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The North American Indian. The Complete Portfolios
At the turn of the 20th century, the American photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868–1952) started on his thirty-year project to produce a monumental study of North American Indians. Using an approach that was both artistically and scientifically ambitious, he recorded, in words and pictures, the traces of the traditional Indian way of life that was already beginning to die out.
With tireless personal commitment Curtis visited American Indian tribes from the Mexican border to the Bering Strait, gaining their confidence through his patience and sensitivity. His photographic life's work was printed in 20 volumes between 1907 and 1930 as The North American Indian. There were only 272 copies, in total, so original copies are now extremely rare.
This book gives lasting life to Curtis’s great achievement by making the photographs avaliable again.
With tireless personal commitment Curtis visited American Indian tribes from the Mexican border to the Bering Strait, gaining their confidence through his patience and sensitivity. His photographic life's work was printed in 20 volumes between 1907 and 1930 as The North American Indian. There were only 272 copies, in total, so original copies are now extremely rare.
This book gives lasting life to Curtis’s great achievement by making the photographs avaliable again.
765 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
46 people are currently reading
866 people want to read
About the author
Edward S. Curtis
213 books38 followersBeginning in 1900 and continuing over the next thirty years, Edward Sheriff Curtis, or the “Shadow Catcher” as he was later called by some of the tribes, took over 40,000 images and recorded rare ethnographic information from over eighty American Indian tribal groups, ranging from the Eskimo or Inuit people of the far north to the Hopi people of the Southwest. He captured the likeness of many important and well-known Indian people of that time, including Geronimo, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud, Medicine Crow and others. This monumental accomplishment is comprised of more than 2,200 sepia toned photogravures bound in twenty volumes of written information and small images and twenty portfolios of larger artistic representations.
Edward S. Curtis was born near Whitewater, Wisconsin in 1868. His father, a Civil War veteran and a Reverend, moved the family to Minnesota, where Edward became interested in photography and soon constructed his own camera and learned how to process the prints. At the age of seventeen he became an apprentice photographer in St. Paul. The family moved near Seattle, Washington, where Edward purchased a second camera and bought a half interest in a photographic studio. He married and the couple had four children.
In 1898 while photographing on Mt. Rainier, Curtis encountered a group of prominent scientists who were lost, among them George Bird Grinnell, a noted Indian expert, who became interested in Curtis’ work and invited him to photograph the Blackfeet Indian people in Montana two years later. It was there that Curtis practiced and developed his photographic skills and project methodology that would guide his lifetime of work among the other Indian tribes.
Such a massive project is almost incomprehensible in this day and age. In addition to the constant struggle for financing, Curtis required the cooperation of the weather, vehicles, mechanical equipment, skilled technicians, scholars and researchers and the Indian tribes as well. He dispatched assistants to make tribal visits months in advance. With the proper arrangements Curtis would travel by horseback or horse drawn wagon over paths or primitive “roads” to visit the tribes in their home territory. Once on site Curtis and his assistants would start work by interviewed the people and then photographing them either outside, in a structure, or inside his studio tent with an adjustable skylight. Employing these and other techniques over his lifetime he captured some of the most beautiful images of the Indian people ever recorded.
One of Curtis’ major goals was to record as much of the people’s way of traditional life as possible. Not content to deal only with the present population, and their arts and industries, he recognized that the present is a result of the past, and the past dimension must be included, as well. Guided by this concept, Curtis made 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of Indian language and music. In addition he took over 40,000 images from over 80 tribes, recorded tribal mythologies and history, and described tribal population, traditional foods, dwellings, clothing, games, ceremonies, burial customs, biographical sketches and other primary source information: all from a living as well as past tradition. Extending the same principle to the photographs, he presented his subjects in a traditional way whenever possible and even supplied a bit of the proper clothing when his subjects had none. Reenactments of battles, moving camp, ceremonies and other past activities were also photographed. These efforts provided extended pleasure to the elders and preserve a rare view of the earlier ways of the people.
With the publication of volume twenty in 1930, the years of struggle finally took their toll with Curtis suffering a physical and nervous break down. The declining interest in the American Indian, the Great depression, and other negative forces slowed, then halted the successful financial completion of the project. Less than 300 sets
Edward S. Curtis was born near Whitewater, Wisconsin in 1868. His father, a Civil War veteran and a Reverend, moved the family to Minnesota, where Edward became interested in photography and soon constructed his own camera and learned how to process the prints. At the age of seventeen he became an apprentice photographer in St. Paul. The family moved near Seattle, Washington, where Edward purchased a second camera and bought a half interest in a photographic studio. He married and the couple had four children.
In 1898 while photographing on Mt. Rainier, Curtis encountered a group of prominent scientists who were lost, among them George Bird Grinnell, a noted Indian expert, who became interested in Curtis’ work and invited him to photograph the Blackfeet Indian people in Montana two years later. It was there that Curtis practiced and developed his photographic skills and project methodology that would guide his lifetime of work among the other Indian tribes.
Such a massive project is almost incomprehensible in this day and age. In addition to the constant struggle for financing, Curtis required the cooperation of the weather, vehicles, mechanical equipment, skilled technicians, scholars and researchers and the Indian tribes as well. He dispatched assistants to make tribal visits months in advance. With the proper arrangements Curtis would travel by horseback or horse drawn wagon over paths or primitive “roads” to visit the tribes in their home territory. Once on site Curtis and his assistants would start work by interviewed the people and then photographing them either outside, in a structure, or inside his studio tent with an adjustable skylight. Employing these and other techniques over his lifetime he captured some of the most beautiful images of the Indian people ever recorded.
One of Curtis’ major goals was to record as much of the people’s way of traditional life as possible. Not content to deal only with the present population, and their arts and industries, he recognized that the present is a result of the past, and the past dimension must be included, as well. Guided by this concept, Curtis made 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of Indian language and music. In addition he took over 40,000 images from over 80 tribes, recorded tribal mythologies and history, and described tribal population, traditional foods, dwellings, clothing, games, ceremonies, burial customs, biographical sketches and other primary source information: all from a living as well as past tradition. Extending the same principle to the photographs, he presented his subjects in a traditional way whenever possible and even supplied a bit of the proper clothing when his subjects had none. Reenactments of battles, moving camp, ceremonies and other past activities were also photographed. These efforts provided extended pleasure to the elders and preserve a rare view of the earlier ways of the people.
With the publication of volume twenty in 1930, the years of struggle finally took their toll with Curtis suffering a physical and nervous break down. The declining interest in the American Indian, the Great depression, and other negative forces slowed, then halted the successful financial completion of the project. Less than 300 sets
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
October 24, 2022
The world, lost forever.
Amazing photos, especially considering times and technologies.
Amazing photos, especially considering times and technologies.
July 14, 2015
5 - brings- me -to -my -childhood- days-amazing-stars
I saw this book when I was 12 and it was so expensive and I had to save up for 4 months to purchase this book with a discount coupon and sometimes I would relive that childlike excitment.
I am a big fan of native american culture and many a times I used the pictures in the book to write short stories. Over the years it always stayed with me. My copy has survived well with no dog ears with only inimal damage at the spine. My copy was not only well loved but carefully handled as well.
The book contains 800 photographs of the native american culture during their early days at the reservations.(That heartbreaking history of America). The pictures sometimes are clearly not ethical as they looked staged with the use or props and may be carefully calculated to portray a certain reality. Knowing native american history well enough, I can clearly see that someimess the reality seen in these pictures were not the reality the Indians were living.
That being said, some of the pictures are stunning and can sometimes seem devastating
One of my favorite pictures:
This man's stunningly sophisticated beautiful face speaks volumes of his pain.
Other pictures :
I saw this book when I was 12 and it was so expensive and I had to save up for 4 months to purchase this book with a discount coupon and sometimes I would relive that childlike excitment.
I am a big fan of native american culture and many a times I used the pictures in the book to write short stories. Over the years it always stayed with me. My copy has survived well with no dog ears with only inimal damage at the spine. My copy was not only well loved but carefully handled as well.
The book contains 800 photographs of the native american culture during their early days at the reservations.(That heartbreaking history of America). The pictures sometimes are clearly not ethical as they looked staged with the use or props and may be carefully calculated to portray a certain reality. Knowing native american history well enough, I can clearly see that someimess the reality seen in these pictures were not the reality the Indians were living.
That being said, some of the pictures are stunning and can sometimes seem devastating
One of my favorite pictures:
This man's stunningly sophisticated beautiful face speaks volumes of his pain.
Other pictures :
February 24, 2015
Well this isn't what could be described as a 'novel'.
Apart from the forward there's very little text, only descriptions of each picture. Some of these are just one line - others are more detailed.
Apparantly this book was a result of 30 years worth of work by Edward S Curtis, where he visited 80 different tribes and exposed 40,000 different negatives.
Some quest!
