LC-USZC4-8803
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Edward S. Curtis Collection
Photographs of Native Americans
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Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 20540-4730
Collection digitized? A portion of the Curtis photographic
prints have been digitized and are available in the Prints
and Photographs Online Catalog. Selected
images are included here to give a sample of the collection.
Although unknown for many years, Edward S. Curtis is today
one of the most well-recognized and celebrated photographers
of Native people. Born near White Water, Wisconsin, on February
16, 1868, he became interested in the emerging art of photography
when he was quite young, building his first camera when he
was still an adolescent. In Seattle, where his family moved
in 1887, he acquired part interest in a portrait photography
studio and soon became sole owner of the successful business,
renaming it Edward S. Curtis Photographer and Photoengraver.
In the mid 1890s, Curtis began photographing local Puget Sound
Native Americans digging for clams and mussels on the tide
flats. One of his earliest models was Princess Angeline, the
aged daughter of Sealth, the Suquamish chief after whom Seattle
was named. Later, as an official photographer of the 1899 Harriman
Expedition, Curtis documented the geological features of the
Alaskan wilderness as well as its indigenous population. This
was a pivotal experience for Curtis and greatly increased his
interest in Native cultures. He visited tribal communities
in Montana and Arizona and began in earnest to photograph many
other Native Americans in the West, spending more time in the
field and less time in his studio.
The North American Indian Project
In the early years of the 20th century, Curtis embarked on
a thirty-year mission which he described as an effort "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...customs and traditions." Along
with most scholars of this period, he believed that indigenous
communities would inevitably be absorbed into white society,
losing their unique cultural identities. He wanted to create
a scholarly and artistic work that would document the ceremonies,
beliefs, customs, daily life, and leaders of these groups before
they "vanished." The North American Indian project,
Curtis decided, would be a set of 20 volumes of ethnographic
text illustrated with high quality photoengravings taken from
his glass plate negatives. Each of these volumes would be accompanied
by a portfolio of large size photogravures, elegantly bound
in leather and printed on the highest quality paper. To fund
the enormous project, Curtis would sell subscriptions to five
hundred sets of the publication.
Working alone or with various assistants, soliciting donations
and support from diverse sources including President Theodore
Roosevelt and the railroad tycoon John Pierpont Morgan, and
also accumulating a heavy personal debt, Curtis visited more
than eighty tribes across the country, and north into Alaska
and parts of Canada. Eventually, he took more than 40,000 photographs;
made over 10,000 recordings of Native speech and music; produced
lectures, slide shows, and a multi-media Curtis Indian
Picture Opera throughout the U.S.; and in 1914 directed In
the Land of the Headhunters, an inventive, seminal film
documentary on the Kwakiutl tribe.
Volume one of The North American Indian appeared
in 1907. In 1930 the last two volumes were finally published,
completing nearly thirty years of work. Only 272 complete sets
had been printed. By this time, the modest popularity of Curtis's
work had diminished and the North American Indian Corporation--the
business enterprise overseeing Curtis's ethnographic ventures--soon
liquidated its assets. When he died in 1952, his lifework with
Native Americans had all but faded into obscurity. "Rediscovered" in
the 1960s and 1970s, Curtis's photographic work is now recognized
as one of the most significant records of Native culture ever
produced. His photographs have been included in virtually every
anthology of historical photographs of Native Americans and
are now frequently used to illustrate books and documentaries.
The Prints and Photographs Division Curtis collection consists
of more than 2,400 silver-gelatin, first generation photographic
prints--some of which are sepia-toned--made from Curtis's original
glass negatives. Most of the photographic prints are 5" x
7" although nearly one hundred are 11" x 14" and
larger; many include the Curtis file or negative number within
the image at the lower left-hand corner. Acquired by the Library
of Congress through copyright deposit from about 1900 through
1930, the dates on the images reflect date of registration,
not when the photograph was actually taken. About two-thirds
(1,608) of these images were not published in the North
American Indian volumes and therefore offer a different
and unique glimpse into Curtis's work with indigenous cultures.
