pacific disposition, made no resistance has no effect on the covetous settler, nor did it cause the Government to reach to them a helping hand in appreciation of their good behavior. They suffered through good conduct. The warlike, haughty tribes of the plains stood the imposition as long as they could, and then their long-smoldering resentment broke into flame and they struck back as only Indians can, and they suffered through their hostility. The Nez Perces, a mentally superior people were friendly from their first contact with white men, and as a tribe they always desired to be so. Their history since 1855, and particularly the war of 1877, tells how they were repaid for their loyalty to the white brother." <br> <br>From Edward S Curtis' North American Indian.
Plate 259 Raven Blanket - Nez Perce
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 262 Nez Perce Warrior - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Plate 262 Nez Perce Warrior
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 266 Nez Perce Babe - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - When traveling this familiar lifestyle necessity is found in many North American Indian tribes. While the papoose design is similar throughout the tribal culture, there are distinctions in constructions essential to its use. <br> <br>This cradleboard back is very high, beyond where the head of the mother would be. Behind it is a wide strap and additional material. This papoose is designed to be strapped to a saddle and the decoration is unique in the creativity of the mother. <br> <br>The laced-in baby is surrounded in layers of warmth, as a few bands of the loosely organized tribe lived in the mountainous areas of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. <br> <br>From Volume 8, of "The North American Indian", Edward Curtis describes this area in visual prose, “the lofty, forested mountains are the source of numberless, clear perennial streams. Here and there are broad, undulating upland prairies, which once afforded the inhabitants a dependable, though laboriously gathered, supply of edible roots, and abundant forage for their horses. The lower courses of the streams flow through pleasant, narrow valleys completely shut in from the cold mountain winds, forming ideal spots for wintering. Deer, elk and mountain-sheep were obtained without great difficulty, and the rivers were alive with fish, particularly the salmon, which formed their principal food.”
Plate 266 Nez Perce Babe
1900
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 269 Umatilla Maid - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - “Two distinct cultural areas are represented in the costume of this damsel. The familiar beadworked, deerskin dress is an acquisition from the plains culture, while the basketry hat and the shell-bead necklace hail from the pacific slope. Note the skin of the deer's tail fastened in front at the collar, as an aid in removing the garment.” – Edward Curtis. <br> <br>It is curious to note that very little is written by Curtis regarding the Umatilla. The narrative in Volume VIII of The North American Indian, barely a paragraph speaks about them, only referring to a linguistic association to the Yakima.
Plate 269 Umatilla Maid
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 270 Innocence - Umatilla - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - “Few aspects of Indian life are more interesting to the casual visitor than the demeanor of the children, with the coy bashfulness, their mischievous, sparkling eyes, their doubtful hesitating just the other side of friendship.” – Edward Curtis <br> <br>Edward Curtis loved the faces of children from whom he could coax an expression. Notice the native clothing and detailed beaded bag over the girl’s plaid dress and tights. Because of the time his work was recorded, many costumes showed an intermingling of the native and contemporary North American Indian lifestyles.
Plate 270 Innocence - Umatilla
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 272 Cayuse Warrior - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - In the face of this portrait is the pictorial description Edward Sheriff Curtis wrote in the Volume VIII. <br> <br>“The Cayuse were a sullen, arrogant, warlike tribe . . . Of alien speech, they were on such intimate terms with the Shahaprian tribes of that region that even in 1851 their language was becoming obsolete, and for many years there has been none who could speak it.” <br> <br>Interestingly, the tribe believed to have influenced their language, the Molala, mysteriously disappeared and were believed to have lived underground.
Plate 272 Cayuse Warrior
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 278 Wishham Girl - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - The subject is clothed in a heavily beaded deerskin dress of the plains type. The throat is encircled by strands of shell beads of native manufacture, heirlooms which were obtained by the original Wishham possessor from the Pacific slope. Pendant on the breast are strands of larger beads of the same kind, as well as of various kinds brought into the country by the traders of the Hudson's Bay Company. An indispensable ornament of the well-born person was the dentalium-shell thrust through a perforation in the nasal septum; occasionally, as in this case, two such shells were connected by means of a bit of wood pushed into the hollow bases. Tied to the hair at each side of the face (see the following plate) is another dentalium-shell ornament, which is in reality an ear pendant transferred from the lobe of the ear (where its weight would be inconvenient) to the hair. The head-dress consists of shells, shell beads, commercial beads, and Chinese coins. The coins made their appearance in the Columbia River region at a comparatively early date. This form of head-dress was worn on special occasions by girls between the age of puberty and their marriage.” – Edward Curtis
Plate 278 Wishham Girl
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 279 Wishham Girl, Profile - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Of the 723 Plates included in the Edward Curtis book The North American Indian, this is one of the rare occasions when the detail was so intricate and expansive that two views are revealed. <br> <br>The piercing in her nose was important to her caste. From Volume VIII of text: “Men and women wore a long dentalium shell in the nose: every one wore this nasal ornament, for anybody without it ‘looked like a slave.”
Plate 279 Wishham Girl, Profile
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 281 Wishham Bride - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Wishham tribes were located in Oregon and Washington and the traditional dress was generally made of skins, breech cloth, or woven blankets. In this Edward Curtis photo however the beautiful Native subject is dressed for a wedding ceremony. She is very elaborately dressed in beaded clothing and jewelry. The marriage arrangements for the Wishham tribes would involve a messenger sent from the groom’s family to the bride’s father. The messenger would negotiate with him for a set price a very businesslike affair. <br> <br>On the day of the wedding the price would be payed and gifts would also be offered for other relatives of the bride. They would feast for days alternating between houses as part of the celebration. Polygamy was not frowned upon, but one would have had to be quite wealthy to support more than one wife. The most affluent of the tribe may have up to 8 wives. Adultery was punished according to Edward S. Curtis’ North American Indian.
Plate 281 Wishham Bride
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 424 A Walpi Man - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Plate 424 A Walpi Man
1921
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 628 A Cree Camp at Lac Les Isles - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 628 A Cree Camp at Lac Les Isles
1926
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 629 Chief Hector - Assiniboin - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Chief Hector, the son of Spotted Calf. <br> <br>Three centuries ago, the seven divisions of the Dakota were dwelling in the region between the headwaters of the Mississippi and the west end of Lake Superior. About the time of the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, a band of the Yanktonai, deserting their tribesmen in anger, says tradition, over wrong done to the chief's wife, moved away to the north and east, until, after indefinite wandering, they established a temporary home on the shores of a wooded lake. Thus, the Assiniboin tribe was born, first mentioned as distinct from the Dakota by the Jesuit Relation of 1640 on "Lake Alimibeg," later identified as either Rainy lake on the northern boundary of the present state of Minnesota, or else Lake Nipigon, north of Lake Superior in the direction of Hudson Bay.
SOLD
Plate 629 Chief Hector - Assiniboin
1925
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 630 Assiniboin Hunter - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Plate 630 Assiniboin Hunter
1926
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 632 Assiniboin Mother and Child - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
SOLD
Plate 632 Assiniboin Mother and Child
1926
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 636 The Blackfoot Country - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - The Blackfoot were known to be fierce warriors. This Blackfoot man sits in full headdress atop a white horse. He holds what is likely a coup stick and looks out onto the vast country of his people. The river leads one’s eyes right to the face of this handsome chief. Taken by Edward Curtis in 1928, this photogravure is on display in our Aspen Art Gallery. <br> <br>"No tribe which the writer has studied is so lacking in traditional knowledge of its original home and early migration. In fact, no creation and early migration legend worthy of the name has been found to exist among any of the western Sioux tribes. On the other hand, other tribes of Siouan stock, the Apsaroke, Hidatsa, and Mandan, have definite creation and migration stories, which make it clearly evident that at one time they had their home on the South Atlantic seaboard, where Siouan tribes are known to have lived well within the eighteenth century, and where indeed the remnant of the Catawba still live." - Edward Curtis
SOLD
Plate 636 The Blackfoot Country
1926
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 637 A Blackfoot Travois - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Plate 637 A Blackfoot Travois
1926
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 640 Bear Bull - Blackfoot - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Edward Curtis captures a fascinating aspect of North American Indian lifestyle. The hair worn in this manner is very specific to the Blackfoot tribe. The elder men allow their hair to grow, and twist it in the same manner as the Assiniboines; but instead of forming the coil on the crown, they wear it on the forehead, projecting seven or eight inches in a huge knob, smeared with red earth. <br> <br>A simple yet stunning portrait of a Blackfoot man named, “Bear Bull”. Pictured in profile one can see the deeps lines of a long life in his face. With a braided bun atop his forehead, he displays the ancient Blackfoot method of doing hair. The Blackfoot were fierce enemies and this man likely has seen many battles. Taken by Edward S. Curtis in 1927 this image is on display in our Aspen Art Gallery.
