These are mostly nineteenth-century prints of some negatives in the glass negative collection. Included are a few images made from negatives that apparently have since been broken or lost. Some of the prints were acquired by the Department of Anthropology of the United States National Museum and have accession and/or catalog numbers. Others were apparently made for exhibit purposes. The collection has not been sufficiently studied to allow the positive identification of the print makers but many were probably prepared by Charles Milton Bell, De Lancey W. Gill, John K. Hillers, and Antonio Zeno Shindler. Some of the prints have been hand colored by Shindler.
Arrangement:
Roughly by tribe
Citation:
Prints of Indian Negatives, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photograph albums prepared by the Bureau of American Ethnology or the photographic lab, possibly for reference purposes by staff. The use of such albums has been mentioned by BAE photographer De Lancey W. Gill. The albums contain photographs made from the Bureau of American Ethnology's collection of negatives, documenting Apache, Arapaho, Assiniboin, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Cocopa, Dakota, Flathead, Fox, Iowa, Kalispel, Kiowa Apache, Nez Perce, Omaha, Osage, Ponca, Santa Clara, Sauk, Shoshoni, Spokane Tonkawa, Wichita, and Winnebago people. The bulk of the photographs are studio portraits, made at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha in 1898 or during delegation visits to Washington, DC. There are also other photographs made during Victor Mindeleffʹs work in Chaco Canyon, and on W J McGeeʹs expedition to Sonora, Mexico, in 1900.
Photographers include Charles Milton Bell, William Dinwiddie, Alexander Gardner, De Lancey W. Gill, John K. Hillers, William Henry Jackson, Frank Albert Rinehart, Wells Moses Sawyer, Antonio Zeno Shindler, Victor or Cosmos Mindeleff, Julian Vannerson with Samuel A. Cohner. Included are negative numbers formerly used by BAE, but the National Anthropological Archives also annotated them with current negative numbers.
Arrangement note:
Titles of the albums are (1) Omaha and Winnebago; (2) miscellaneous; (3) Sauk and Fox; (4) miscellaneous; (5) Arapaho and Cheyenne; (6) Chiricahua, San Carlos, and Apache; (7) Sauk and Fox; (8) Osage, Shoshoni and Nez Perce, Siouan, Oto; (9) Santa Clara and Flathead; (10) Ponca; (11) Sauk and (12) Wichita and Kiowa Apache; (13) Cocopa; and (14) Assiniboin and Blackfoot
Biographical/Historical note:
The Bureau of American Ethnology was founded in 1879 in part as a result of the federal geological surveys and under the administration of the Smithsonian Institution. Under the directorship of John Wesley Powell (1879-1902), the BAE supported field research by its staff and collaborators, initiated several anthropological publications, and supported the growth of the anthropological discipline, particularly as it related to Native Americans. In addition to its research and publications program, it developed a manuscript repository, library, and an illustrations section that included (in addition to the preparation of artwork for publications) photography and a photographic collection. The BAE commissioned studio portraits of visiting Indian delegates and hired De Lancey Gill served as the its official photographer and illustrator from the 1890s to 1930.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 60
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives also holds the Bureau of American Ethnology records and the BAE historical negatives, as well as Dinwiddie photographs of the W. J. McGee expeditions are held in (Photo Lot 89 and Photo Lot 144), Charles Milton Bell photographs (Photo Lot 80), and additional photographs by most photographers represented in this collection (Photo Lot 59 and Photo Lot 90-1)
See others in:
Bureau of American Ethnology photograph albums of Native Americans, 1858-1905
Studio portraits made by the James E. McClees Studio and published by the Blackmore Museum, depicting Native American visitors to Washington, D.C. The series is identified by an 1863 broadside in the collection as "Photographs of some of the principal Chiefs of the North American Indians, made when they have visited Washington as deputations from their Tribes." Yankton, Sisseton, Mdewakanton, Wahpeton, Pawnee, Potawatomi, Sauk and Fox, Ponca, and Ojibwa people are represented. Three additional portraits depict men (possibly Cree) and were probably made by a different photographer.