The original glass plate negatives--most of which had been
stored and nearly forgotten in a basement of New York's Morgan
Library--were unwittingly dispersed during World War II. Many
others were destroyed and some were sold as junk. Although
the Prints and Photographs Division does not hold any of the
few existing original glass negatives, copy negatives for many
of the photographic prints have been made by the Library's
Photoduplication Service.
Images from each of the geo-cultural regions documented in The
North American Indian are represented in the collection:
the Pacific Northwest, New Southwest, Great Basin, Great
Plains, Plateau Region, California, and Alaska. Included
are both studio and field photographs. A large number are
individual or group portraits, and many subjects are identified
by name. Other subjects include traditional and ceremonial
dress, dwellings and other structures, agriculture, arts
and crafts, rites and ceremonies, dances, games, food preparation,
transportation, and scenery.
The Library of Congress staff organized the photographs into
twenty-two groups (LOTs 12310 through 12331) primarily by geographical
area and thereunder by tribal group and, when a Curtis number
exists, numerically by the number Curtis assigned to the image.
One LOT comprised of 11" x 14" and larger photographs
was grouped together because of size and represents a number
of different tribes (LOT 12331). A complete alphabetical list
of tribal groups represented in the collection, followed by
corresponding LOT number and corresponding North American Indian
volume number is available in the Appendix found
at the end of this document. It is also available in the Curtis
finding aid in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room.
Automated Records for Individual Images and LOT Descriptions
Many Curtis images can be viewed in digitized form in the Prints
and Photographs Division Online Catalog. The twenty-two
LOTs are represented by catalog records that provide textual
summaries of the contents of the group (accessible through
the "Groups in High Demand" search screen). The
records also provide a link that enables one to view any
of the items from the LOT that have so far been cataloged
online and digitized. Online searches across all categories
in the online catalog for a specific tribal group (such as "Hopi" and "Cayuse")
or subject (such as "ceremonies" and "baskets")
will yield appropriate individual images as well as appropriate
LOT descriptions.
Photographic Prints in LOTS 12310 through 12331
The original photographic prints can be viewed in the Prints
and Photographs reading room by requesting one or more LOTs.
The contents of each LOT (including the tribal groups represented,
description summary, and number of items) are described in
the online group records mentioned above. LOT descriptions
and an alphabetical list of tribal
groups represented in the collection are also available
in the Curtis finding aid in the reading room.
The North American Indian
A reprint of the original Curtis work is housed in the Prints
and Photographs Division reference book collection [LC call
number: E77 C98 and E77 C98 suppl]. The first twenty volumes
contain illustrations and text. Twenty supplemental sections
consisting of large reproductions of the original photogravures
are bound in an additional four volumes. The North American
Indian volumes in the Prints and Photographs Reading
Room have been marked with a LOT number and any existing Curtis
file number and reproduction number when a corresponding photographic
print can be found in a Curtis Collection LOT. A complete alphabetical
list of tribal groups with corresponding LOT number and The
North American Indian volume number is located at the
beginning of each large supplemental volume.
Card Indexes in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room
The Edward S. Curtis shelflist by Curtis number is arranged
by Curtis file number (by title for images without a number).
Most cards note Curtis number, LOT number, title, copyright
date, tribal group, geographical location, reproduction number,
and description. If the image was published in The North
American Indian, the volume and plate or page number
are also noted. A second card index is arranged by LOT number
and tribal group.
Photographic prints or transparencies can be ordered directly
from the Library of Congress, Photoduplication Service, Washington,
D.C., 20540-5230 (email: photoduplication@loc.gov; telephone:
202-707-5640). Order
forms, a price
list, and order instructions will be provided on request.