Plate 640 Bear Bull - Blackfoot
1927
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 646 Sacred Bags of the Horn Society - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Plate 646 Sacred Bags of the Horn Society
1926
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 665 The Lone Chief - Cheyenne - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches
SOLD
Plate 665 The Lone Chief - Cheyenne
1927
Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 685 A Comanche Mother - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - In this image, Curtis candidly captures a Comanche Mother stoically holding a child in a cradle. The pair are pictured outside and in typical garb. <br> <br>"The Comanche arer the sole representatives of the Shoshonean stock in Oklahoma. Like most of the tribes in that state, they were not natives of it, but were placed there for riddance. However, they differed from most other tribes removed to Oklahoma in that they were not strangers to the region, for it had been part of their hunting and raiding grounds for many years. No North American tribe ranged over so broad a territory. The Comanche were without prejudice in their selection of victims" from Edward S. Curtis' "The North American Indian", Volume XIX
Plate 685 A Comanche Mother
1926
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 017 An Apache Babe - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Description by Edward S. Curtis: “A fortunate child picture, giving a good idea of the happy disposition of Indian children, and at the same time showing the baby carrier or holder.” <br> <br>Capturing a happy baby in a papoose, displays the delightful innocence Edward Curtis enjoyed. <br> <br>There are many ways a papoose was made. While this one demonstrates the common method of tying onto the cradleboard, it also shows a canopy that protects the child from the elements.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 017 An Apache Babe
1903
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 043 The Burden Bearer - Pima - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 043 The Burden Bearer - Pima
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 054 Qahatika Water Girl - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 054 Qahatika Water Girl
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 086 A Gray Day in the Bad Lands - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18x22 inches - Description by Edward S. Curtis: “A cold, cheerless day, when the party of Sioux, wrapped closely in their blankets, rode in stolid silence. An Original photogravure produced in Boston by John Andrew & Son. Taken by Curtis is 1905 in the Badlands of South Dakota and Nebraska.” <br> <br>Curtis was largely self-taught in photography, but would go on to win numerous awards and become the friend and associate of the presidents, kings, titans of business and industry, and important tribal leaders throughout the Western United States and Canada. His subscribers were the most wealthy people of his time.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 086 A Gray Day in the Bad Lands
1905
Portfolio, 18x22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 105 The Wood Gatherer - Sioux - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 105 The Wood Gatherer - Sioux
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Description Curtis: The three fox-tails hanging from the coup-stick show the subject - Medicine Crow, to be possessor of three first coups, that is, in three encounters he was the first to strike one of the enemy's force.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 112 Apsaroke War - Chief
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 117 Medicine Crow - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - His full costume is pictured in Pate 112, but in this image the viewer has a more intimate view of Medicine Crow’s face. Upon his head is what appears to be a dead bird, perhaps a hawk. He is staring to the right and has a very strong profile typical of the Apsaroke. <br> <br>Description by Edward S. Curtis: Born 1848.Mountain Crow; member of the Newly Made Lodge clan; and the Lumpwood organization. At eighteen he fasted four days and three nights, and on the morning of the fourth day a spirit resembling a white man appeared and foretold the passing away of the buffalo and the coming of many white men with cattle, horses, and steamboats. His medicine of hawk was purchased from another man. Counted three first coups, captured five guns and two tethered horses, and led ten successful war-parties. In a fight with the Nez Perces he killed a warrior, counted first coup upon him, and captured his gun-two regular honors at one time, besides the distinction of killing an enemy. This act he twice repeated in battles with the Arapaho and the Sioux. Twice he fought on the side of the white man when "their flag was on the ground:" once against the Nez Perces in Chief Joseph's retreat, and again under General Crook when the Sioux under Sitting Bull were fleeing across the Canadian border. Medicine Crow participated in ten severe fights, killed three men, had two horses shot under him, and had the distinction of having "thrown away" six wives.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 117 Medicine Crow - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 123 Wolf Lies Down - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Wolf Lies Down is of the Apsaroke tribe, this photograph was taken by Edward Curtis in 1908. Staring forlornly to the right, the subject’s heavily lined face is indicative of a long and hard life. He is heavily costumed wearing an interesting head ornament, multiple earrings, braided hair, and a large fur covered shirt. <br> <br>Description by Edward S. Curtis: Born about 1843. Mountain Crow; Never Shoots, Packs Game clan; Fox organization. Never obtained medicine by vision, but purchased wolf-medicine, paying five hundred elk-teeth. Counted one "dakshe" by leaping over a rocky barrier among the enemy, who were in a deep hole protected by stones and bush-the leap itself was a dangerous feet. Captured one gun and one horse tethered in an enemy camp; led one successful party against the Yanktonai at Fort Peck; was one of the leaders of a party that killed seven Sioux. Once accepted the curved stick of the Foxes, but did not have an occasion to use it, as there was little fighting in the succeeding summer. In the battle with Sioux on Pryor creek, his brother-in-law, One Feather, lost his horse and was surrounded by the enemy; Wolf Lies Down turned back, took him on his own horse, and though wounded in the head made his escape with great difficulty.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 123 Wolf Lies Down - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 146 Sitting Elk - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches - Born about 1828-1830. River Crow of the Never Shoots, Packs Game clan and Fox organization, which he joined at about thirty, having chosen to take the place of a friend who had been killed. He never fasted. "I cannot help it, " he remarked; "it is the truth." But when he was six years of age he was taking part in a sham fight with mud balls thrown from sticks. A ball that had not been rolled in the sparks of the fire and consequently could not be seen as it came, struck him in the eye, which soon swelled shut. The next evening the boys were playing again, and a woman relative said chidingly, "Foolish boy, go and get your eye hurt again!" He went, but stood at the end, and was the last to charge and the first in the retreat. Soon a mud ball struck the same eye, and it seemed as if his "brains would fall out." A sister-in-law cared for him that night. Toward morning he fell asleep and dreamed. He saw the sham fight continued; gradually it changed, and he suddenly saw two opposing war-parties contending. A man with a lance decorated with hawk-feathers stood forth, sang three songs and charged among the enemy. As he entered their ranks he became a chickadee. Soon he reappeared without a scratch on his body. Having had a vision and obtained songs, Sitting Elk felt that it would do no good to fast; yet with some doubt, fearing that it might have been merely a dream, he said nothing about his medicine. At forty he began to feel certain that it had been a real vision from the spirits, and therefore used the songs and made his medicine known.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 146 Sitting Elk - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 161 Arikara Medicine Ceremony - The Bears - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 161 Arikara Medicine Ceremony - The Bears
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 168 Eagle Child – Atsina - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Born in 1862, east of the Little Rockies. He first followed the war-path when twenty years of age, but gained no honors on this occasion. His next experience was in an expedition against the Piegan. Three of the enemy charged a small party of the Atsina, and one, singling him out, came so close that when the Piegan shot, the powder burned Eagle Child. Another Atsina shot the Piegan, and Eagle Child counted second coup and took the scalp.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 168 Eagle Child – Atsina
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 191 Double Runner - Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 191 Double Runner - Piegan
1900
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 241 Spokan Man - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - The Spokan were a peaceful people and this humble image of a Spokan man embodies that peaceful feeling. Staring right into the camera this man could easily be mistaken for a woman with his long braided hair. In very simple attire and well-lit to see the contours of his face. <br> <br>"Only once did the Spokan engage in hostilities with the United States. After the conclusion of the Stevens treaties with the Yakima, Nez Perce, and others in 1855 the Spokan regarded with apprehension the nearer approach of the multiplying white man; for Governor Stevens informed them that he would make a treaty with them also. His plan was thwarted by the uprising of the dissatisfied Yakima, Wallawalla, and Cayuse, as well as numerous coast tribes, and no treaty was ever made with the Spokan." From Edward Curtis' "North American Indian", Volume II
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 241 Spokan Man
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 257 Yellow Bull - Nez Perce - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - As a member of the family which was more than once responsible for precipitating the Nez Perce outbreak of 1877, Yellow Bull proved a source of much valuable information. His son Walaituts was one of the three men who murdered the first white settlers in this conflict.” - Edward Curtis <br> <br>During the onset of this event, Chief Joseph and the other proponents of peace were not in the Nez Perce camp at the onset of this event. Had the peacemaker been, he may have been able to quell the hot-headed youth. As the genesis of the Uprising in 1877, a young Indian, Walaituts was goaded by others into the retribution for the murder of his father by one of the local settlers. In their revenge they killed three. When the news reached the camp, the men knew there would be consequences and the outbreak then escalated. <br> <br>Yellow Bull is an important figure in the effort to bring a peaceful outcome to the settlement of the Nez Perce and was photographed at the funeral of Chief Joseph, wearing the headdress of his good friend. That was 1904, one year after the portraits of these two friends were taken by Edward Curtis.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 257 Yellow Bull - Nez Perce
1903
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 264 Lawyer - Nez Perce - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - The original of this portrait is a member of the family of that Lawyer who played a prominent part in the Nez Perce affairs in the years following the treaty of 1855. - Edward Curtis Caption <br> <br>"The Nez Perce began his preparations for spiritual obtainment almost in infancy. The child, either boy or girl, when less than ten years of age was told by the father or the mother that it was time to have 'tiwatitmas' - spiritual power... What a picture of Indian character this affords: a mere infant starting out alone into the fastness of the mountain wilds, to commune with the spirits of the infinite, a tiny child sitting through the night on a lonely mountain, reaching out its infant's hands to God." - Edward S. Curtis in "The North American Indian", Volume VIII
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 264 Lawyer - Nez Perce
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 273 Holiday Trappings - Cayuse - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 273 Holiday Trappings - Cayuse
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 275 Dip-Netting in Pools - Wisham - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - The Wisham tribe generally fished along the Columbia River with large nets. If they were lucky, they would bring home many salmon. In this photogravure one gets a great view of the massive nets they would use to go fishing with as well as the rocky shoreline they fished from. The subject is focused on his task and is wearing nothing but a small loincloth. <br> <br>“In the quiet pools along the rocky shore the salmon sometimes lie resting from their long journey up-stream. The experienced fisherman knows these spots, and by a deft movement of his net he takes toll from each one”.- Edward S. Curtis <br> <br>RELIGION AND CEREMONIES: The myths of the Wishham were exceedingly interesting in that they show unusual wealth of imagination and vivacity, yet they are disappointing in their incomplete cosmology and their inattention to obvious phenomena. The Wishham attainment of supernatural attributes was attended with far less than ordinary travail. When seven or eight years of age a boy was instructed by his father or other male relative in the mysteries of the acquirement of "yuhlmah," and bidden to begin his journey to lonely spots among the high hills, that the spirits might come to him. - Edward Curtis
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 275 Dip-Netting in Pools - Wisham
1909
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 276 Spearing Salmon - Wisham - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Though the Wisham preferred to fish with nets, sometimes this was not possible. In this photogravure the subject is spear-fishing most likely for salmon along the Columbia River. The water looks fiercely rapid and the large cliff and rocks make the landscape feel extreme on the shoreline. The subject is wearing a loincloth which is typical for a Wisham fisherman. <br> <br>“The nature of the shore and the height of the water level sometimes combine to make dip-netting impossible. Recourse is then had to the double-pointed spear, the socketed barbs of which are connected to the shaft by strong cords, so that when a fish is struck and its struggles detach the barbs from the prongs it is held by a hook and line.” - Edward S. Curtis
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 276 Spearing Salmon - Wisham
1909
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 280 Wishham Woman - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - In this beautiful portrait of a Wishham woman Edward Curtis captures every detail of her attire. Looking out to the right the subject is dressed in a full length gown and has long braids. The background is blurred, either by Curtis’ artistic doing or by fog in the distance. <br> <br>"Fish, especially salmon, were plentiful far beyond their needs, and were so easily taken that the people were indolent and inert, lacking the initiative, the energetic force, the manliness characteristic of tribes whose livelihood must be gained largely by hunting. In common with most of the other tribes of the north Pacific coast, they were unusually licentious that chastity was practically unknown; and to a remarkable degree they lacked the tribal instinct, so that killing by hired assassins and by supposed magical means became a recognized practice of frequent occurrence." - Edward S Curtis
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 280 Wishham Woman
1909
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 282 Hlalakum - Wishham - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Here is a strong, close-up portrait of Wisham individual, brow furrowed and mouth slightly downturned. The individual's proud posture is softened by a blanket cloaking the body and a braid falling alongside their shoulder. The emotion of this piece is palpable, accentuated by the sitter's direct gaze. <br> <br>"The myths of the Wishham are exceedingly interesting in that they show unusual wealth of imagination and vivacity, yet they are disappointing in their incomplete cosmology and their inattention to obvious phenomena. The Wishham attainment of supernatural attributes was attended with far less than ordinary travail. When seven or eight years of age a boy was instructed by his father or other male relative in the mysteries of the acquirement of "yuhlmah," and bidden to begin his journey to lonely spots among the high hills, that the spirits might come to him." from Edward S. Curtis' "The North American Indian", Volume VIII