Biographical/Historical note:
James Earl McClees (1821-1887) trained as a daguerreotypist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before opening a studio in Washington, D.C. in 1857. He was an early user of paper photographic processes and was well-known for photographing delegations of American Indians. His Washington studio, known as the James E. McClees Studio, operated in 1857-1858 with Julian Vannerson (1827-?) and Samuel Cohner as its most established operators. The studio was taken over by Robert W. Addis in 1858. Among Addis's proprietors was Antonio Zeno Schindler, an artist who made copies of photographs for English philanthropist and collector William Blackmore (1827-1878). Blackmore purchased the McClees Studio's negatives from Shindler, later transferring them to the Smithsonian. The Bureau of American Ethnology absorbed the photographs upon its formation in 1878-1879.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 4286
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional McClees Studio and Vannerson photographs held in the National Anthropological Archives in the BAE historical negatives and Photo Lot 4420.
Glass negatives relating to William Henry Blackmore, including copies of photographs collected by Blackmore, held in the British Museum and in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 31 and the BAE historical negatives.
Artifacts collected by Blackmore held in the anthropology collections of the National Museum of Natural History in accessions 1846, 2371, and 1826.
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Prints
Photographs
Date:
1857-1858
Scope and Contents:
Printed on mount: Pi-ta-ne-sha-a-du, (Man and Chief.) Principal Chief of the Pawnees. Published by Trustees of the Blackmore Museum Salisbury 1865.
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01171700
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 1280A
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. McClees; Treaty Signed in 1858
Black and white Photoprint on Cardboard Mount
Place:
Washington, DC
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Collection Citation:
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Handwritten on mount: Pko-ne-gi-zhik', (Hole in the Sky.) A Chippewa Chief
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01169400
NAA MS.4286
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees; Treaty Signed 19 April 1858
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Handwritten on mount: Sha-kpe', (Six.) A Chief of the Mdewakanton Sioux
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01169500
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 3509A
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees Treaty; Signed in 1858
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Handwritten on mount: Tshe-tan Wa-ku'-wa Ma'ni, (The Hawk that Hunts Walking.) A Chief of the Mdewakanton Sioux, called "Little Crow."
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01169600
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 3505B
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees; Treaty Signed in 1858
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Handwritten on mount: Tshe-tan Wa-ku'-wa Ma'ni, (The Hawk that Hunts Walking.) A Chief of the Mdewakanton Sioux, called "Little Crow."
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01169700
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 3505C
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees; Treaty Signed in 1858
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Handwritten on mount: He-hu'-te-dan, (Little Short Horn.) A Warrior of the Sisiton Sioux.
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01169900
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 3494
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees; Treaty Signed in 1858
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Prints
Photographs
Date:
1857
Scope and Contents:
Printed on mount: Pa-da-ni A-pa-pi, (He whom a Pawnee struck.) Principal Chief of the Yankton Sioux. Published by the Trustees of the Blackmore Museum Salisbury 1865.
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01170300
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 3545
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees; Treaty Signed in 1858
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Printed on mount: He-kha'-ka Nang'-zhe, (Standing Elk.) A Warrior of the Yankton Sioux. Published by the Trustees of the Blackmore Museum Salisbury 1865.
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01170400
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 3566
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees; Treaty Signed in 1858
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Printed on mount: Ma-to' Sabi'-tshi-a, (Smutty Bear.) A Chief of the Yankton Sioux. Published by the Trustees of the Blackmore Museum Salisbury 1865.
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01170500
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 3565
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees; Treaty Signed in 1858
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Printed on mount: He-kha'-ka Ma-ni, (Walking Elk.) A Warrior of the Yankton Sioux. Published by the Trustees of the Blackmore Museum Salisbury 1865.
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01170600
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 3554
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees; Treaty Signed in 1858
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Handwritten on mount: Ta-tang'-ka I'-yang-ke (Running Bull) A Warrior fo the Yankton Sioux.
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01170700
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 3568
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees; Treaty Signed in 1858
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Printed on mount: Psi'-tsha Wa-king'-a, (Jumping Thunder.) A Warrior fo the Yankton Sioux. Published by the Trustees of the Blackmore Museum Salisbury 1865.
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.01170800
NAA INV.01170900
NAA MS.4286
OPPS NEG.BAE 3548
General:
Amended identification taken from Paula Fleming, Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: the Shindler catalogue, Smithsonian Institution, 2003.
Local Note:
Photo by Julian Vannerson or Samuel A. Cohner, Photographers at Mc Clees' Studio, or Possibly by James E. Mc Clees; Treaty Signed in 1858
There are two copies of this photograph in Photo Lot 4286.
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 4286, James E. McClees Studio photographs of Native American delegates to Washington DC, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