Although the Library does not hold the original glass negatives,
copy negatives for many images have been made by the Photoduplication
Service either from the original photographic prints in the
Prints and Photographs Division or from the photogravure prints
in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
Orders for copies must be accompanied by a reproduction number
for the requested image or, if no reproduction number exists,
the call number (LOT and item number or LOT and item title)
of the original image.
There are no known restrictions on publication or other forms
of distribution of the photographs in this collection. The
collection was acquired by the Library through copyright deposit
and the copyright registrations expired and were not renewed.
The images are now in the public domain. When images are reproduced
in a publication, the Library requests that the reproduction
number be published with the credit, as in the following example: "Library
of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-99663."
In the Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
LOT 4841: Harriman Expedition (178 photographs).
Curtis was an official photographer for the 1899
Harriman Expedition to Alaska. During this two-month scientific
survey of the Alaskan wilderness, he documented landscapes,
flora, fauna, and other geological features. Nearly one hundred
images also reveal life in the area's Tlingit Indian and other
Native communities including family portraits, seal hunting,
traditional homes and structures, totem poles, and basketry.
LOT 10512: Roosevelt Family (32 photographs).
After viewing a Curtis portrait of a Seattle
girl in a Ladies Home Journal photography contest, President
Theodore Roosevelt invited Curtis to the East Coast to photograph
the Roosevelt family. Taken in 1904, these warm-toned gelatin
silver prints show the Roosevelt children at play (in some
views with Curtis) on the estate; the family home; and surrounding
area.
PH - Curtis, E., no. 1 (A size) "The Vanishing Race," 1904.
This sepia-toned, platinum print of a small group
of Navajos riding horses also appears in the portfolio volume
one of The North American Indian. As Curtis struggled
to support his family and his ambitious projects, he occasionally
sold individual master prints made from special photographic
processes.
PH - Curtis, E., no. 2 (A size) Sunset Trail, 1921.
A gelatin silver print of a nude, non-Native
woman with long hair standing on a beach at sunset.
Curtis, Edward S. The North American Indian; being
a series of volumes picturing and describing the Indians
of the United States, and Alaska. 20 vols. and 20
portfolios of photogravures. Seattle and Cambridge, Mass:
E.S. Curtis, 1907-30. LC Call Number: E77 C97.
One of the original 272 complete published sets
with twenty volumes of illustrated text and twenty portfolios
of large-size photogravures, this work consists of 2,222 plates
and ethnological information about more than eighty Native
American tribes. To create the photogravures, each copper plate
was individually inked and run through a hand press. Copy negatives
for many of these photogravure images were made by the Library's
Photoduplication Service and noted in a reprint of The
North American Indian, which is housed in the Library's
Prints and Photographs Division.
National Digital Library, Library of Congress/Ameritech
Northwestern University, Edward S. Curtis: the
North American Indian Photographic Images (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award98/ienhtml/curthome.html ).
A digital image of every photogravure published
in the original, complete set of Curtis's North American
Indian from Northwestern University is available on
this web site. Bibliographical and introductory materials to
illuminate the historical context as well as a variety of search
strategies to make the collection accessible to scholars, the
K-12 community, and the general public is provided.
In Other Institutions
National Anthropological Archives, National Museum of Natural
History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Collection
name: Photo Lot 59, The Library of Congress Copyright Deposit
Collection of American Indian Photographs (1860s-1930s; 5,600
items).
About one-thousand Curtis photographs which were
submitted for copyright at the Library of Congress were transferred
from the Library to the Smithsonian's National Anthropological
Archives in the 1950s. Most of these prints were duplicates,
but not all. The images are housed in a larger collection (photo
lot 59) which is arranged by tribal group not by photographer.
The collection is open to public viewing.
Cardozo, Christopher. Native Nations: First Americans
as Seen by Edward S. Curtis. Boston: Little, Brown
and Company, 1993. LC call number: E77.5 C8 1993.
This oversized, coffee table book reproduces
more than one hundred images selected from Curtis's twenty-volume
set in fine quadratone (sepia-toned) plates.
Curtis, Edward S. The North American Indian, being
a series of volumes picturing and describing the Indians
of the United States and Alaska. New York: Johnson Reprint
Corp., 1970 (c. 1907-20). LC call number: E77 C98
and E77 C98 suppl.
A reprint of the original work, the first twenty
volumes contain illustrations and textual information. Twenty
supplemental sections of large reproductions of the original
photogravures are bound in an additional four volumes. The
P&P Reference Collection copy has notations in the volumes
that identify those images which can be found in the Prints
and Photographs Division Curtis collection. Copy negative (reproduction)
numbers are also noted. An original first edition of The
North American Indian is in Library's Rare Book Division.
Day, Sara, editor. Heart of the Circle: Photographs
of Native American Women. San Francisco: Pomegranate
Artbooks, 1997. LC call number: E89 C87 1997.
The first book devoted exclusively to Curtis's
images of Native American women. More than one hundred intimate
and revealing portraits from the collections of the Library
of Congress are included.
Davis, Barbara A. Edward S. Curtis: The Life and
Times of a Shadow Catcher. San Francisco: Chronicle
Books, 1985. LC call number: TR 140 C82 D38 1985.
Generously illustrated with high-quality black-and-white
and color-tinted photographic reproductions, this biography
traces Curtis's devoted and extensive documentary work with
Native people and his creative fund-raising schemes to support
that commitment. It also chronicles his early interests in
photography, his successful portrait studio in Seattle, his
volatile family life, and the Hollywood productions and gold
mining pursuits of his later life.
Gidley, Mick. Edward S. Curtis and the North American
Indian, Incorporated. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1998. LC call number: E77.5 G53 1998.
A scholarly study of the North American Indian
project as a corporation, Gidley analyzes the financial, editorial,
business, and technical aspects of Curtis's massive enterprise
as well as the ideological and aesthetic forces that shaped
the final publication.
Hausman, Gerald and Robert Kapoun. Prayer to the
Great Mystery: The Uncollected Writings and Photography
of Edward S. Curtis. New York: St. Martin's Press,
1995. LC call number: E77.5 C83 1995.
The first work to focus on the unpublished Curtis
photographs held at the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs
Division, this well-illustrated study contains ninety-three
photographs which were not included in the twenty-volume The
North American Indian, as well as many lesser known
published images.
Lyman, Christopher M. The Vanishing Race and Other
Illusions: Photographs of Indians by Edward S. Curtis.
New York: Pantheon Books, 1982. LC call number: E77.5 L95
1982.
Lyman critiques Curtis's pictorialist, romantic,
and idealized images of Native people because they obscure
a drearier, more desperate reality. Curtis is also criticized
for editing "modern" elements, such as alarm clocks
and automobiles, from the views and for his use of props and
costumes. Lyman exposes various misrepresentations in Curtis's
depictions, as well as in other photographers' work of indigenous
people, with many photographic examples.
Makepeace, Anne. Coming to Light: Edward S. Curtis
and the North American Indians. VHS video, co-produced
by Anne Makepeace and Thirteen/WNET for American Masters,
2000. Available from Bullfrog Films.
This educational film tells the dramatic story
of Curtis's life and his changing views of the people he set
out to document. Hopi, Navajo, Inuit, Blackfeet, Blood, Piegan,
Suquamish, and Kwakiutl people who are descended from Curtis
subjects, or who are using his photographs for cultural preservation,
discuss the meaning of the images to native people and to all
Americans today.
Pitzker, Barry. Edward S. Curtis. New York:
Crescent Books, 1993. Call number: E77.5 P75 1993.
Reproduces nearly one hundred images from the
Curtis collections at the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs
Division, and the University of Washington.
Prepared by: Jennifer Brathovde, Reference
Specialist, May 2001.
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