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 282 Hlalakum - Wishham
1909
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 283 Kashhila - Wisham - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 283 Kashhila - Wisham
1909
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 284 Wishham Maid - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - “Clad in her deerskin dress of the plains and her basketry hat of the coast, the girl pauses on the grim lava rocks above the Dalles, looking out across the thundering rapids, perhaps observing the activities after friends in the village Wasko.” – Edward Curtis <br> <br>As far as the Oregon coast, the practical construction of the prairie tribes is once again found incorporated into the dress of the Wishham.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 284 Wishham Maid
1909
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 287 Evening on the Columbia - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - A spur of the Cascade mountains occupies the background. <br>– Edward Curtis <br> <br>From this same viewpoint the mountains could be found covered in snow. During severe winter weather, the Wishham took refuge in dwellings completely underground. “The entrance was by means of a ladder in a narrow passageway, and as there was no other opening, fire could not be built within. Cooking, therefore, was done outside or in another house, and the only light possible was an occasional cedar torch.” From The North American Indian, Volume 8.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 287 Evening on the Columbia
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 290 On Klickitat River (b) - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - The peaceful part of the river is a contrast to the unseen drama higher up where rock walls narrow and increase the cascade of water that rushes through, creating pools and opportunity for dip-net fishing. The plentiful salmon and steelhead were easy to gather in the pockets formed by the gushing water. <br> <br>"Fish, especially salmon, were plentiful far beyond their needs, and were so easily taken that the people were indolent and inert, lacking the initiative, the energetic force, the manliness characteristic of tribes whose livelihood must be gained largely by hinting. In common with most of the other tribes of the north Pacific coast, they were unusually licentious that chastity was practically unknown; and to a remarkable degree they lacked the tribal instinct, so that killing by hired assassins and by supposed magical means became a recognized practice of frequent occurrence." from Edward S. Curtis' "The North American Indian", Volume VIII
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 290 On Klickitat River (b)
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 405 Watching the Dancers - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Four young Hopi girls have their backs to the camera. Wearing traditional holiday dress they are watching dancer from a nearby rooftop. The adobe structure is simple, yet sturdy. <br> <br>Description by Edward Curtis: A group of girls on the topmost roof of Walpi, looking down into the plaza. <br> <br>"The Hopi reservation was established in 1882, but until the beginning of the twentieth century the people were practically independent of governmental authority. Since that time official supervision, assistance, and sometimes blundering interference in harmless religious and personal customs, has become more and more effective, and the result is the gradual abandonment of the old order. In 1906 not a maid at the East mesa kept her hair in the picturesque squash-blossom whorls indicative of the unmarried state." - Edward Curtis
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 405 Watching the Dancers
1906
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 469 The Smelt Fisher-Trinidad Yurok - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - A Yurok man throws his net into the incoming waves with the intention of catching smelt to eat. The ocean in the background is foggy and fades into nothingness so that the entire focus in on the fisherman. His dress looks modern, pants and a shirt and his hair is cut short. The Yoruk tribe was often on the coast of what is now California. <br> <br>“The surf-net used in smelt-fishing is a bag suspended on two diverging poles. At the bottom of the net proper is a restricted opening into a long net-bag, which is held in the fisherman's hand. Dipping and raising his net, he allows the imprisoned smelts to fall down into the bag, where they are securely held until he has enough to justify him in going ashore to empty it.” - Edward Curtis
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 469 The Smelt Fisher-Trinidad Yurok
1923
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 572 An Acoma Woman - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - In this photograph by Edward Curtis you see a young Acoma woman adorned with lots of jewelry including squash blossom necklaces. She is wearing a dark shawl and staring directly into the camera. Her hair is cut to have bangs. The photograph was manipulated by Edward Curtis to fade and is very artistically beautiful. <br> <br>"The Keres village of Acoma is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the United States. Perched on top of a mesa some three hundred and fifty feet above the surrounding valley, accessible by difficult trails partly cut in the solid rock of its precipice, it is no less picturesquely placed than Walpi. Under the name Acus it was first mentioned by Friar Marcos de Niza, discoverer of the Zuni towns." from Edward S. Curtis' "The North American Indian", Volume XVI
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 572 An Acoma Woman
1904
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Description by Curtis: For their feathers, which were used in many ways as ornaments and as fetishes, eagles were caught by a hunter concealed in a brush-covered pit. An elaborate ceremony took place for the pupose of placating the eagle spirits.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 634 Placating the Spirit of a Slain Eagle - Assiniboin
1926
Portfolio, 22x18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 638 A Medicine Head-Dress - Blackfoot - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - By long usage the term "medicine" in the sense of supernatural has become firmly fixed in the literature of American Indians, and especially the plains tribes. A head-dress of the sort here depicted consists of some part of the body, sometimes the entire skin, of the creature that appeared as a spirit in a dream of the wearer and instructed him how to have its help, especially in war.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 638 A Medicine Head-Dress - Blackfoot
1926
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 658 The Story of the Washita - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - In this Edward Curtis photo an elderly Cheyenne warrior remembers the famous yet devastating battle of the Washita in 1865. The battle was led by General Custer who was hoping to restore his reputation. He was so desperate to make an attack that he did not identify the camp or do any research into who they were. This lack of information led him to attack a peaceful Cheyenne tribe on reservation soil where they were promised safety by the US. The reservation was just outside Cheyenne Oklahoma. <br> <br>Custer ended up killing 103 people including women and children. It was spun to look good for Custer and was seen as a victory for the US. The Cheyenne however were not pleased, and one could surmise that the hatred he caused that day may have led to his death in the Battle of Little Bighorn. <br> <br>This image was printed by Edward S. Curtis in 1927 on Dutch Van Gelder paper. It is now available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 658 The Story of the Washita
1927
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 687 Peyote Drummer - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Regarding the Peyote Ceremony the leader, in prayerlike recital tells the story of peyote. “We are assembled in a sacred lodge for the worship of the Divine Ones; we know the Wakoda created all things, animal and plant. We know that He Himself created Peyote. Believing this, we know that He created it for our use, for our good. We know that we should not look upon Peyote as medicine, nor worship it as an idol, but rather regard it as a symbol of Wakoda, our Creator. We know that our minds, our thoughts, should be upon spiritual things while worshipping in this lodge.” <br> <br>After the peyote is ingested, the Leader addresses the member in words of admonition: “Remember the sacred nature of the meeting. Remember that we are worshipping Wakoda as instructed by him.” <br> <br>The leader, accompanied by the drummer, next chants the four sacred songs, meanwhile holding a staff and a wisp of sage in his left hand, and, in his right hand, a rattle with which he accompanies the chant. <br> <br>This worshipful time is followed by the Water Ceremony, which celebrates the earth, “Our Mother.” The song ends, the leader speaks, telling his followers of Wakoda’s creation of day, the coming of the sun; that through the spirit of water they have life. With the closing words he places the staff and rattle on the alter.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 687 Peyote Drummer
1927
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - *50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 707 Launching a Whale Boat - Cape Prince of Whales - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Portfolio 20. The Alaskan Eskimo. The Nunivak. The Eskimo of Hooper Bay. The Eskimo of King Island. The Eskimo of Little Diomede Island. The Eskimo of Cape Prince of Wales. The Kotzebue Eskimo. The Noatak. The Kobuk. The Selawik. <br> <br>Written by Curtis: The Eskimo of the Alaskan coast are expert whale-hunters, even with such seemingly flimsy skin craft as that shown here and in Plate 709.
*50% OFF OPPORTUNITY* Plate 707 Launching a Whale Boat - Cape Prince of Whales
1928
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - A Complete Portfolio III - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - COMPLETE PORTFOLIO III (1908): <br>Tribes: Teton Sioux, Yanktonai and Assiniboin. <br> <br>This complete portfolio consists of 35 large-format hand-pressed photogravures, paper type: Japon Vellum, with original title page list, and an original large folio case: The images were loose as issued in the original brown ¾ morocco portfolio with flaps and ties. <br> <br>“The North American Indian” took 16 years longer to complete than projected, and exceeded its budget by nearly $1.4 million. A complete set is valued at $1.8 to $2.6 today. Curtis’ project won support from such prominent and powerful figures as President Theodore Roosevelt and J. P. Morgan. <br> <br>Curtis’ work stands a monumental photo-ethnographic publishing project and an unrivaled masterpiece of visual anthropology. His images remain indelible in the American consciousness.
SOLD
A Complete Portfolio III
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - A Complete Portfolio XIX - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Portfolio IX from Edward S. Curtis, "The North American Indian" contains 36 photogravures. In this particular portfolio the images are printed on Deluxe Japanese Tissue paper. The tribes included are: Wichita, Washita, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Oto, Osage, Hunta Wakunta, and Comanche <br> <br> Edward Curtis photographed most of the images in this portfolio around 1927 and it is available at this time in our Aspen Art Gallery.
SOLD
A Complete Portfolio XIX
1927
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Complete Portfolio I - Tribes: Navaho, Apache, and Jicarilla - Paper type: Dutch Van Gelder - Portfolio, 1 3/4 x 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches
SOLD
Complete Portfolio I - Tribes: Navaho, Apache, and Jicarilla
1904
Portfolio, 1 3/4 x 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches
Paper type: Dutch Van Gelder

Edward S. Curtis - Complete Portfolio III - Tribes: Teton Sioux, Yanktonai and Assiniboin - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 1 3/4 x 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches - Edward Curtis (1868-1952) <br>COMPLETE PORTFOLIO III ~ “The North American Indian” <br> <br>Includes images such as: <br>“Plate 103 Red Cloud” <br>“Plate 80 An Oasis in the Badlands” <br>“Plate 84 Slow Bull” <br> <br>COMPLETE PORTFOLIO III (1907): A rare opportunity to acquire a complete portfolio. The complete portfolio we are offering consists of 36 large-format hand-pressed photogravures, paper type: Deluxe Japanese Tissue, with original title page list, and an original large folio case: The images were loose as issued in the original brown ¾ Morocco portfolio with flaps and ties. <br> <br>Tribes included in the portfolio: Teton Sioux, Yanktonai and Assiniboin <br> <br>Provenance: <br>Library of the University of Oregon <br>Private collector: Private Collector, MI. – Owned by the collector from 1980 to present. <br> <br>“The North American Indian” took 16 years longer to complete than projected and exceeded its budget by nearly $1.4 million. A complete set is valued at $1.8 to $3.5 today. Curtis’ project won support from such prominent and powerful figures as President Theodore Roosevelt and J. P. Morgan. <br> <br>We have two complete portfolios at this time. To my knowledge they are the only complete portfolios on the market at this time. Complete portfolios are very rare these days. <br> <br>Curtis’ work stands a monumental photo-ethnographic publishing project and an unrivaled masterpiece of visual anthropology. His images remain indelible in the American consciousness. <br> <br>Here is a link to a documentary about Edward Curtis. It is fabulous. <br>Https://www.makepeaceproductions.com/coming-to-light.html - If you haven’t watched this yet I would recommend taking the time, truly fascinating.
SOLD
Complete Portfolio III - Tribes: Teton Sioux, Yanktonai and Assiniboin
1907
Portfolio, 1 3/4 x 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Complete Portfolio V - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - This complete portfolio consists of 36 large-format hand-pressed photogravures, paper type: Japon Vellum, with original title page list, and an original large folio case: The images were loose as issued in the original brown ¾ morocco portfolio with flaps and ties. <br> <br>“The North American Indian” took 16 years longer to complete than projected, and exceeded its budget by nearly $1.4 million. A complete set is valued at $1.8 to $2.6 today. Curtis’ project won support from such prominent and powerful figures as President Theodore Roosevelt and J. P. Morgan. <br> <br>Curtis’ work stands a monumental photo-ethnographic publishing project and an unrivaled masterpiece of visual anthropology. His images remain indelible in the American consciousness.
SOLD
Complete Portfolio V
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 009 The Storm-Apache - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
SOLD
Plate 009 The Storm-Apache
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 013 The Scout-Apache - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - "No people could be better fitted than the Apache to conduct continuous predatory warefare. Every form of plant and animal life pays him tribute. An entirely naked Indian, without implements of any sort, would stop on a mountain slope and in a few minutes be sitting by a cheerful fire preparing a welcome meal. With a fragment of stone he would shape fire-sticks from the dead of a yucca. Sitting with the flattened piece held firmly by his feet, a pinch of sand at the point of contact between the two sticks, with a few deft whirls of the round stick over his improvised hearth the lone traveller would soon have a fire kindled."
SOLD
Plate 013 The Scout-Apache
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 026 A Chief of the Desert - Navaho - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - From Edward Curtis' North American Indian: This stunning image was described as: Picturing not only the individual but a characteristic member of the tribe - disdainful, energetic, and self-reliant. <br> <br>The North American Indian Portfolio's that this piece came out of pictured and described in unprecedented detail the Native Americans of the Western United States and Alaska. The volumes include some 1511 hand-printed illustrations (including 1505 photogravures, four maps, and two diagrams), as well as over 3000 pages of text and translations of languages and music. <br> <br>Many of these images are on display in our Aspen Art Gallery.
