Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952)

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Edward S. Curtis - A Yakima - Gelatin Printing Out Print - 15 x 9 3/4 inches - Gelatin Printing out Prints <br> <br> Gelatin printing out prints (more commonly know as albumen prints) are Curtis’ earliest and scarcest master exhibition prints. This handful of exquisite prints was printed in or proximal to 1900, when Curtis made his watershed journey to the Montana Plains to witness one of the final Piegan Sundances. <br> <br>It is likely Curtis printed these images himself, in sunlight, while on that expedition. No other photographs are as close to Curtis’ own hands. It is believed there are less than 70 surviving examples of this process. Printing out Prints are the most coveted and important photographs Curtis produced. <br> <br>Following you will find noted a distinction to the albumen label. Curtis actually never printed on an albumen paper. We have termed them albumen because the medium has technically been mislabeled and we simply use "albumen" for simplicity and consistency. <br> <br>The early Curtis prints we call "albumen" are actually gelatin printing out prints. The process is exactly the same for either albumen or gelatin printing out prints. The sensitized paper was placed in direct contact with a glass negative and exposed in strong light--usually sunlight. Then, the image formed on the paper while in contact with the negative and during it's exposure to light. The final image was then toned with gold for color and permanence. <br> <br>The difference between albumen prints and gelatin printing out prints is in the papers. In both cases a thin layer of emulsion sits above the paper and contains the light-sensitive silver salts which react with light to form the image. In albumen prints, that emulsion is made from whisked egg whites, and therefore called albumen. In gelatin printing out prints, the emulsion is made from gelatin, which is a starch. Gelatin prints are more stable than albumen prints, because albumen decays very easily in the presence of moisture and light.
SOLD
A Yakima
1900
15 x 9 3/4 inches
Gelatin Printing Out Print
Edition: Vintage

Edward S. Curtis - An Oasis in the Badlands - Vintage Platinum Print - Image 9 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches
An Oasis in the Badlands
1905
Image 9 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches
Vintage Platinum Print

His off that I paid all partners was $16,000. We each got 4,037.50
SOLD
Geronimo - Apache
1905
13 7/8 x 10 3/4 inches
Vintage Silver Gelatin

Edward S. Curtis - Maid of Dreams - Vintage Gelatin Silver Print Photograph - 7 ½ x 5 ¾ inches
Maid of Dreams
1906
7 ½ x 5 ¾ inches
Vintage Gelatin Silver Print Photograph

Edward S. Curtis - Nez Perce Warrior - Vintage Platinum Print - 15 7/8 x 10 3/4 inches
Nez Perce Warrior
1905
15 7/8 x 10 3/4 inches
Vintage Platinum Print

Rendered in silver gelatin, this is a warm, sepia hue and is an excellent example, in both tonality and condition, of this image on matte surface paper
SOLD
President Theodore Roosevelt
1905
13 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches
Toned Silver Gelatin Photograph

Edward S. Curtis - Smaller Unpublished Variation Lishhaiahit - Kittitas (Leschi) - Gold-toned Printing Out Print - 7 x 5 1/4 inches - The frame is a vintage period frame.
Smaller Unpublished Variation Lishhaiahit - Kittitas (Leschi)
7 x 5 1/4 inches
Gold-toned Printing Out Print

Edward S. Curtis - Two Whistles - Apsaroke - Vintage Platinum Print - 15 1/2 x 11 inches - This striking vintage photograph shows Two Whistles, of the Apsaroke tribe, head-and-shoulders portrait, right profile, face painted, wearing medicine hawk headdress, buckskin shirt, and shell necklaces. This example is rich and open. The tones and contrast are even and beautiful. <br> <br>TWO WHISTLES "Ishichoshupsh"-Apsaroke-Portrait. <br> <br>Born 1856. Mountain Crow of the Not Mixed clan and Lumpwood organization. Never achieved a recognized coup, but at the age of eighteen he led a party consisting, beside himself, of two others which captured a hundred horses from the Sioux. Participated in four severe battles against Arapaho and Sioux, one being the engagement at the mouth of Pryor creek. First fasted at the age of thirty-five. The first night he saw the war-bonnet of the Sioux; the next day he cut the skin and flesh of his arms in representation of eight hoof-prints; and that night the moon came to him and said. At Iyehopish are buffalo and horses mixed; you will never be poor. In the outbreak caused by the medicine-man Wraps Up His Tail, at Crow agency in 1877, Two Whistles was shot in the arm and breast, necessitating the amputation of the arm above the elbow. His medicine of hawk was purchased with the horse from a Sioux.
SOLD
Two Whistles - Apsaroke
1908
15 1/2 x 11 inches
Vintage Platinum Print

Edward S. Curtis - Unpublished Lishhaiahit - Kittitas (Leschi) - Gold-toned Printing-out print - 14 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches - This is very likely th only known example of this image.
Unpublished Lishhaiahit - Kittitas (Leschi)
1899
14 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches
Gold-toned Printing-out print

Original mount: 18 x 22 1/2 inches
SOLD
Unpublished Nampeyo - Hopi
Dated: 1900
12 1/2 x 16 1/4 inches
Vintage Platinum Photograph

Signed in crayon L.R. with Negative Number L.L. Excellent Condition with strong colors
Unpublished Northern Plains Group
1909
7 x 13 1/2 inches
Vintage Platinum Print
Edition: Vintage

Negative #14 <br>Unpublished Variation of Typical Nez Perce
Unpublished Not Com Sa Hait
1899
15 1/2 x 8 inches
Vintage Platinum Photograph

Edward S. Curtis - Unpublished Variant Vanishing Race - Navaho - Vintage Platinum Print - 12 5/8 x 16 ½ inches
Unpublished Variant Vanishing Race - Navaho
1904
12 5/8 x 16 ½ inches
Vintage Platinum Print

Valley Fine Art acquired from the Estate of Edward Curtis
Unpublished Variation of Nespilim Girl
1904
17 1/2 x 13 inches
Vintage Toned Silver Photograph

Edward S. Curtis - Vanishing Race - Navajo - Vintage Platinum Print - 15 1/4 x 19 1/8 inches - Provenance: Purchased from the Southland Corporation
Vanishing Race - Navajo
1904
15 1/4 x 19 1/8 inches
Vintage Platinum Print