The Edward S. Curtis photogravure plates and proofs for The North American Indian include photogravure printing plates and associated proofs made from Curtis photographs and used in the publication of The North American Indian volumes 1-9 and 12-19. The bulk of the images are portraits, though there are also images of everyday items, ceremonial artifacts, and camps.
Scope and Contents:
The collection comprises 183 photogravure plates (101 folio and 82 octavo) and 96 associated proofs used in the printing of The North American Indian volumes 1-9 and 12-19. The original photographs used to make the photogravures were made circa 1903-1926 and the photogravure plates were made in 1907-1930. The bulk are portraits, though there are also images of everyday items, ceremonial artifacts, and camps. About half of the proofs in the collection are originals used for Curtis's publication, though the collection also includes proofs made in the process of later publication by the Classic Gravure Company (circa 1980). Vintage proofs include handwritten notes, likely made by Curtis Studio employees in Seattle and Los Angeles. Many of the photogravure plates do not have matching proofs; in particular, there are no proofs for the octavo plates.
Arrangement:
The plates and proofs are arranged by the volume of The North American Indian in which they were published. They are described in this finding aid by the caption and plate number with which they were published.
Biographical / Historical:
Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952) was an American photographer best known for his monumental and now-controversial project, the twenty-volume publication The North American Indian. Here he sought to document in words and pictures the "vanishing race" of American Indians.
Born in Wisconsin in 1868, Edward Curtis grew up on his family's farm in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, from 1874 to 1887. In 1887, he and his father Johnson Curtis settled on a plot near what is now Port Orchard, Washington, and the rest of the family joined them the following year. When Johnson Curtis died within a month of the family's arrival, the burden of providing for his mother and siblings fell to 20-year-old Edward, and Edward set out to do so through his photography. In 1891, Curtis moved to the booming city of Seattle and bought into a joint photo studio with Rasmus Rothi. Less than a year later, he formed "Curtis and Guptill, Photographers and Photoengravers" with Thomas Guptill; the enterprise quickly became a premier portrait studio for Seattle's elite. In 1895, Curtis made his first "Indian photograph" depicting Princess Angeline, daughter of the chief for whom Seattle had been named. The following year he earned his first medal from the National Photographic Convention for his "genre studies."
In 1899, Edward Curtis joined the Harriman Alaska Expedition as official photographer, a position which allowed him to learn from anthropologists C. Hart Merriam and George Bird Grinnell while documenting the landscapes and peoples of the Alaskan coast. This expedition and the resulting friendship with Grinnell helped to foster Curtis's ultimate goal to "form a comprehensive and permanent record of all the important tribes of the United States and Alaska that still retain to a considerable degree their primitive customs and traditions" (General Introduction, The North American Indian). Curtis made several trips to reservations from 1900 to 1904, including a trip with Grinnell to Montana in 1900 and multiple trips to the Southwest, including the Hopi Reservation. He also hired Adolph Muhr, former assistant to Omaha photographer Frank A. Rinehart, to manage the Curtis studio in his absence, a decision which would prove more and more fruitful as Curtis spent less and less time in Seattle.
In 1906, Curtis struck a deal with financier J. P. Morgan, whereby Morgan would support a company – The North American Indian, Inc. – with $15,000 for five years, by which time the project was expected to have ended. Systematic fieldwork for the publication began in earnest that summer season, with Curtis accompanied by a team of ethnological researchers and American Indian assistants. Arguably the most important member of Curtis' field team was William Myers, a former newspaperman who collected much of the ethnological data and completed most of the writing for the project. The first volume, covering Navajo and Apache peoples, was published at the end of 1907, but already Morgan's funding was incapable of meeting Curtis's needs. Despite heaping praise from society's elite, Curtis spent much of his time struggling to find people and institutions willing to subscribe to the expensive set of volumes. After the initial five years, only eight of the proposed twenty volumes had been completed. Fieldwork and publication continued with the support of J. P. Morgan, but Curtis's home life suffered because of his prolonged absences.