SOLD
Plate 026 A Chief of the Desert - Navaho
1904
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 029 Canon del Muerto - Navaho - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches
SOLD
Plate 029 Canon del Muerto - Navaho
1906
Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Provenance: University of San Diego (Incorporated California 1849)
SOLD
Plate 031 Nesjaja Hatali - Navaho
1904
Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 035 Hastobiga (Navaho Medicine Man) - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Though it differs throughout tribes, there are many similarities in Native American Medicine. The primary function of most medicine men is to secure the help of the spirits. Sometimes this help may be sought to heal illness, psyche, or to promote harmony between people or nature. Medicine men are not necessarily doctors or herbalists in the way many think. They provide more of a bridge between spiritual worlds and the human world. <br> <br>Photographed by Edward S. Curtis in 1904, "Hastobiga" was a Navajo Medicine man. In this image he is wearing a headband and what looks like a brown robe. He looks as if he is deep in thought. His pensive expression is deepened by the photographer’s choice to keep half of his face in a deep shadow. <br> <br> From Edward Curtis' North American Indian. Originally an edition of 500 sets was proposed, but only 214 sets were subscribed to, and another 60 were compiled and sold later. One set belonged to fabulously wealthy railroad magnate Edward Harriman, another of Curtis' patrons. It was Harriman that financed the 1899 Alaska expedition for which Curtis served as the original photographer, and which would provide the inspiration and impetus for Curtis' magnum opus, The North American Indian. Harriman’s set is of the highest quality available, printed on Indian Proof Paper (tissue) tipped in, and Dutch Van Gelder paper.
SOLD
Plate 035 Hastobiga (Navaho Medicine Man)
1904
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 041 Pima Baskets - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - The baskets made by the Pima, Papago, and Qahatika, as well as by their Maricopa neighbors, are almost identical in form and design. As captured in this image, the four-armed cross, a form of the swastika, appears as the central feature in the decoration of a majority of the Piman and Maricopa baskets. Although the true significance of this iconography is not known with certainty, it is theorized that the pattern originally represented the winds of the four cardinal directions. The swastika was also employed by the Pima to decorate their shields, and as a brand for their horses.
SOLD
Plate 041 Pima Baskets
1907
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 054 Qahatika Water Girl - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Edward Curtis did not write a description for this photograph depicting a young Qahatika girl. She is carrying an earthen vessel on her head containing water and is dressed in a typical brown robe. The picture was taken in 1907. <br> <br>Curtis Grew up in Poverty and his formal education ended in 6th grade. There is a chance that he related to the Native Americans in a way and this is why he thought it so important to photograph them. Whatever his motives were we are fortunate to have these images of a race that may have been totally lost otherwise.
SOLD
Plate 054 Qahatika Water Girl
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 076 The Medicine-Man - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - “Invocation and supplication enter so much into the life of the Indian that this picture of the grim old warrior invoking the Mysteries is most characteristic. The subject of the illustration is Slow Bull, whose biography is given in Volume III, page 189.” – Edward Curtis <br> <br>“All things passing understand are “waka.” When supplicating Waka-ta ka, the Indian conceives the Mystery as possessing and being all things that transcend his comprehension. After invoking successively each deity in his belief, he comprehends all in prayer, “Great Mystery!” and in the cry he has included all the forces of the universe, from that represented by the personal fetish on his body to the undefined consciousness of the infinite.” Volume III p 60 <br> <br>Slow Bull was born in 1844 and participated in his first war-party at fourteen, engaging in fifty-five battles over his lifetime. At seventeen he captured one hundred and seventy horses from the Apsaroke and “In the same year he received medicine from buffalo in a dream while he slept on a hilltop, not fasting, but resting from travel on the war-path.” <br> <br>He was 63 in this photogravure and had been the subchief of the Ogallala tribe for 30 years.
SOLD
Plate 076 The Medicine-Man
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 078 Two Strike - Sioux - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
SOLD
Plate 078 Two Strike - Sioux
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 092 Fast Elk - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Born 1838. He first went on the war path at age eighteen; the party searched for the Pawnee, but finding only a deserted village, returned. Fast Elk never led a war-party, but fought in four great battles with other tribes, and participated in the Fetterman massacre in 1866. He counted coup once in a fight with the Apsaroke, when their village on Pryer creek was surrounded by the Sioux.
SOLD
Plate 092 Fast Elk
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 093 Sioux Camp - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - It was customary for a war-party to ride in circles about the tipi of their chief before starting on a raid into the country of the enemy.
SOLD
Plate 093 Sioux Camp
1907
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 095 In the Land of the Sioux, 1905 - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - This Edward S. Curtis photograph depicts 3 Sioux Indians on horseback. They appear to be looking off to the right and are shown in typical Sioux landscape which could be anywhere in North or South Dakota or Montana. The land is characterized by broad rolling prairie and low hills. The figures are reflected in a buffalo-wallow a feature often seen in Sioux landscape. A buffalo wallow is a natural depression in the land that collects rainwater and runoff. In the time of the Sioux buffalo-wallows would serve as watering holes for wildlife, including the American bison. <br> <br>The three pictured here by Edward S. Curtis in the Badlands were Red Hawk, Crazy Thunder and Holy Skin all Ogalala Indians. This image was taken around 1905 and was printed on Dutch Van Gelder. The photogravure is currently for sale in our Edward S Curtis Gallery located in Aspen, Colorado.
SOLD
Plate 095 In the Land of the Sioux, 1905
1905
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 096 Ogalala Girls - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - This photograph was taken by Edward S. Curtis in 1905 in Ogalala territory. Ogalala, a subset of the Sioux could be found in North and South Dakota as well as Montana. Illustrated in this Edward Curtis photo are two women on horseback. Women of the Ogalala and many other plains tribes were natural horsewomen, generally the women of the Sioux were far better riders than most of the men. The reason for this great skill is that the women were often tied upon the backs of horses as infants and became accustomed at a very young age. <br> <br>This photogravure was printed on Dutch Van Gelder by Edward S. Curtis in 1905. It is now available for sale at our Aspen Art Gallery.
SOLD
Plate 096 Ogalala Girls
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 104 Crazy Thunder - Ogalala - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
SOLD
Plate 104 Crazy Thunder - Ogalala
1907
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 109 Invocation - Sioux - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - “Scattered throughout the Indian country are found spots that are virtually shrines. These are often boulders or other rocks which through some chance have been invested with mythic significance, and to them priest and war-leaders repair to invoke the aid of the supernatural powers. The half-buried boulder on which the suppliant stands is accredited with the power of revealing to the warrior the foreordained result of his projected raid. Its surface bears what the Indians call the imprint of human feet, and it is owing to this peculiarity that it became a shrine. About it the soil is almost completely worn away by the generations of suppliants who have journeyed hither for divine revelation” – Edward Curtis <br> <br>A medicine-man is called wichasha-waka, “man of mystery”. His power is derived from spirits that appear in visions, which he may have in his own tipi as he sleeps at night, or out upon a hill whither he has gone for the express purpose of becoming a medicine man, or in the observance of the Vision Cry. <br> <br>There were five principal religious rites; Sun Dance is the most important ceremony practiced by the Lakota (Sioux) and nearly all Plains Indians. It was a time of renewal for the tribe, people and earth. Vision Cry implores The Mystery for a vision. “Ghost Keeper," "Buffalo Chant" (puberty), and "Foster-parent Chant."
SOLD
Plate 109 Invocation - Sioux
1907
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 114 On the Little Big Horn - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
SOLD
Plate 114 On the Little Big Horn - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 116 Watching for the Signal - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - When there were indications that the war-party was near the enemy, a halt was made while the scouts reconnoitered the position of the hostile party. Their appearance on a distant hilltop was awaited by the main body with great anxiety, for if they were seen running in zigzag lines it meant that the enemy had been actually discovered. - Edward Curtis <br> <br>The chief rides off a short distance in the direction they are to go, <br>and some of his old men sit about him smoking and talking. Then <br>they move forward a distance and halt while the people complete <br>their preparations for the march. Now the line begins to form — <br>first the chiefs and old men; then a band of arrogant, gayly dressed <br>Lumpwoods, with newly stolen wives riding behind and carrying <br>their husbands’ shields and lances; next a body of clansmen with a <br>group of proud young wives bedecked in all their fi nery. Behind them <br>the column continues to form, family by family, each driving its herd <br>of horses, until at length come straggling by those who have been <br>slow in packing. A moving column of six hundred lodges is miles in <br>length and of a width determined by the groups of families or by the <br>nature of the country traversed. When they near the place the chief has <br>designated for the night’s camp, many of the grandfathers ride ahead <br>and select spots for their own lodges, clear the ground, and gather dry <br>wood. As the irregular line drags in, they stand beside their chosen <br>places, calling out to their wives where to come. If the weather be <br>cold, they already have kindled small fires, and now take down the <br>little children from the tops of the packs and hold them in the warmth <br>of the leaping flames. A splendid picture of the nomads’ life they made as the caravan moved across far-reaching plain, hill, and valley. The crossing of a broad stream added much to the animation of the scene. <br> <br>One summer, nine hundred and fifty lodges of Apsaroke went to the Yellowstone, intending to cross. As the water was very high and the river nearly half a mile in width, the Kick Bellys, numbering four hundred and fifty lodges, lost their courage, and would not attempt the crossing. <br>All the others, however, were unafraid and passed over. They used <br>no boats, but made small rafts of driftwood, laying the ends of the <br>lodge-poles on these rude craft, and allowing the tops to float on the <br>water behind. On the poles a large piece of old lodge-covering was <br>spread, and on that were piled the domestic belongings, the edges of <br>the skin being gathered up and tied at the top to protect the load from <br>splashing water. Perched upon this bundle rode the old women and <br>the children. Two young men grasped the manes of strong swimming <br>horses and swam along by their side, towing the raft across. Behind, <br>holding to the ends of the lodge-poles, swam the young women and <br>maidens, clad only in a short skirt reaching from waist to knee. It <br>was a time of great merriment and fun-making, yet one not without <br>its serious side, for a tottering old woman gazed long at the swirling <br>river and, declaring that she was not afraid to die but feared the water, <br>stabbed herself and fell lifeless. The crossing occupied four days, for <br>the current was swift, and many who had no horses were compelled <br>to wait for assistance from their relatives. Before going into the water <br>men and women painted red stripes about waist, wrists, and ankles, for <br>protection against the water-monsters that were believed to inhabit all <br>large streams. Necklaces of white beads were never worn in the water, for beads of that sort were believed to be hailstones, the symbol of the Thunderbird, a deadly enemy of water-monsters, which therefore <br>would be glad to swallow any one thus showing his friendship with <br>the Thunderbird.
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Plate 116 Watching for the Signal - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 119 In the Badlands - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - This striking picture was made at Sheep Mountain in the Bad Lands of Pine Ridge reservation, South Dakota. – Edward Curtis <br> <br>As with the Canon de Chelly, Curtis artistically captured a stark landscape made beautiful by the highlights and shadows of the craggy mountains. This dramatic backdrop not only exemplifies the difficult existence in the Badlands, but is also an artistic statement that brings focus to the three figures riding with full headdress. <br> <br>Not only the main chief of the Sioux wore a grand headdress, but there were many Soldier Chiefs among the tribe. These men appointed the individual soldiers within their patriarchal camps by donning “their war-bonnets and going tipi to tipi, shaking the hand of each man chosen. To be selected a Soldier was a distinct honor, to which only men of tried courage and strength, who had counted at least one undisputed coup (requires an actual contact with the enemy), could aspire. Red Cloud, before he became a chief, was always chosen Soldier Chief, for, being a man of indomitable courage, he carried out the chief’s orders with reckless disregard of consequences.” From The North American Indian, volume 3.
