The collection consists of photographs relating to Native Americans, which were submitted to the copyright office of the Library of Congress in and around the early 20th century. Many of the photographs are studio portraits as well as photographs made as part of expeditions and railroad surveys. It includes images of people, dwellings and other structures, agriculture, arts and crafts, burials, ceremonies and dances, games, food preparation, transportation, and scenic views. Some of the photographs were posed to illustrate literary works, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Hiawatha, while others depict paintings or other artwork.
Collection is organized alphabetically by copyright claimant.
Biographical/Historical note:
The collection was formed from submissions made to the Library of Congress as part of the copyright registration process. In 1949, arrangements were made to allow the Bureau of American Ethnology to copy the collection and some negatives were made at that time, largely from the Heyn and Matzen photographs. The project was soon abandoned, however, as too large an undertaking for the facilities of the BAE. In 1957-1958, arrangements were begun by William C. Sturtevant of the BAE to transfer a set of the photographs from the Library of Congress to the BAE.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 59
Provenance:
In 1965, the Bureau merged with the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology to form the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology, and in 1968 the Office of Anthropology Archives transformed into the National Anthropological Archives.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Photo Lot 59, Library of Congress Copyright Office photograph collection of Native Americans, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Indians of North America -- Great Basin Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives
Copy prints
Place:
Yosemite National Park (Calif.)
Washington (D.C.)
Florida
Yellowstone National Park
Colorado
Date:
mid-19th - early 20th century
Scope and Contents note:
Copies of photogaphs selected from the George Eastman House collection by Bureau of American Ethnology archivist Margaret Blaker in 1962. Many of the photographs are individual or group portraits of American Indians and some highlight pottery, baskets, and cradleboards. There are also images of American Indian dwellings, including tipis and hogans; pueblos; dances; and an encampment during the Modoc War and Plains Indian prisoners at Fort Marion, Florida (1870s).
Expedition photos in the collection were made on T. O. Selfridgeʹs Darien Expedition (1870-1871), the Wheeler surveys (1871-1874), and the Hayden Geological Survey (1871). The collection also includes portraits of Frederick Douglass, Sitting Bull, and John A. Logan; and images from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show; Company F of New York's 140th Volunteer Infantry; and the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot R79
Reproduction Note:
Copy negatives made by George Eastman House, 1962.
Copy prints made by the Smithsonian, 1962-1963.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds vintage prints for many of the photographs copied in this collection, including in Photo lot 4501, Photo Lot 4605, and Photo Lot 90-1.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
The images were acquired for reference purposes and cannot be reproduced. Copies may be obtained from George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film.
Photographs collected by Marjorie Meriweather Post relating to NAtive Americans. They include images of Post's home at Camp Topridge, Geronimo, Buffalo Bill Cody, Native chiefs and US officials at Pine Ridge in 1891, and Princess Angeline, daughter of Chief Seattle. Additionally, there are lithographs of Caa-tou-see and Shin-Ga-Ba-Wossinis, and a B. Picart engraving of Native Americans circling a burial mound and a newspaper clipping ("Out of Human Skin") in a frame made from a squirrel pelt.
Biographical/Historical note:
Marjorie Meriweather Post (1887-1973) was a Washington, D.C., businesswoman, philanthropist, and collector of decorative art objects. Her father Charles W. Post was the owner of Postup Cereal Company, later General Foods Corporation. In 1973, Marjorie Post's philanthropy earned her the first ever James Smithson Society Medal, the Smithsonian Institution's highest benefactor award. After her death, Post willed her Hillwood estate to the Smithsonian along with her American Native American collection at Camp Topridge.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 75-46
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds the Marjorie Merriweather Post papers (MS 7278).
The Smithsonian Institution Archives holds the records of Post's Hillwood Estate, 1960-1976 (SIA RS00740).
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Lithographs
Engravings
Citation:
Photo lot 75-46, Marjorie Meriweather Post photograph collection, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Negatives: organized in envelopes; arranged by negative number
Prints: organized in folders; arranged by print number
Arrangement:
Negatives Arranged by negative number (N07288-N07289, N07291, N07295-N07300, N10859, N35256, N35848)
Photographs Arranged by photograph number (P04035-P04040, P04428-P04429, P05515, P05521, P37455, P37456)
Biographical/Historical note:
Born in Hamilton, Missouri, in 1885, Thomas Talbot Waterman grew up in Calfornia and was expected, like his father, to become an Episcopalian clergyman. After taking courses in phonetics and fieldwork with P.E. Goddard, Waterman instead chose to study anthropology and in 1913 received his Ph.D in anthropology at Columbia University under the direction of Franz Boas. From 1907 to 1921, he held both teaching and curatorial positions at the University of California and the University of Washington and from 1921 to 1922 briefly joined the staff of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation as a field collector. Waterman went on to hold positions at the National Museum of Guatemala, Fresno State College, University of Arizona, Territorial Normal College (Hawaii), and University of Hawaii. He is best known for bringing Ishi, the last surviving member of the Yahi people, from the town of Oroville, California, to the University of California Museum of Anthropology. Waterman died in Honolulu at the age of 50.
Provenance:
Historically, the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation managed all photographic and related manuscript collections separately. This collection description represents current management practices of organizing and contextualizing related archival materials.
Restrictions:
Access is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment.
Thomas T. Waterman negatives and photographs, 1921-1924, National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution (negative, slide or catalog number).