In 1919, Curtis's wife Clara was awarded a divorce settlement which included the entire Curtis studio in Seattle. Exhausted and bankrupt, Edward Curtis moved with his daughter Beth Magnuson to Los Angeles, where they operated a new Curtis Studio and continued work on the volumes; volume 12 was published
in 1922. The constant financial strain forced Myers to leave the North American Indian team after volume 18 (fieldwork in 1926) and Curtis made his last trip to photograph and gather data for volume 20 in 1927. After the final volumes were published in 1930, Curtis almost completely faded from public notice until his work was "rediscovered" and popularized in the 1970s.
Curtis's "salvage ethnology," as scholar Mick Gidley describes it, was mildly controversial even during his life and has become ever more so as his legacy deepens. In his quest to photograph pre-colonial Indian life through a twentieth-century lens, he often manipulated and constructed history as much as he recorded it: he staged reenactments, added props, and removed evidence of twentieth-century influences on "primitive" life. Curtis's work continues to shape popular conceptions of American Indians and so, while problematic, his legacy--his vision of American Indian life--continues to be relevant.
Related Materials:
NMAI also holds Edward Curtis photographs documenting the Harriman Expedition (1899) as well as platinum prints and photogravures of the images published in The North American Indian.
The Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives holds Edward Curtis prints submitted for copyright (Photo Lot 59) as well as many of his original negatives, photographs, and papers.
Steve Kern donated photogravure plates to the Center for Creative Photography and the Seattle Art Museum at the same time that he donated this set to MAI.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Steven and Arlene Kern to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, in 1984.
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 -- Pictorial works Search this
Genre/Form:
Photogravures
Photographs
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Edward S. Curtis photogravure plates and proofs for The North American Indian, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
This collection was processed with funding from the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Contents: Part I-Man. A. Names, locations, and divisions of the tribes. Twanas, Chemakums, Clallams. B. History. C. Population, and causes affecting. D. Progress: In medical practice. In house building. In dress. In implements. In social customs. In education. In morals. In religion. Part II- Surroundings. A. Inorganic. Outline, etc., of Territory. Geology, economic. Climate. Minerals. C. Social. Travels. Commerce. Part III.- Culture. Chapter 1- Means of subsistance: A. Food. Fish and marine mammals. Shell fish. Roots and branches. Wild fruits. Land mammals. Birds. Salt. Cooking. Storing. B. Drinks. Infusions. Ardent spirits. C. Narcotics. D. Savors. E. Medicines. Chapter II- Habitations and other structures and their appurtenance: A. Houses for human occupancy. Potlatch houses. Sweat houses. Large dwelling-houses. Flat-roofed dwelling-houses. Houses with the roof wholly on one side. Government houses. Mat houses. Half-circle camps. Tents of cotton cloth. Out-buildings. B. Appurtenances to dwellings. Doors. Fireplaces. Material for building. C. Furniture and utensils. Beds. Rugs. Mats. Chapter III- Household vessels and utensils: A. For holding water, food, etc. Baskets. Boxes. Dishes. B. For preparing food. C. For serving and eating food. Mats. Baskets. Plate and troughs. Trays. Ladles. Stone dishes. Pipes. Napkins. D. Miscellaneous. Torches.
Chapter IV- Clothing: d. Head clothing. Hats. E. Body clothing. Pantaloons, shirts, and coats. Blankets. Mat-coats. F. Arm clothing. G. Leg and foot clothing. H. Parts of dress. Lace. Fastenings. Fringes. Bead-work. I. Receptacles for dress. Boxes. Baskets. Chapter V- Personal adornments: A. Skin ornamentation. Tattooing. Painting. B. Head ornaments. Head bands. Plumes. Ear pendants. C. Neck ornaments. Necklaces. D. Breast ornaments. E. Ornaments for the limbs. Bracelets. Finger-rings. F. Toilet articles. Combs. Chapter VI- Implements. (I) Of general use. Knives. Axes, and adzes. Wedges. Chisels. Hammers. Awls. (II) Of war and the chase. A. Weapons for striking. Clubs. B. Throwing weapons. Strings and shots. Fire-pots. C. Cutting weapons. D. Thrusting weapons. Spears. E. Projectile weapons. Bows and arrows. Cases for projectiles. F. Defensive weapons. (III) Implements of special use. A. For stone working. C. For bow and arrow-making. D. Fishing implements. Spears and hooks. Traps and nets. Bouys. Sinkers. F. For leather-working. G. Builder's tool. K. For procuring and manufacturing food. L. Agricultural implements. M. For basket-working. Tools. Ornamentation. N. For working fiber. Hacklers. Spindles. Looms. P. For special crafts. Painting. Dyeing. Sand paper. Rope and strings. Of vegetable matter. Of animal matter.