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Plate 119 In the Badlands
1904
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 124 Plenty Coups - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - As indicated by the name “Plenty Coups”, this Apsaroke man has seen and won many battles. Counting Coup is one of the highest honors in Native American culture, and men begin on the war path at a fairly young age. In this image Plenty Coups stares into the camera with distrust. His hair is also indicative of being a part of many battles and perhaps collecting scalps. <br> <br>Description by Edward S Curtis: Born 1847. Mountain Crow of the Whistle Water clan. When he was about sixteen years of age his brother was killed at Tongue river by the Sioux, and the boy climbed for two days to reach a peak in the Crazy mountains, there to give vent to his grief and to pray for revenge. He addressed the sun: "Father, the enemy have slain my brother. I wish them to cry often for my hand, and in return I give you my finger." Then he hacked off the end of his left index-finger, crying, "Father, my body is clean and pure; I give a portion of it to you. I am a poor young man; take pity on me." "In those days," says Plenty Coups, "no white man had defiled the mountains; the spirits dwelt there and I sought their power." He had at the time already been on the war-path, and now began to take the trail with great frequency, so that at the age of twenty-six he had counted a coup of each kind and was called chief. Subsequently his record was four coups of each of the four sorts-striking the first enemy in a battle, capturing a gun, taking a tethered horse from an enemy camp, and leading a successful war-party-and as no other Apsaroke could equal his achievements he became, on the death of Pretty Eagle in 1903, the chief of the tribe.
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Plate 124 Plenty Coups - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 125 Ready for the Charge - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 125 Ready for the Charge - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 126 Going to Camp - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Description by Edward Curtis: This picture was made at a small winter camp on Pryor creek in the Pryor Mountains, Montana. <br> <br>Heading away from the camera a small woman carries a large burden. She is likely carrying a large piece of firewood on her back to keep warm in the snowy conditions. The carrying and collecting of firewood was the women’s task in Apsaroke tribes. <br> <br>"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. Social laws, rigidly adhered to, prevented marriage of those even distantly related, and the hardships of their life as hunters eliminated infant weaklings. The rigors of this life made the women as strong as the men; and women who could carry a quarter of a buffalo apparently without great exertion, ride all day and all night with a raiding war-party, or travel afoot two hundred and fifty miles across an unmarked wilderness of mountains, plains, and swollen streams in four days and nights, were not the women to bring forth puny offspring."
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Plate 126 Going to Camp - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 129 For A Winter Campaign - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - It was not uncommon for Apsaroke war-parties, mounted or afoot, to move against the enemy in the depth of winter. See Volume IV, page 105, for the narrative of such an expedition. The warrior at the left wears the hooded overcoat of heavy blanket material that was generally adopted by the Apsaroke after the arrival of traders among them. The picture was made in a narrow valley among the Pryor mountains, Montana. - Edward Curtis <br> <br>In a short distance offensive, they would have traveled by horseback, but a long distance trek changed to travel on foot. A tale of a campaign against the Lakota and Cheyenne in winter gives us further idea as to how they travelled eleven days toward that confrontation. <br> <br>“A crier was sent to alert warriors to prepare for the winter expedition. With only one horse per warrior, and many days of travel, each brought only the clothes on their backs, extra moccasins, firearms and food. Most horses were not ridden, but herded, so as to keep them fresh for the battle. This left them to walk through midwinter snow in Montana.”
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Plate 129 For A Winter Campaign
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 131 The Scout in Winter - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 131 The Scout in Winter - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 133 Shot in the Hand - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches - This portrait, taken in profile is clearly of a very important man. His hair is done up to be very large with two braids on the side, indicating that he has done well in battle. He is wearing earrings and adorned in a very elaborate costume with what appears to be animal tails as fringe. It almost appears as if he is smiling perhaps proud of his great life and many achievements. <br> <br>Description by Edward Curtis: Born about 1841. Mountain Crow; Whistle Water clan; Fox organization. By fasting he obtained his hawk-medicine; it was his custom to make a powder of a hawk's heart, sweet-grass, and green paint, and to eat a portion of the mixture just before going into battle. Counted three "dakshe," captured three guns and one tethered horse, but lacked the medicine to become a war-leader. Once rushed up a height to strike the Piegan who were entrenched on the summit, when a shot brought him to the ground; he arose and charged again, and was again shot, this time rolling to the foot of the hill. Seven times he struck an enemy who was firing at him. After the suspension of intertribal hostilities the Ogalala chief Red Cloud, who boasted of having performed this feat four times, sent a challenge to the Apsaroke to produce a man who could equal the record, and Shot In The Hand was promptly named. Shot In The Hand played a spectacular part in the battle against the Sioux on Pryor creek. On another occasion he dismounted beside his father, who had been shot in the thigh, and though the latter was killed the son was rescued, wounded in the arm. Four times in as many different fights he seized an unharmed enemy by the hair and hurled him from his horse. He once accepted the staff of the Foxes, but there was no occasion to use it that summer. He "threw away" seven of his eight wives.
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Plate 133 Shot in the Hand - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 134 Swallow Bird - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 134 Swallow Bird - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 135 Fish Shows - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22x18 inches - Fish Shows was photographed by Edward S. Curtis in 1908. He was born in 1848 making him about 60 in this image. Born on the Shoshone River near the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. He is surprisingly healthy looking for a man of 60 in his time especially after starting a life of battle at sixteen. He was on the war path about forty times in his life span, but was not highly honored. <br> <br>One of Edward S. Curtis’ photographs from his North American Indian project, this piece is printed on Deluxe Japanese Tissue. The vintage original piece is for sale in our Edward S. Curtis Gallery in Aspen Colorado.
SOLD
Plate 135 Fish Shows - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22x18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 138 Successful Raid for Horses - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
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Plate 138 Successful Raid for Horses - Apsaroke
1905
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 140 A Mountain Fastness - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Description by Edward S Curtis: The Apsaroke lived much among the mountains, and nowhere do they seem more at home than on the streams and in the cañons of their forested ranges. <br> <br>This images pictures a handful of men on horseback riding through a shallow creek. They are encompassed in trees and you can see a bit of the mountain that they are in the shadow of. <br> <br>In the old times the Apsaroke, during a large part of the year, were constantly on the move. One day they would be quietly encamped on one of their favorite streams, the next travelling away in quest of buffalo or solely for the mere pleasure of going. Their customary camps were along the mountain streams, where the lodges were commonly placed in a circle, but at times, where the valley was narrow, they were close together, paralleling the wooded watercourse.
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Plate 140 A Mountain Fastness - Apsaroke
1905
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 141 Apsaroke Medicine Tipi - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - The Apsaroke medicine-men usually painted their lodges according to the visions received while fasting and supplicating their spirits. This tipi was painted dark red, with various symbols on the covering. No man would dare so to decorate a tipi without having received his instructions in revelation from the spirits.
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Plate 141 Apsaroke Medicine Tipi
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 142 Wolf - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Description by Edward S Curtis: Born 1857. Mountain Crow; Not Mixed clan; Fox organization. His medicine of wolf was obtained by purchase. He has to his credit a "dakshe" and a captured gun, both honors having been won at the same time, when he rushed into a protected hollow where were concealed two Yanktonai who had already killed three and wounded two of the attacking Apsaroke. Again, when a party of seven turned back without finding an enemy, Wolf alone went forward and captured a tethered horse from the camp. In pursuing some Yanktonai who had taken Apsaroke horses, he and a companion charged; his horse went down, and as he arose he himself was shot. <br> <br>This fabulous image of "Wolf" displays an elderly Apsaroke holding a long stick, probably a weapon of some sort. His hair suggests that he has won many scalps, or has done well in battle. He is wearing multiple necklaces as well as other interesting jewelry. Wolf is also painted with a white pigment and wearing a fur around his waist.
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Plate 142 Wolf - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 143 Lone Tree - Apsaroke - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - A biographical sketch of this chief and medicine man appears in Volume IV, page 202.
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Plate 143 Lone Tree - Apsaroke
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 147 Apsaroke War Group - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - This image taken by photographer Edward S. Curtis displays warriors of either the Lumpwood or Fox societies. Lumpwood and Fox are both tribal military organizations which inspired native men to be fierce and brave in battle. Each society had four staffs, which had symbolic uses in war, two straight staffs and two that were bent at the end. <br> <br>Each spring new staffs were produced and given to brave members. Those who were given a staff then were responsible for making a lone stand against the enemy in battle. They would plan the staff into the ground in a place which the warrior would not retreat past. It was known that the staff holder may have to die if necessary. After a season of warfare had passed, if the staff bearer was still alive he would then take the staff as a trophy. <br> <br>The curved staffs would be wound with narrow strips of deerskin an outer covering of strips of otter skin, with tails hanging down. The straight staffs bore a tuft of eagle feathers at its top. Interestingly, it was not considered a disgrace to refuse the staff, for it was known that it was not something to take lightly and if a man felt that he was not ready to die he could decline without ruining his reputation. <br> <br>In this photograph by Edward S. Curtis the warrior on the right holds a curved staff and would be the bearer of the great responsibility described above. The photo was taken in 1905. This incredibly fine image is available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery.
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Plate 147 Apsaroke War Group
1905
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 153 Sitting Bear - Arikara - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 153 Sitting Bear - Arikara
1908
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 169 The Land of the Atsina - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Edward S. Curtis documented the Atsina’s in his portfolio and volume five for the North American Indian project. This image called, “The Land of the Atsina” show a procession of riders crossing Atsina Land. The Atsina would have been located in Montana and migrated between the Missouri and Askaw rivers. <br> <br>This image was taken in 1908 and printed on Japon Vellum. It is available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery.
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Plate 169 The Land of the Atsina
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 178 War Party's Farewell - Atsina - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
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Plate 178 War Party's Farewell - Atsina
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 179 Atsina Warriors - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 17 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches
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Plate 179 Atsina Warriors
1908
Portfolio, 17 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches
Vintage Photogravure

The war-party sent scouts in advance, who kept a constant lookout for the enemy. From time to time they returned to the main party to report, and when they were sighted the warriors formed in line and chanted a song of welcome.
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Plate 181 Awaiting the Scout's Return - Atsina
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 182 The Scouts Report - Atsina - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - The Chief of the scouts, returning to the main party, tells in the vigorous and picturesque language so natural to the Indians what he has seen and experienced. While he speaks, the war-leader stands slightly in advance of his men, and carefully listening to the words of the scout, quickly forms his plan of action. – Edward Curtis <br> <br>The Atsina tribe is interesting to follow, but not easy. "The Atsina, commonly designated Gros Ventres (Big Belly) of the Prairie, are of the Algonquian stock and a branch of the Arapaho. Their name for themselves is "Aaninen," Atsina being their Blackfoot name. Judging by their vague tradition, their original separation from the Arapaho must have occurred in early times; but care should be taken not to confuse this primal separation with their return to the north from an extended visit to the Arapaho during the last century." <br> <br>Edward Curtis, in Volume V, describes the territories where they resided as difficult to pin down, and chose to spend the first four pages creating a picture of the Atsina through the stories of their battles. This photogravure is then a snapshot of what must have occurred over and over in the history of this tribe. <br> <br>In the first recited battle - Close to defeat, a single gunshot from the first and only gun possessed by the Atsina. The earliest intertribal battle known in their traditions occurred when the tribe moved back to the north and into Shoshone territory. They were greatly outnumbered and were on the verge of being defeated when the lone gun in both tribes was used to shoot one of the Shoshone. Not being familiar with a firearm they “looked upon the mysterious killing as due to some spiritual power, and fled in terror.” <br> <br>The stories found in Volume V of The North American Indian go on to describe the superiority they gained by acquiring horses, the losses they suffered when over-powered in winter and the decimation as they retreated in starvation.
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Plate 182 The Scouts Report - Atsina
1908
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 184 The Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - This photograph was taken by Edward S. Curtis in 1910 near the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The river pictured is called Two Medicine River where three Piegan are stopped to rest. This is a characteristic scene of the western Piegan country, where the land becomes a bit rougher and eventually turn into mountains. This majestic image is printed on Dutch Van Gelder paper and is available for sale at our Aspen Art Gallery
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Plate 184 The Piegan
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 186 Painted Lodges - Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - <br>Taken by artist Edward S. Curtis, this beautiful Piegan scene depicts a large camp of tipis in which a few have been painted. Known to have some of the larges tipis of the plains Indians, Piegan often painted their lodges. The imagery could display the owner’s career, life as a warrior, or something seen in a vision. Most likely the tipi seen here is an imitation of a tipi seen in a vision. <br> <br>This image was taken by Edward S. Curtis in 1900, around the very beginning of his project The North American Indian. It was printed on Dutch Van Gelder paper and is currently for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery. Another great example of a painted tipi is Edward S. Curtis photo, “Plate 141 Apsaroke Medicine Tipi” which you can find on our website.
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Plate 186 Painted Lodges - Piegan
1900
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 190 Two Bear Woman - Piegan - Vintage Goldtone - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 190 Two Bear Woman - Piegan
1911
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Goldtone

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 196 Yellow Kidney - Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 196 Yellow Kidney - Piegan
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 198 A Grizzly Bear Brave- Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches - Like the famous portrait “Bears Belly” a Grizzly bear brave was also a member of the Grizzly-bear Braves. He wears a bear pelt and carries what is either a bow or a spear. Standing on a hill gives this piece a compelling composition and the subject’s intense stare is captivating. <br> <br>Description by Edward Curtis: At least two of the Piegan Warrior societies (the Braves and the All Brave Dogs) included in their membership two men known as Grizzly-bear Braves. It was their duty, at the time of the society dances, to provide their comrades with meat, which they appropriated wherever they could find it. Their expression and demeanor did justice to their name, and in their official capacity they were generally feared by the people.
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Plate 198 A Grizzly Bear Brave- Piegan
1910
Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 200 New Chest - Piegan - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Pictured by Edward S. Curtis as if he was a Greek God, New Chest has a halo of light surrounding his strong facial features. Wearing traditional dress, but no headdress. Traditional dress for the Piegan would be deerskin clothing with ornamentation made from porcupine quills and beads made of silver-berry seeds. Of the Piegan tribe which means he could have been located in either Canada or Montana. This photogravure by Edward S. Curtis was printed in 1910 on Dutch Van Gelder paper. It is now available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery.
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Plate 200 New Chest - Piegan
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Curtis' Description: The accoutrement of this brave (Apohsuyis) comprises the well-known war-bonnet of eagle-feathers and weasel-skins, deerskin shirt, bone necklace, grizzly-bear claw necklace, and tomahawk-pipe of Hudson's Bay Company origin.
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Plate 203 Weasel Tail - Piegan
1900
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 206 Iron Breast - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 206 Iron Breast
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 207 Piegan Encampment - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 18 x 22 inches - The camp was a combined one of the Piegan and many visitors from the Piegan of the north, the bloods, and the Blackfeet, in all some 230 lodges. If this poor remnant of a once so powerful tribe proved such an awe inspiring sight, what must it have been at the height of their existence! Red Plume describes the camp of his people when he was a youth as a circle a mile or more in diameter and in some places sixteen lodges deep. To have such a vast camp would have been worth long privation and hardship <br> <br>Their lodges of buffalo skins and later of canvas, were of common tipi form. The testimony of the old men is that they used skin lodges while still in the forest, but this would seem doubtful, particularly as to their winter habitations. They likely begun gradually to use them as they moved southward on their hunting expeditions. The one distinctive feature of Piegan lodges is the characteristic decoration of the inner lining. They, like other Indians, often painted their lodges, so as to indicate either the coups of the owner or his medicine, or sometimes both.
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Plate 207 Piegan Encampment
1910
Portfolio: 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 208 A Piegan Dandy - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - One of the most striking subjects in the entire Edward Curtis collection. <br>The Sun Dance or “Okun” - This costume may be prominent in the ceremony for the Piegan the principal deity; the sun or "Napiw," who was called upon for supernatural aid. <br> <br>As with many North American Indian tribes, the sun was the main deity. Many celestial bodies are here to focus of “supplication in Prayer by any individual who desired supernatural aid, whether or not he or she had ever seen in a vision the one so addressed.” <br> <br>The influence of tribes upon each other was witnessed by Edward Curtis as he learned of similar rituals.
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Plate 208 A Piegan Dandy
1900
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 212 Cheyenne Girl - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - In this picture, taken by Edward Curtis in 1905, a young Cheyenne girl poses for the camera. She is wearing simple earrings, necklaces and a beaded ornamental garment. Her expression is skeptical with one eyebrow higher than the other. Her hair is in two long braids and he dress is quite simple.
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Plate 212 Cheyenne Girl
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 213 Two Moons - Cheyenne - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 213 Two Moons - Cheyenne
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 221 Wife of Mnainak - Yakima - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Description by Edward Curtis: Mnainak, son of the former chief of the Columbia River village Skin at the north side of Celilo falls, is probably the man of greatest influence among the remnant of the cognate bands that constitute the Yakima. <br> <br>This photogravure by Edward Curtis pictures a middle aged woman wearing an elaborately beaded shirt and cap. Her hair is in two braids and she is staring directly at the camera, confronting the viewer. The draped background serves as great contrast to the figure. <br> <br>Quote from Edward S. Curtis' North American Indian: "At the time of the earliest explorations in the pacific Northwest the watershed of the Yakima river in south-central Washington, from its mouth to the vicinity of Kittias creek, was held by small bands of Shahaptian stock. They were very loosely bound together, and in their speech were, and are, many dialectic differences. Yet they fell into several geographical divisions, within which there were certain degrees of cohesiveness, the component bands occupying their respective territories to the exclusion of others, but regarding themselves as closely related."
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Plate 221 Wife of Mnainak - Yakima
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 223 A Camp of the Yakima - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Plate 233 “A Camp of the Yakima” was taken by photographer Edward S. Curtis in 1909. The image depicts a small camp of Yakima tipis likely located in Washington as that was Yakima territory. The image must have been taken in the summer for that is when the tribe used tipi’s as lodging. In the winter months the walls would be banked with mud up to about 3 feet for warmth. This piece is printed on Japon Vellum and is available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery.
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Plate 223 A Camp of the Yakima
1909
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 226 Klickitat Profile - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches - Printed by photographer Edward S. Curtis in 1910, this image displays a profile of a Klickitat man. Wearing what is probably breech cloth which was the typical dress until they adopted the plains Indians style of dress. The Klickitat were located in southern Washington. This piece is printed on Deluxe Japanese Tissue and is available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery.
SOLD
Plate 226 Klickitat Profile
1910
Portfolio: 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 229 A Flathead Chief - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - An elderly chief with his hair done in many braids stares questioningly in to the camera. The sideways light source shows his deeply wrinkled face and his garment appears to made of hide. He is holding some sort of gun and has a long bone necklace. <br> <br>Flathead description by Edward Curtis: 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.
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Plate 229 A Flathead Chief
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 231 Flathead Camp - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Taken by Edward S. Curtis in 1910, this image depicts a small camp tucked into the trees in what could have Washington, Idaho, or Montana where the Flathead resided. The flathead tribe were known to have many horses which resulted often in invasions by less fortunate tribes. This atmospheric piece was printed in 1910 by Edward S. Curtis for his North American Indian project. The piece is printed on Japon Vellum and is for sale at our Aspen Art Gallery.
SOLD
Plate 231 Flathead Camp
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Description by Curtis: From time out of mind the Kalispel have been boatmen, and they are one of the few inland tribes that still possess and use craft of native manufacture. Their canoes are made of pine-bark and cedar strips, seams caulked w/ spruce gum
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Plate 240 Kalispel Scene
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Provenance: Library of the University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennesse
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Plate 244 Nespilim Man
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 246 Nespilim Girl - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - A very beautiful young Nespilim girl is standing in front of the forest. She is holding a branch with many leaves and looking down as if saddened. She is holding a small beaded bag and wearing a long white deerskin dress. Her hair is in two braids as is common of her people and other tribes East of the Rocky Mountains. <br> <br>Caption by Edward Curtis: In the early years of the nineteenth century various explorers noted that the bands dwelling along the upper course of the Columbia, among which the Nespilim were included, wore practically no clothing. Excepting as the cold made some protection necessary. The hair of the women was arranged in two knots at the sides of the face? A method of hairdressing still in vogue among the Salish on Fraser River. Prior to the middle of the century the use of deerskin garments had become common, and gradually other customs such as the style of hairdressing here illustrated, were borrowed from the tribes east of the Rocky mountains
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Plate 246 Nespilim Girl
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 247 Luqaiot - Kittitas - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - A proud looking man, Luqaiot stares to the right with his chin held high. Brightly lit one can see many years of age in his face. His hair is long, but very simply done. And his garment has a few feather accents and details. <br> <br>Caption by Edward S. Curtis: The original of this portrait is a son Owhi (Ohai), who as chief of the Salishan band inhabiting Kittitas valley, Washington, at first appeared to favor the Stevens treaty of 1855, but a few months later was drawn into the Indian uprising by the act of another son, Qahlchun, in killing some prospectors. At the termination of hostilities Luqaiot made his permanent home among the Spokan, taking for his wife the daughter of a Spokan chief and widow of his executed brother Qahlchun. Luqaiot's recollections of the events of these times will be found scattered through the account of the Yakima war in Volume VII.
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Plate 247 Luqaiot - Kittitas
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 252 Crossing the Lake - Kutenai - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Crossing the Lake was taken by photographer Edward S. Curtis in 1910. A tranquil scene of a few Kutenai rowing a beautifully built canoe to cross the lake. The Kutenai lived in mountainous areas with many lakes and thus became excellent boaters. The boat would be formed over a framework of split-fir and made of pine or spruce bark. Edward Curtis printed this piece on Japon Vellum and is available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery.
SOLD
Plate 252 Crossing the Lake - Kutenai
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 253 Kutenai Girls - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Three young Kutenai girls stand beside their canoe on the shore of the lake. Each is wearing a long dress and have their backs toward the camera. This is great image of the beautifully built Kutenai Canoes. The background fades into distant trees and hills. <br> <br> "The Kutenai are not known to be linguistically related to any other tribe... It may be concluded, therefore, that in at least comparatively early times the Kutenai tribe lost its unity, and the resultant bands spread southward across the narrow divide between the Columbia and the Kootenay and down the later river." – Edward Curtis <br> <br>"The reservation Kutenai in the United States have profited even less than most tribes by association with civilization. A more ragged, filthy, idle, and altogether hopeless-looking community of ophlamic and crippled gamblers it would be difficult to find on a reservation. Their degradation is the more regrettable since the Kutenai physiognomy seems to promise much. It is far less heavy and gross than the Plains type or the types of the surrounding plateau area. It is such as one associates with intelligence and character and one cannot escape the feeling that an opportunity was lost when the Kutenai were permitted to sink to their present level."- Edward S. Curtis
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Plate 253 Kutenai Girls
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 254 Kutenai Camp - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 254 Kutenai Camp
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 257 Yellow Bull - Nez Perce - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - As a member of the family which was more than once responsible for precipitating the Nez Perce outbreak of 1877, Yellow Bull proved a source of much valuable information. His son Walaituts was one of the three men who murdered the first white settlers in this conflict.” - Edward Curtis <br> <br>During the onset of this event, Chief Joseph and the other proponents of peace were not in the Nez Perce camp at the onset of this event. Had the peacemaker been, he may have been able to quell the hot-headed youth. As the genesis of the Uprising in 1877, a young Indian, Walaituts was goaded by others into the retribution for the murder of his father by one of the local settlers. In their revenge they killed three. When the news reached the camp, the men knew there would be consequences and the outbreak then escalated. <br> <br>Yellow Bull is an important figure in the effort to bring a peaceful outcome to the settlement of the Nez Perce and was photographed at the funeral of Chief Joseph, wearing the headdress of his good friend. That was 1904, one year after the portraits of these two friends were taken by Edward Curtis.
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Plate 257 Yellow Bull - Nez Perce
1903
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 260 Night Scout - Nez Perce - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Taken at night by photographer Edward S. Curtis this image displays a Nez Perce scout on horseback. Possibly looking for buffalo or more likely looking for approaching enemies. The subtle details of his moccasins and the grasses stand out against the darkness of the piece. Printed by Edward S. Curtis in 1910 on Dutch Van Gelder paper. The pieces is available for sale at our Aspen Art Gallery.
SOLD
Plate 260 Night Scout - Nez Perce
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 261 Watching for the Signal - Nez Perce - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - This image is a rare nocturne taken by Edward Curtis. The photogravure depicts two men on horseback. The picture is taken from below and makes the men look almost God-like in presence. <br> <br>"The Nez Perces were primarily a fish eating people living in established villages, but they also depended largely on the many varieties of roots which were so abundant in their inter-montane region. It is likely that they went to buffalo country little, if at all, previous to their acquisition of horses, and even after that event but a small part of the tribe engaged in these hunting expeditions." - Edward Curtis
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Plate 261 Watching for the Signal - Nez Perce
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 263 Nez Perce Brave - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - A strong featured Nez Perce warrior poses in full headdress and adornments. He is holding a large white wing and is in profile. His hair flows long and outside of the perimeter of the picture. Taken by Edward S. Curtis for his 8th portfolio in The North American Indian in 1905. The piece is printed on Dutch Van Gelder paper and is available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery. <br> <br>"The Nez Perces were a loosely associated group of local bands, each possessing its own territory and own chief. It is true that they had a collective name for these bands, and that there were occasions when perhaps the greater part were in one camp, as at the camps meadows or during fall fishing in the Wallowa and the Salmon. Nevertheless there was in reality no tribal organization. The bands were kindred, spoke the same language, and associated for mutual defense; but they remained distinct." from "The North American Indian", Volume III, Edward S. Curtis
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Plate 263 Nez Perce Brave
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 265 Black Eagle - Nez Perce - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - At the age of 16, Black Eagle, a big strong Indian worked alongside Chief Joseph in the uprising of 1877. He demanded respect and got it. <br> <br>There is a tale regarding Black Eagles ability with horses, and one in particular. When he left the reservation and joined a rodeo, he left behind a horse with which he had a special relationship. A young man attempted to catch this horse many times, but did not succeed. When Black Eagle returned, he called the horses name, whistled and held out his hat. The horse immediately approached and put his nose the hat. <br> <br>The “pompadour”, seen in many of Edward Curtis portraits, replaced the archetypal look of two braids with bangs worn prior to the 1890’s.
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Plate 265 Black Eagle - Nez Perce
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 267 Piopio - Maks Maks - Walla Walla - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 267 Piopio - Maks Maks - Walla Walla
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 271 A War Chief - Nez Perce - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
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Plate 271 A War Chief - Nez Perce
1905
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 274 Wishham Fisherman - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - “Among the middle course of the Columbia at places where the abruptness of the shore and the up-stream set of an eddy make such method possible, salmon were taken, and still are taken, by means of a long-hauled dip-net. At favorable seasons a man will, in a few hours, secure several hundred salmon - as many as the matrons and girls of his household can care for in a day.” – Edward Curtis <br> <br>The Wishham did not follow game, nor wander from their villages on the Columbia river. Neither were they hunters of buffalo, nor farmers. They depended upon the fish taken from the river and surrounding plants. As such their homes were permanent structures of timbers and planks located close to the river. <br> <br>Their position on the river being one of the very best for taking fish, the Wishham had an unlimited supply for their own use and ample stores for barter, which gave them everything they needed. Volume VIII of The North American Indian
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Plate 274 Wishham Fisherman
1909
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 303 Quilcene Boy - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 303 Quilcene Boy
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 318 Homeward - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
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Plate 318 Homeward
1898
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Provenance: University of San Diego (Incorporated California 1849)
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Plate 424 A Walpi Man
1904
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 432 The Piki Maker - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - This young Hopi maiden is pictured here making piki, a cornbread that is cooked by spreading the batter upon the baking stone with the bare hand. This small baking area just fits one person and she has a basket on her left side for collecting the baked pieces of bread. The subject’s hair has been twisted on either side of her head and she is wearing a simple long brown cloth dress. <br> <br>“Piki is cornbread baked in colored sheets of paper-like thinness. The batter is spread on the baking stone with the bare hand, and the quickly baked sheet is folded and laid on the basket at the baker's left.” - Edward Curtis
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Plate 432 The Piki Maker
1906
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

The subject of this plate, in deerskin suit and feathered war-bonnet of the Plains culture, is shown against a background of Crater lake and its precipitous rim towering a thousand feet above the water.
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Plate 470 The Chief - Klamath
1923
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Description by Edward S. Curtis: The Mono inhabit east-central California from Owens lake to the head of the southerly affluents of Walker river. The snow-capped Sierra Nevada rises abruptly on the western border of this inland basin.
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Plate 533 A Mono Home
1924
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 544 Taos Water Girls - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Two Taos young women carry large water jugs upon their heads through the forest. Dressed in long dark dresses that drape all the way around their face. They have a clearly used path in a wooded area. <br> <br>The people of Taos, northernmost of all pueblos, and those of Picuris, a mountain village about 20 miles southeastward, speak the same tongue, a dialect of the Tiwa branch of the Tanoan stock language. - Edward Curtis
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Plate 544 Taos Water Girls
1905
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 545 Lahla ("Willow") - Taos - Vintage Photogravure - Portolio, 18 x 22 inches - This handsome Taos man has strong Native American features framed by a white draping around his head. Looking off to the side and slight upwards this man looks as if he is longing for something, perhaps the past. The lighting is ethereal giving him an almost god-like appearance. Contrasted by the dark brown background, this portrait stands out as one of Edward S. Curtis’ finest works.
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Plate 545 Lahla ("Willow") - Taos
1905
Portolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Provenance: Library of the University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennesee
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Plate 546 North Pueblo at Taos
1925
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 547 Walvia ("Medicine Root") Taos - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Much like Curtis’ photogravure of “Willow” a handsome Taos man, Walvia represents the female characteristic type of a Taos woman. Almost in a trance, she stares out into the distance with light reflecting in her eyes. Long bangs frame her soft yet strong features and a draped white fabric surrounds her face neck and body. The Taos people were in intelligent and strong community, and created some of the most interesting structures still existing today from Native American Culture.
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Plate 547 Walvia ("Medicine Root") Taos
1926
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 552 A Jemez Fiscal - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - An important man in the community this Jemez man is considered a “Fiscal”. His job requirements were like that of a governor and included supervising activities related to the church. He was in charge of such important matters as burial of the dead and the maintenance and care of the church itself. While the Christian church was somewhat forced upon the Taos Pueblo people, it never became an integral part of life for them. The Spanish attempt to bring Christianity to the Native Americans in all tribes was generally a failed venture. <br> <br>In this photogravure by Edward Curtis the Jemez man and Fiscal looks directly into the camera. He is adorned with multiple necklaces and wearing a patterned cape. Often seen in Curtis’ images he is wearing a tied cloth bandana around his forehead. The background is light and is perhaps the side of an adobe structure.
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Plate 552 A Jemez Fiscal
1925
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 559 On a Sia Housetop - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - This elderly woman is pictured on a Sia housetop with the desert landscape in the background. The adobe walls are cracked but strong. She holds a beautifully deigned vessel upon her lap and is wearing a large squash blossom necklace. He dress is long and brown with small details making it a beautiful piece. Her hair is cut into a stylish “bob” with bangs. This was photographed by Edward Curtis in 1925. <br> <br>" The Keres Indians, a distinct linguistic stock, are found in seven pueblos, five of which are on the Rio Grande and its affluent Rio Jemez, and two nearly a hundred miles southwestward. The eastern group are Cochiti, Santo Domingo, and san Felipe on the Rio Grande, and Santa Ana and Sia on Rio Jemez. The western pueblos are Acoma and Laguna." - Edward Curtis
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Plate 559 On a Sia Housetop
1925
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Provenance: Library of the University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennesee
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Plate 566 Acoma from the South
1904
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 571 At the Old Well of Acoma - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 18 x 22 inches - These young women are pictured collecting water on the rock of Acoma using beautiful earthen vessels. This specific spot was noted in 1540 by Coronado’s explorers as a place to collect snow and water. The soft ripples in the water, in contrast to the harsh and dominating rocks make a beautiful juxtaposition in this photogravure taken by Edward S Curtis.
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Plate 571 At the Old Well of Acoma
1904
Portfolio: 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 579 Paguate Watchtower - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - A Paguate Watchtower is a significant edifice. <br> <br>The oldest and largest of the outlying pueblos, equaling, if not slightly exceeding, Laguna in population is Paguate, separated from the mother pueblo by eight miles of difficult road and perched on a slightly elevated rocky eminence overlooking a small valley. The original Indian settlement at Paguate was an outpost established for the purpose of checking the Navaho. From Volume 16 of The North American Indian. <br> <br>This outpost is a stone structure built in three levels. The lower level was used for storing corn and wheat, the middle level was used for grinding the grains; and the upper level, accessible only by ladder, was used as a lookout and for protection of women and children during the Apache and Navajo raids. It was also used at times as a shelter for men and women who had journeyed for the day from the village of Laguna to farm the Paguate valley.
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Plate 579 Paguate Watchtower
1925
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 592 Offering to the Sun - San Ildefonso - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Two ceremonially significant days were the winter and summer solstices. The midwinter prayer to the sun is the opportunity for the War Chief to give a message to the people. <br> <br>The prayer of the War Chief extended beyond himself when he goes out and passes from place to place, offering meal and praying. Also, at this time he calls aloud at several places, arousing the sleepers: “My dear people of the pueblo, I wish you to get up. Let all be thankful that a new day comes. Let us pray for good health and good luck and long life. Let all pray to the east. For I am the war-chief and I am not able to pray for all of you alone. I must have help. Please come forth and help me, and ask for what we need for this new year. We must have good luck for our crops and our stock and our children. Let us all try to help one another, each one adding to his prayer.” From Volume 16 of The North American Indian by Edward Sheriff Curtis
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Plate 592 Offering to the Sun - San Ildefonso
1925
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 600 Tesuque Buffalo Dancers - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - The Buffalo dance is performed, though the original object of exerting prenatural influence on the abundance and accessibility of the buffalo no longer prevails. The two male dancers are accompanied by the Buffalo Girl, who is fully clothed in native costume and has a pair of small horns on the head. These three give a very striking and dramatic performance under the watchful eye of the head of the hunters' society. – Edward Curtis <br> <br>There are many secretive ceremonies that were not revealed to white men, but the public dances had not esoteric rites of a secret society nor vulgarities objectionable to American spectators. <br>In some of these dances game animals are personated, and on such occasions, which fall only in winter, the head of the hunters’ society, is the master of ceremonies. The underlying thought of the animal dances is to increase the supply of game. <br> <br>The buffalo dance (Koo-hyare) is celebrated early in January. The performers are two men, a girl, and the head of the hunters’ society. The men are painted black above the waist, white from waist to knees, yellow below the knees. Small bells and eagle-feathers dangle from yarn leg-bands. On the head, but not concealing the face, is a striking mask of buffalo-hair and horns. The girl is fully clothed in native costume, including white leggings and moccasins with skunk-fur anklets, and a black manta. On her head is a pair of small horns, and down the back hangs a band of turkey-feathers terminating with an eagle-tail. This is a very strenuous dance, and the performers, of whom there are two sets which appear alternately, are under training with the singers and the war-chiefs for five nights in the kiva. The dance is a striking one. Scarcely moving from their places, the performers portray the actions of the buffalo, hunted, stampeding, charging, drooping with exhaustions, reviving for another effort to escape, all this in faultless accord with the sudden changes of tempo in the songs. Before they finish they are dripping perspiration, and the seasoned observer of native dancing, astonished that an Indian girl, usually the personification of deliberation in movement, can use her feet with such incredible rapidity and vigor; wonders even more at the source of their stamina in keeping the rhythm during the four repetitions of a rather extended song. Watchfully guarding the Buffalo is Pika, with his deerskin suit, his cougar-skin quiver and cougar-claw necklace, and his baldric of deerskin.
