Based on the renowned frontier artwork of George Catlin's North
American Indian Portfolio, McKenney and Hall's History of the Indian
Tribes of North America, and Prince Maximilian's Travels in the
Interior of North America between 1832 and 1834, these historic
collections of prints and paintings were the first to preserve images of
Native Americans before their culture was affected by the white man.
Fulfilling one of the Library of Congress's central missions--to
document the printed, visual, and written history of this country--the
images in this volume constitute part of the archive of the American
memory.
Native Americans found the world's eyes upon them in the nineteenth
century. Artists like George Catlin, Charles Bird King, and Karl Bodmer
trekked to the West to paint images for those unable to make the journey
and created some of the most important sociological, historical, and
ethnological studies of American Indians. George Catlin, for example,
was allowed to observe many of the ceremonies and games in the Indian
villages which enabled him to provide a remarkably detailed picture of
the tribe's religious and social life. He wrote, "The history and
customs of such a people, preserved by pictorial illustration, are
themes worthy of the lifetime of one man." This extraordinary miniature
folio will appeal to anyone with an interest in American art, art
history, or Native American history.