Chapter VII- Locomotion and transportation. A. Traveling by water. Canoes. Large canoes. Shovel canoes. Small canoes. B. Accessories to water travel. Poles. Paddles. Oars. Sails. Rudders. Anchors. Bailing vessels. C. Foot traveling. Snow shoes. D. Land conveyances. Chapter VIII- Measuring and valuing. A. Counting. B. Measuring. Time. Length. Quality. C. Valuing. Chapter IX- Games and pastimes. With bones. A. Gambling: With disks. Women's games. Cards. B. Field sports and festive games. Dancing. Horse-racing. Shooting. Children's plays. Chapter XI- Music: Instruments and accompaniments. Songs. Boat songs. Patriotic songs. Gambling songs. Nursery songs. Funeral songs. War songs. Religious songs. Chapter XII- Art: On baskets. On cloth. On skin. On wood. Carvings. On horn and bone. On metal. On stone. Chapter XIII- Language and literature. A. Language. The Twana. The Skwaksin. The Chemakum. The Chinook jargon. The English language. B. Literature: Tales about thunder and lightning. Tales about the Sun. Proverbs of the Clallams. Fables of the Twanas. The pheasant and the raven. The enchanted husband. The colcine Indian and the wolf. Domesticating wolves. Modern orations.
Chapter XIV- Domestic life: A. Marriage. B. Children. Cradling. Naming. C. Women. Puberty dance. Chapter XV- Social life and customs: A. Eating. B. Cannibalism. C. Potlatches. Potlatch Number 1. Dancing. Gambling. Tamanous. Eating. The potlatch proper, or distribution of gifts. Learning. Potlatch Number 2. Potlatch Number 3. D. Funeral and burial customs. 1st Period. 2nd Period: canoe burial. 3rd Period: scaffold burial in cemeteries. 4th Period: burial in the ground with Indian accessories. 5th Period: civilized burial. Funeral ceremonies. Mourning observances. Cemeteries. Progress. Chapter XVI- Government. A. Organization. B. Laws and regulations. Division of Labor. Property rights. Chapter XVII- Religion. A. Objects and implements of reverence and worship. Supreme Being. Demons. Angelic spirits. Inanimate objects. Images, pictures, etc. Water. Idols. The sun. Implements of worship. Hand-sticks (wands). Head bands. Drums. Rattles. Masks. B. Holy places C. Ecclesiastical organization. Medicine men. Rain-makers.
D. Sacred rites. Tamanous. Finding tamanous. Using tamanous. Tamanous for wind. Tamanous for gambling. Tamanous to produce and cure illness. The crazy tamanous. Tamanous for the living. Tamanous for lost souls. Black tamanous. Purification. Sacrifice. Dancing. E. Myths and traditions. The Flood. Ants. Snakes. F. Beliefs. Dreams. Future existence. Incarnation and metamorphoses. Chapter XVIII- Archeology: Stone age. Skeletons. Shell heaps. List of archeological items in the book.
This series includes seven folio plates and three octavo plates depicting portraits of Hoh, Twana, Quileute, Quinault, Skokomish, Suquamish, and Squaxon men and women. It also has six proofs made by Classic Gravure from plates in the collection. Two plates are severely corroded.
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); Edward S. Curtis photogravure plates and proofs for The North American Indian, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
This collection was processed with funding from the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