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Plate 600 Tesuque Buffalo Dancers
1925
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 606 Grinding Medicine-Zuni - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Medicine and mineral pigments are ground in small stone mortars by means of a water-worn pebble. - Edward Curtis <br> <br>Medicine men in Native tribes served many purposes. Often, they were more of a spiritual guide than a “doctor” in the traditional sense providing a bridge between the spiritual world and the human world. This Zuni Medicine man grinds together medicine and mineral pigments to serve his purpose. We are viewing the subject from behind giving him an air of mystery in his work. He lays on what appears to be a towel upon stone. <br> <br>The Zuni are a federally recognized Native American tribe, one of the Pueblo peoples. Most live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, in western New Mexico, United States. Zuni is 55 km (34 mi) south of Gallup, New Mexico. In addition to the reservation, the tribe owns trust lands in Catron County, New Mexico and Apache County, Arizona. They called their homeland Shiwinnaqin.
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Plate 606 Grinding Medicine-Zuni
1925
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 607 A Zuni Governor - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - This man appears to be of middle age and is considered a Zuni governor. His appearance is typical of Zuni people. He stares intently into the distance looking as if he is planning great things. He wears a dark brown blanket and a cloth headband. This photogravure was taken by Edward S. Curtis in 1926, nearing the end of his massive project, “The North American Indian”. Printed on Dutch Van Gelder Paper, this image is on display in our Aspen Art Gallery.
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Plate 607 A Zuni Governor
1926
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 610 Zuni Girls at the River - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - In this picture by Edward S. Curtis, two Zuni girls carry water on their heads. They are adorned in long brown robes and in a desert like landscape. Seemingly young, one might guess the girls area round 15 years of age. The pots they carry on their heads are quite large and painted with symbols and imagery. Walking along the river, the two girls directly face the camera. They are surrounded by a soft, misty light, almost hiding the mesa in the background. <br> <br>This photogravure was taken by Edward Curtis in 1903 and printed on Japon Vellum Paper. The original vintage piece is now on display in our Aspen Art Gallery.
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Plate 610 Zuni Girls at the River
1903
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 614 A Zuni Woman - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - This Zuni Woman seems fairly young and has chosen to have her face almost hidden in the draped brown material around her face and body. She looks directly into the camera and holds a large vessel upon her head. This vessel likely contains food for an intermission during a ceremony. A woven yucca ring helps her balance the large full vessel on her head without having it tip over. This photogravure was taken by Edward Curtis in 1903 and is available at our Aspen Art Gallery.
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Plate 614 A Zuni Woman
1903
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintge

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 616 Chipewyan Tipi among the Aspens - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 616 Chipewyan Tipi among the Aspens
1910
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 620 A Sarsi Camp - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - This photogravure by Edward Cutis has two people, a woman by the cooking fire, and a man stands in the back with an ornate cloak. <br> <br>In Volume 18 Edward Curtis writes - The Sarsi are a small Athapascan tribe that separated, before the historical period, from the Beaver Indians. The Sarsi mythological explanation this that a large body of people were migrating southward across a frozen lake, the ice was suddenly shattered by a water-monster whose horn had been frozen in it, and those who had already crossed were the ancestors of the Sarsi. <br> <br>This tribe originally resided in the Saskatchewan, but migrated near and became closely associated with the Blackfeet, Bloods and Piegan and were often considered a fourth member of that confederacy and adopted many of the material and religious customs. Nevertheless, they preserved their own language.
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Plate 620 A Sarsi Camp
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 621 A Cree Canoe on Lac Les Isle - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - The occupants of this canoe are two women who are likely to have travelled by water as a faster means than walking in their watered territory which is in the northern prairies near Lake Winnepeg, the Peace river, Athabasca lake, and Churchill river. <br> <br>The Cree have been (at the time of Curtis) in friendly contact with the white race since the early years of the seventeenth century, and the intimacy of this relation may be judged from the fact that no other Indian language of North America has proved so prolific a source of Anglicized terms as have Cree and certain closely allied Algonquian dialects of New England and eastern Canada.
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Plate 621 A Cree Canoe on Lac Les Isle
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 630 Assiniboin Hunter - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio: 18 x 22.5 inches - Plate 630 of Edward S. Curtis’ North American Indian depicts a hunter in the woods accompanied by his hunting dogs, which would likely be half-wolf. Hunters in the Assiniboin and most tribes were essential for the survival of the people. They were the providers of food for the camps. This tribe may have been one of the poorer tribes, poorer tribes would have had less horses and would have to move on foot with dogs used as pack animals. This photo by Edward S. Curtis was printed in 1926 and is now available for sale in our Aspen Art Gallery.
SOLD
Plate 630 Assiniboin Hunter
1926
Portfolio: 18 x 22.5 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 633 A Painted Tipi - Assiniboin - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
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Plate 633 A Painted Tipi - Assiniboin
1926
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 635 Agichida - Assiniboin - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18x22 inches - This image taken by Edward Curtis is of a middle aged Assiniboin man looking out into the distance. His eyes are squinting slightly because of the bright sun. The light for the sun also gives definition to the lines on his slightly weathered face. He has a small braid on the side of his somewhat short hair. He appears to be in front of a wooded area which would make sense for one of the Assiniboin. Edward Curtis shot this photograph in 1926 and it is now showing at our Aspen Art Gallery.
Plate 635 Agichida - Assiniboin
1926
Portfolio, 18x22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 637 A Blackfoot Travois - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
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Plate 637 A Blackfoot Travois
1926
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 639 Oksayapiw - Blackfoot - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
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Plate 639 Oksayapiw - Blackfoot
1926
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 642 Blackfoot Tipis - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - In Volume 18 Edward Curtis reveals more Blackfoot distinction. Their tents are large and clean. The devices generally used in painting them are taken from beasts and birds; the buffalo and the bear are frequently delineated. <br> <br>The country they inhabit abounds with animals of various kinds; beaver are numerous, but they will not hunt them with any spirit, so that their principal produce is dried provisions, buffalo robes, wolves, foxes, and other meadow skins, and furs of little value.
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Plate 642 Blackfoot Tipis
1926
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 644 Bow River - Blackfoot - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
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Plate 644 Bow River - Blackfoot
1926
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 645 Lodge of the Horn Society - Blood - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Because the Blackfoot, Blood and Piegan tribes are so culturally intertwined, the same description is used for their tipis. <br> <br>From Volume 18: Their tents are large and clean. The devices generally used in painting them are taken from beasts and birds; the buffalo and the bear are frequently delineated. <br> <br>The country they inhabit abounds with animals of various kinds; beaver are numerous, but they will not hunt them with any spirit, so that their principal produce is dried provisions, buffalo robes, wolves, foxes, and other meadow skins, and furs of little value.
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Plate 645 Lodge of the Horn Society - Blood
1910
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 652 As It Was In the Old Days - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - There are few tribes that did not depend heavily upon the buffalo, whether they took advantage of the herds that were close by, or the more nomadic people groups that traveled with the migrating animals. Edward Curtis included this photogravure as a reminder of the historical herds. <br> <br>Similar to the first image in Volume 1, “Vanishing Race – Navaho” he includes this critical element of an important North American Indian provision, the increasing size of buffalo herds after their near decimation.
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Plate 652 As It Was In the Old Days
1927
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 659 On the Canadian River - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - Edward Curtis includes this photogravure in his Oklahoma narrative because of its importance to the tribes he writes about in Volume 19. <br> <br>Clearly it starts in a river from the north, but flows from west to east through Oklahoma, depositing into the Arkansas. Water collects from semi-deserts, plains, prairies, forests, and mountains in the west and its flow is scarce until it arrives in the east where rainfall is plentiful. In certain seasons the wide, sandy bed can turn to dangerous quicksand that can be both a threat, or a source of serendipitous provision of trapped game. <br> <br>In Oklahoma this river is a source of water for the Wichita, Cheyenne, Oto, Comanche and a Peyote sect that Curtis is specifically addressing.
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Plate 659 On the Canadian River
1927
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 665 The Lone Chief - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 665 The Lone Chief
1927
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 671 Black Belly - Cheyenne - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 671 Black Belly - Cheyenne
1925
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 672 The Old Cheyenne - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
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Plate 672 The Old Cheyenne
1927
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 673 The Old Warrior - Arapaho - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches - The Arapaho sought the supernatural by fasting, but unlike the other tribes this was not undertaken until after maturity. This fasting lasted anywhere from one to seven days. After awakening from their trance they would put together whatever was demanded in the vision for affecting cures, and this constituted the contents of their medicine bag. On of these items was a flat pipe which was used at special events. Their main ceremony was also the Sun Dance, which lasted seven days and was held to ensure plentiful food. - Edward Curtis
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Plate 673 The Old Warrior - Arapaho
1927
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 677 Wakonda - Oto - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - In this striking portrait Curtis captures a close-up of an Oto male in traditional garb. This image is one of only 36 large portfolio plates from Volume XIX, focusing on the Indians of Oklahoma, the Wichita, Southern Cheyenne, Oto, Southern Comanche, and the Peyote Cult.
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Plate 677 Wakonda - Oto
1927
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 679 Old Eagle - Oto - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - 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. The Oto Tribe inhabited the Oklahoma region and were documented in Volume XIX in Curtis' "The North American Indian".
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Plate 679 Old Eagle - Oto
1927
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 682 Esipermi - Comanche - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - "There were no more vigorous people among the Indians of the Plains than the Comanche, a Shoshonean tribe, related to the Shoshone and Bannock of Idaho, from which region they entered the Northern plains and drifted ever southward, following the bison in their wanderings. They were noted warriors and raiders, being the enemies of many tribes and extending their depredations far into Mexico. One need look no farther than the accompanying portraits to discern the warrior character of these old braves." from Edward S. Curtis' "The North American Indian", Volume XIX
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Plate 682 Esipermi - Comanche
1927
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

Edward S. Curtis - Plate 684 Uwat - Comanche - Vintage Photogravure - Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches - Throughout “The North American Indian”, Curtis used published sources and they added to his field research. Drawing upon other sources was crucial for discussing the Comanche as Curtis and his assistants encountered difficulties in gathering information. He quoted from an 1852 essay by Robert S. Neighbors. Neighbors served as a government agent for Indian matters in Texas. Neighbors wrote, “The women perform all manual labor.” He cited “war and hunting being all the occupation of the men.”
SOLD
Plate 684 Uwat - Comanche
1927
Portfolio, 18 x 22 inches
Vintage Photogravure

call her to see where to send check
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Son of the Desert - Navaho
1904
Portfolio, 22 x 18 inches
Vintage Photogravure