As a pictoral history of the Native American people and their life it's certainly worth a look - but you do have to have an interest in the subject to even start it.
It's not one of the books that you hope will get better after 20 pages or so.
The way it begins is the way it is all the way through.
As for me I enjoyed working my way through it.
Apart from the forward there's very little text, only descriptions of each picture. Some of these are just one line - others are more detailed.
Apparantly this book was a result of 30 years worth of work by Edward S Curtis, where he visited 80 different tribes and exposed 40,000 different negatives.
Some quest!
As a pictoral history of the Native American people and their life it's certainly worth a look - but you do have to have an interest in the subject to even start it.
It's not one of the books that you hope will get better after 20 pages or so.
The way it begins is the way it is all the way through.
As for me I enjoyed working my way through it.
June 7, 2023
Edward Curtis's photos are exquisite and share the deepest truth of cultures and people ravaged by our government because of differences and greed. The photos capture a people and place and time of history not to be forgotten.
5/28/23
Every once in a while I open this book The photos are amazing His story very interesting too Edward Curtis traveled North America to take pics of chiefs and others tribes people who were still left after the massacres. The diversity of the people he showed in the book added to the wonder of it you can Google him and will see many wonderful photos
5/28/23
Every once in a while I open this book The photos are amazing His story very interesting too Edward Curtis traveled North America to take pics of chiefs and others tribes people who were still left after the massacres. The diversity of the people he showed in the book added to the wonder of it you can Google him and will see many wonderful photos
Read
January 19, 2016Compliments Timothy Egan's biography of Edward Curtis...by actually being parts of the portfolios Curtis spent most of Egan's book preparing (and in real life too with the help of JP Morgan). I'd heard there was going to be a visiting exhibit at our art museum of Curtis' work, so I was very stoked to find a reasonable copy of this book before I visit the gift shop with their exhibit markup.
There's a short introduction and a reprint of Teddy Roosevelt's intro to the original volumes; the rest is pictures so it's a quick "read".
There's a short introduction and a reprint of Teddy Roosevelt's intro to the original volumes; the rest is pictures so it's a quick "read".
June 6, 2023
Not only the past of the north american indian, but mankind. All people around the word have lived somehow in similar ways as those on this book. It is not only their past, but ours.
January 2, 2020
I picked this up in B&N bargain pile because it looked like an interesting photography book. While the photos were beautiful, Curtis's original explanations that accompany some of them are such a product of their time that I found many of them distasteful. The introduction helped frame the project and gave some clue as to its importance, but for a modern edition I don't think it went far enough to mitigate the exploitative nature of Curtis's work.
2019 Catch Up Challenge | Book I own but haven't read
2019 Catch Up Challenge | Book I own but haven't read
April 21, 2013
The photos in this book are truly amazing. If you are looking for a book that delves deeply into Native American culture then this is not the book for you. However, if you want to see stunning pictures and get a little information then this is an excellent book to purchase.
March 23, 2021
Iš esmės, nuotraukų knyga. Labai gražių nuotraukų :) Mane vis dar stebina, kad tie įstabūs portretai ir visas indėnų kultūros vaizdas, stipriai įtakotas E.S. Curtis meno. Meno, menančio tai, kas jį kuriant jau buvo praeitis.
February 16, 2024
wiki
w-eeks says
Early life
Curtis was born on February 19, 1868, on a farm near Whitewater, Wisconsin.
His father, the Reverend Asahel "Johnson" Curtis (1840–1887), was a minister, farmer, and American Civil War veteran born in Ohio.
His mother, Ellen Sheriff (1844–1912), was born in Pennsylvania.
Curtis's siblings were Raphael (1862 – c. 1885), also called Ray; Edward, called Eddy; Eva (1870–?); and Asahel Curtis (1874–1941).
Weakened by his experiences in the Civil War, Johnson Curtis had difficulty in managing his farm, resulting in hardship and poverty for his family.
Around 1874, the family moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota to join Johnson Curtis's father, Asahel Curtis, who ran a grocery store and was a postmaster in Le Sueur County. Curtis left school in the sixth grade and soon built his own camera.
Early career
In 1885, at 17, Curtis became an apprentice photographer in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1887 the family moved to Seattle, Washington, where he purchased a new camera and became a partner with Rasmus Rothi in an existing photographic studio. Curtis paid $150 for his 50% share in the studio.
After about six months, he left Rothi and formed a new partnership with Thomas Guptill. They established a new studio, Curtis and Guptill, Photographers and Photoengravers.
In 1895, