Glass plate negative depicting an indoor portrait of Big Face [Sicangu Lakota (Brulé Sioux)] sitting on a couch and holding a rifle. The photograph has been masked, creating a highlighted outline around the sitter. This photograph was shot on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, circa 1904-1910.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Matilda Sprinkel glass plate negatives of the Rosebud Reservation, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Original nitrate negatives are in cold storage and require advanced notice for viewing. Modern copy prints and copy negatives for nearly all images are available.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Collection Citation:
Photo lot 25, Albertype Company photograph collection relating to Native Americans, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection contains 11 glass plate negatives photographed by Matilda Inez Murphy Sprinkel, circa 1904-1910. Sprinkel and her husband Frederick Kemper Sprinkel were trading post operators and possibly Indian Agents on the Rosebud Reservation when she shot these photographs. It is possible that some of the photographs may have been shot by Frederick as well.
The bulk of the photographs are portraits of individuals probably from the Sicangu Lakota (Brulé Sioux) community and include 2 photos of Chief Red Fish; an outdoor photo of Charging Elk and Broken Legs, with one of them wearing an Indian police badge; a photo of Big Face holding a rifle; 2 photos of Chief Bear Heels; an outdoor portrait possibly of Bear Heels' wife; and 2 unidentified Lakota women. There are also 2 baby photos of the Sprinkels' first child Margaret Paulina Sprinkel (1908-2006).
The backgrounds on several of the glass plate negatives have been masked out with red paint either by Matilda Sprinkel, or perhaps by her daughter Margaret who worked as a photograph retoucher. Notes such as names and locations were also etched in the emulsion on several glass plates presumably by Matilda.
Arrangement:
The materials in this collection are organized in 1 box.
Biographical / Historical:
Matilda Inez Murphy Sprinkel was born in Ligonier, PA in 1880. She married Frederick Kemper Sprinkel (1877-1936) on September 26, 1906. The couple operated a trading post on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota and were possibly Indian Agents as well. They had several children including Margaret Paulina Sprinkel (1908-2006), Frederick Kemper Sprinkel, Jr. (1910-1998), and Rose Hume Sprinkel Rosse (1914-1992). Matilda Inez died in Richmond, VA in 1966.
Provenance:
Donated by Murphy Sprinkel and Mary Jane Stout, 2016.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- South Dakota Search this
Genre/Form:
Glass negatives
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Matilda Sprinkel glass plate negatives of the Rosebud Reservation, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu.
