Lot 1736
  • 1736

EDWARD SHERIFF CURTIS. THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN: A PAIR OF PHOTOGRAVURES. A WALPI SNAKE PRIEST & SNAKE DANCER...

Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • The North American Indian: A Pair of Photogravures 
Two photogravures after Edward Curtis, printed by the Suffolk Engraving Company, [Boston]: [1907-1930]. Framed.  lot includes: A Walpi Snake Priest. [Pl. 429] — Snake Dancer in Costume. [Pl. 430] each sheet approximately 457 by 559  mm 18 by 22 in

Condition

Each in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

A pair of breath-taking images from The North American Indian, the grandest illustrated work ever produced in the United States, the most important illustrated work on Native Americans, and the single greatest book in Western Americana. Edward Curtis was fascinated by the story of the Native Americans from childhood. His in-depth knowledge of the various tribes increased in parallel with his skill as a photographer during his participation in a number of scientific expeditions in the 1890s. In 1896, Curtis began to take photographs of the Native American tribes (by 1930 he had taken over 40,000 negatives of eighty tribes) and evolve his hugely ambitious plan for a comprehensive work which would illustrate his romantic vision of Native American life before the disastrous impact of European contact. With the enthusiastic support of President Theodore Roosevelt (who wrote the foreword to the present work) and the financial backing of J. Pierpont Morgan (Curtis was introduced to him by Roosevelt), the publishing project finally got under way in 1906. Pierpont Morgan died in 1913 just before the completion of the ninth volume, but his son agreed to continue underwriting the project; between them, they eventually contributed about a third of the $1,500,000 cost. What had originally been projected to take five or six years eventually stretched to twenty-three, finally reaching a conclusion in 1930 but leaving Curtis a broken and bankrupt man. Nonetheless, his grand design was completed, and his work remains as his monument.