Bodmer, Karl, and Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied

5 volumes (text: 3 volumes, 8vo [9 3/16 x 5 7/8 in.; 233 x 150mm]; vignette atlas: 1 oblong 4to [10 x 12 1/8 in.; 255 x 308mm]; atlas: 1 oblong folio [17 3/4 x 24 in.; 450 x 610]). French text: Half-titles, 1 lithographic plan, 31 plates of wood-engraved vignettes, 6 wood-engraved illustration; lacking map, scattered foxing, some browning. Vignette atlas: 33 engraved and aquatint plates, all of which feature vibrant hand-coloring; 10 plates supplied, minor foxing and fingersoiling, one or two marginal repairs. Atlas: 48 large engraved aquatint tableau plates, all of which have hand-coloring, all after Bodmer; 16 plates supplied with resulting variance to margins, blind stamps and paper stock, occasional matt burn or offsetting to supplied plates, some largely marginal minor foxing and fingersoiling one or two marginal closed tears repaired. All volumes bound to style, half black morocco over blue marbled paper covered boards, black morocco labels to upper covers of atlas volumes, each ruled, lettered, and decoratively bordered in gilt, spines rounded with gilt rules, text edges stained green; minor rubbing to boards. 

Abbey 615; Howes M443a."dd"; Pilling, Proof-Sheets 2521; Rader 3652; Sabin 47014; Wagner-Camp 76:1; Goetzmann [et al], 'Karl Bodmer's America' (1984); Ruud, Brandon, Editor, 'Karl Bodmer's North American Prints', Omaha, 2004

5 volumes (text: 3 volumes, 8vo [9 3/16 x 5 7/8 in.; 233 x 150mm]; vignette atlas: 1 oblong 4to [10 x 12 1/8 in.; 255 x 308mm]; atlas: 1 oblong folio [17 3/4 x 24 in.; 450 x 610]). French text: Half-titles, 1 lithographic plan, 31 plates of wood-engraved vignettes, 6 wood-engraved illustration; lacking map, scattered foxing, some browning. Vignette atlas: 33 engraved and aquatint plates, all of which feature vibrant hand-coloring; 10 plates supplied, minor foxing and fingersoiling, one or two marginal repairs. Atlas: 48 large engraved aquatint tableau plates, all of which have hand-coloring, all after Bodmer; 16 plates supplied with resulting variance to margins, blind stamps and paper stock, occasional matt burn or offsetting to supplied plates, some largely marginal minor foxing and fingersoiling one or two marginal closed tears repaired. All volumes bound to style, half black morocco over blue marbled paper covered boards, black morocco labels to upper covers of atlas volumes, each ruled, lettered, and decoratively bordered in gilt, spines rounded with gilt rules, text edges stained green; minor rubbing to boards.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

Fully hand-colored. The greatest illustrated American travel narrative and the most important depiction of American Indians in the frontier era.Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied's famed narrative of his trip to the United States and up the Missouri River in 1833-34, with its magnificent atlas of views and scenes of Indian life by Karl Bodmer, is justly celebrated as the greatest illustrated American travel narrative and the most important depiction of American Indians in the frontier era. The journey took place at a time when the unspoiled, mythic West of the exploration and fur trade era was still vibrant, though on the verge of being shattered by the expansion of the United States. Bodmer's engravings of the Indians encountered on the upper Missouri are among the most iconic and celebrated images of the American West.