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Edward
Sheriff Curtis (18681952)
Atsina Camp
Courtesy of the Rare Book & Special
Collections Division, Library of Congress
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Curtis
The North American Indian
19071930
The
production of The North American Indian—from
taking the photographs and interviewing Indian
tribes to the final production of 20 massive volumes
of photogravures—took 30 years. The photographer,
Edward S. Curtis (18691952),
travelled across America over 100 times documenting
Indian tribes from all regions in his research
for this timely, but now largely unknown encyclopaedia.
He saw the need to document the lives and culture
of the Indian people on a hitherto unrealised
scale.
Curtis
ran a successful photographic studio in Seattle,
which aided in funding the publications (which
outstripped Curtis’ funds). In 1906 J. Pierpont
Morgan, the New York financier and philanthropist,
was persuaded to underwrite The North American
Indian. His son, also J. Pierpont Morgan,
continued to support it. In total the Morgans
committed $400,000 to the project, but even this
funding was not enough to offset the huge costs
of the publication. Curtis was heavily committed
to raising other funding for the publication from
a variety of sources over the life of the project.
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Edward
Sheriff Curtis (18681952)
Geronimo Apache
Courtesy of the Rare Book & Special
Collections Division, Library of Congress |
Edward
Sheriff Curtis (18681952)
A Nakoaktok Chief's Daughter
Courtesy of the Rare Book & Special
Collections Division, Library of Congress |
The North
American Indian project probably commenced
in 1903 or 1904. Curtis’ greatest achievement
was in documenting the mythology and religion
of the Indian people, which had largely been undocumented.
As well as photographing and writing down their
songs and stories, he also recorded them on Edison
wax cylinders and was the first person to record
them on film.
Alhough
people criticised Curtis for his careful crafting
of images of the Indian people, he was ahead of
his time in documenting their life. The scale
of his project and the beauty of his creation
are testament to his vision and commitment.
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