Blackfoot Crossing: Indigenous People in the Great North-West, The Graphic 1882

Experience a captivating glimpse into the world of 19th-century ethnography with the "Aborigines of North America", an antique print from Blackie's Comprehensive Atlas and Geography,...

Antique costume print titled 'Indiens-Corbeaux'. Original antique print of Crow Indians. This print originates from 'Moeurs, usages et costumes de tous les...

Set of ten Weinhold Reis colored lithographs of the Blackfeet; period frames - Scalping Woman; Wife of Night Shoots; Lazy Boy; Blackfeet Medicine Man; Long Ti...

In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States government set out to survey and document its newly acquired lands and territories west of the Mississippi. The goals of these surveys were manifold: to produce topographical maps, to document flora and fauna, and to document natural resources to build the emerging US economy. These surveys, and the images from them, also functioned to build the new sense of American identity with the landscape, condensing vistas into the 'picturesque' tradition of European image making. Thus, the entire span of US territory could be seen as a single, cohesive whole. This lithograph comes from one of six surveys commissioned by the Army's Topographic Bureau in 1853, which sought to find the best route to construct a transcontinental railroad. The result was a thirteen-volume report including maps, lithographs, and technical data entitled 'Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific Ocean.' In particular, the print comes from the northern survey, commanded by Isaac Stevens, which explored the regions between the 47th and 49th parallels. In this image, Stanley shows an encampment of the people known as the Red River of the North hunters. They were generations of European and mixed-race trappers who lived on the frontier and had Indian wives and mixed-race children. They had come to the area for bison hunting, as the herds were still vast on the prairies. In the image, the figures and their encampment are dwarfed by the vast landscape around them, indicating the sublimity of these new American territories. 5.75 x 8.75 inches, image 6.5 x 9.25 inches, stone 17 x 20 inches, frame Artist 'Stanley Del.' lower left Entitled 'Camp Red River Hunters' lower center margin Publisher 'Sarony, Major & Knapp. Lith.s 449 Broadway N.Y.' lower right Inscribed 'U.S.P.R.R. EXP. & SURVEYS — 47th & 49th PARALLELS' upper left Inscribed 'GENERAL REPORT — PLATE XII' upper right Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent rag matting with French accents; glazed with UV5 Plexiglas to inhibit fading; housed in a gold reverse ogee moulding. Print in overall good condition; some localized foxing and discoloration; minor surface abrasions to frame. John Mix Stanley...