Northern Tsitsistas (Northern Cheyenne) Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Photographs
Place:
Fort Laramie (Wyo.)
Kansas
Washington (D.C.)
Date:
1866-1868
Summary:
Alexander Gardner (1821-1882) was a photographer best known for his portraits of President Abraham Lincoln, his American Civil War photographs, and his photographs of American Indian delegations. This collection contains 61 albumen prints that were shot by Gardner circa 1866-1868 and held in General William T. Sherman's personal collection. Photographs depict American Indian tribes and Peace Commissioners involved in the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty; photographs shot along the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division in 1867; and photographs of American Indian delegations visiting Washington, D. C. from 1866-1868.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains 61 albumen prints that were shot by photographer Alexander Gardner circa 1866-1868 and held in General William T. Sherman's personal collection. Among the photographs are depictions that were shot in and around Fort Laramie, Wyoming during the 1868 peace treaty negotiations between the U.S. Government and tribal leaders from several American Indian Northern Plains tribes including Lakota (Teton/Western Sioux), Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke), Northern Tsitsistas (Northern Cheyenne), and Northern Inunaina (Northern Arapaho); survey photographs shot in Kansas in 1867 for the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division (later renamed the Kansas Pacific Railway); and portraits of American Indian delegates in Washington, D.C. including Dakota (Eastern Sioux), Kaw (Kansa), Lakota (Teton/Western Sioux), and Sac and Fox (Sauk & Fox) tribes, 1866-1868. Some of the photographs in this collection, particularly those in Series 2, may have been shot by photographers working with Gardner such as Dr. William A. Bell (1841-1921), William Redish Pywell, and Lawrence Gardner (Alexander Gardner's son).
Arrangement:
This collection is intellectually arranged in three series. Series 1: Fort Laramie, Wyoming, Series 2: Kansas Pacific Railroad, Series 3: Portraits of American Indian delegates, Washington, D.C.
The photographs are physically arranged in eight boxes according to the following: size, conservation work, and series. Within each box they are arranged by photo number. The photographs in boxes 1-4 had conservation work performed by a photo conservator in 2014.
Biographical / Historical:
Alexander Gardner (1821-1882) was a photographer best known for his portraits of President Abraham Lincoln, his American Civil War photographs, and his photographs of American Indian delegations.
Gardner was born in Paisley, Scotland on October 17, 1821 to James Gardner and Jean Glenn. He worked in a number of positions including as a jeweler, journalist, and editor before entering the field of photography circa 1855.
In 1856, Gardner immigrated to the United States with his wife Margaret Sinclair Gardner, his son Lawrence Gardner, and his daughter Eliza Gardner and later that year he began working as a photographer in Mathew Brady's gallery in New York. While working for Brady, it is thought that Gardner invented the "imperial print," a large photograph printed on approximately 21 x 17 inch paper that was often enhanced with hand-coloring and ink. Wealthy politicians and businessmen were among the clients who sat for their photographic portraits in the Brady studio and paid as much as $50- $500 per imperial print (today the equivalent of about $1,000 to 10,000).
By 1858, Gardner was managing Brady's gallery at 352 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. When the U.S. Civil War broke out in 1861, Gardner was part of Brady's photography team that documented battle aftermaths and military campsites for the Union. Gardner left the Brady studio circa late 1862 and established his own studio in Washington, D.C. where he continued photographing the war along with his brother James Gardner, and other former Brady photographers including Timothy O'Sullivan.
During the war he documented the remnants of important battle scenes including the Battle of Antietam (1862) and the Battle of Gettysburg (1863). Gardner published 100 of his Civil War images in the publication Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War. The two volume work included photographs shot by additional photographers including O'Sullivan and John Reekie.
In addition to war photography, Gardner was also a portrait photographer and photographed many civilians, soldiers, and politicians in Washington, D.C. Between the years 1861-1865, Gardner photographed President Abraham Lincoln on seven different occasions, including both inaugurations, as well as studio portrait sittings. On July 7, 1865, Gardner was the only photographer allowed to photograph the execution of four conspirators in the President Lincoln assassination.
In 1866, Gardner along with Antonio Zeno Shindler and Julian Vannerson were contracted to photograph portraits of American Indian delegates visiting Washington, D.C. Between the years 1866 to 1868, Gardner photographed many tribes in his studio including Iowa, Sac and Fox, Kaw (Kansa), Dakota, and Lakota. In 1868, Gardner was hired by the U.S. Government to serve as photographer for the peace talks that took place in Fort Laramie, Wyoming. During this trip, Gardner photographed the Lakota (Sioux), Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke), Northern Tsitsistas (Northern Cheyenne), and Northern Inunaina (Northern Arapaho) tribes. Among the government officials at Fort Laramie that Gardner photographed was General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891). Sherman served as a General for the Union Army during the Civil War and later in 1869 became the Commanding General of the U.S. Army under President Ulysses Grant's administration. A member of the Peace Commission established in 1867, Sherman traveled to negotiate treaties with American Indian Plains tribes.
Upon returning to Washington, D.C., Gardner published a set of his Fort Laramie photographs in the publication, Scenes in Indian Country. Members of the Peace Commission were given photo portfolios and it is believed that the photos in this collection may have been from General Sherman's personal set. Gardner went on to become the official photographer for the Office of Indian Affairs in 1872.
In his later years, Gardner also was involved in philanthropic causes, such as helping to establish the Masonic Mutual Relief Association which aided widows and orphans of Master Masons. He also founded the Saint John's Mite Association which provided aid to the poor in Washington, D.C.
Alexander Gardner died in Washington, D.C. in 1882.
Related Materials:
Alexander Gardner photographs are housed in many archival and museum repositories. Photographs from the Scenes in Indian Country series are also held in the Newberry Library in Chicago, the Missouri Historical Society, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the St. Louis Mercantile Library in Missouri.
Provenance:
The photographs in this collection were originally owned by General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) and may have been part of a portfolio of photographs that Alexander Gardner gifted to Sherman and other Fort Laramie Treaty peace commissioners. Photographs were then donated to the Museum of the American Indian (MAI) by Sherman's son P(hilemon) Tecumseh Sherman (1867-1941) in May 1932 and by Sherman's granddaughter Eleanor Sherman Fitch (1876-1959) in March 1942.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Thursday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Some images restricted: Cultural Sensitivity
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.
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); William T. Sherman collection of Alexander Gardner photographs, P#####; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This series contains 37 albumen prints that were shot by Alexander Gardner in April and May 1868 during the Fort Laramie Treaty peace conference held in Fort Laramie, Wyoming. The photographs depict scenes at Fort Laramie including images of troops and buildings, as well as scenes shot near Fort Laramie including Fort David A. Russell and landscapes in the region. The bulk of the photographs in this series depict men, women, and children from the Lakota, Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke), Northern Tsitsistas (Northern Cheyenne), and Northern Inunaina (Northern Arapaho) tribes. These photos depict outdoor group portraits; photos of encampments; domestic scenes such as butchering cattle; and transportation such as crossing the North Platte River by ferry, as well as other scenes. Individuals depicted include Spotted Tail (Sicangu Lakota), Fast Bear (Sicangu Lakota), Yellow Bull [Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)], and Grey Eyes (Lakota), among many others. One photograph of note is image P15390, which depicts the Indian peace commissioners in the council with the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapaho tribes. Individuals depicted in this photo include General William T. Sherman, Colonel Samuel F. Tappen, General William S. Harney, John B. Sanborn, General Christopher C. Augur, General Alfred H. Terry, and Ashton S. H. White. There are also 3 restricted images in this series depicting American Indian tree burials.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Thursday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Some images restricted: Cultural Sensitivity
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); William T. Sherman collection of Alexander Gardner photographs, P#####; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Indian Peace Commissioners in council with the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapaho. The Commissioners are from left to right: Colonel Samuel F. Tappan, General William S. Harney, General W.T. Sherman, John B. Sanborn, General Christopher C. Augur, General Alfred H. Terry, and Ashton S. H. White (secretary).
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Thursday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Some images restricted: Cultural Sensitivity
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); William T. Sherman collection of Alexander Gardner photographs, P#####; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Thursday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Some images restricted: Cultural Sensitivity
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); William T. Sherman collection of Alexander Gardner photographs, P#####; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Includes images of excavations in Nevada, including images of Lake Tahoe, the ghost town of St. Thomas, and Pueblo Grande de Nevada, known as Nevada's "Lost City."
Scope and Contents:
The Schellbach collection consists primarily of negatives, photographs, and lantern slides made from 1924 to 1929 on behalf of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation by Schellbach. The bulk of the materials depict various Museum excavations in Nevada, particuarly at Pueblo Grande de Nevada (known as Nevada's "Lost City') but also St. Thomas, Virginia City, and Mesa House. Related to this body of work are photographs of exhumed antiquities, etc. from Pueblo Grande. The Museum and the state of Nevada apparently co-sponsored these excavations. The collection also includes photographs Schellbach made in 1922 in Guatemala; in 1929 in Idaho, again on behalf of the Musuem, along the Snake River of both the landscape and various petroglyphs he encountered; and in 1930 of Pinckney's Hummock archaeological site. In addition the collection includes several photographs made by Schellbach on September 23, 1923, of Northern Inunaina (Arapaho) men from the Wind River Reservation visiting the Musuem on their way to London.
Arrangement note:
Lantern slides: organized in boxes; arranged by L number
Negatives: organized in envelopes; arranged by negative number
Prints: organized in folders; arranged by print number
Biographical/Historical note:
Born in New York in 1887, Louis Schellbach is primarily remembered as the Grand Canyon's chief park naturalist, a position he held from 1941 to 1957. Prior to joining the Grand Canyon staff in 1937, Schellbach worked for the state of Nevada (as state archaeologist), the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, the Western Museum Laboratory in Berkeley, Aztec Ruins National Monument, and the Department of the Interior Museum. Schellbach died in Tucson, Arizona, in 1971.
Restrictions:
Access is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment.
Louis Schellbach collection of negatives, photographs and lantern slides, 1922-1930. National Museum of the American Indian Archives, Smithsonian Institution (negative, slide or catalog number)
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sheets
Date:
1951
Scope and Contents:
Duplicated transcriptions of Arapaho songs collected by Mr. Z. Salzmann, of Indiana University. They accompanied a paper read recently at a meeting of the Musicological Society at Michigan State College. The following titles are represented: Wolf Dance Song; Rabbit Dance Song; Sun Dance Song; Round Dance Song; Soldierʹs Song; Skybird Song; Peyote Cult Song; a duplicate copy is enclosed.
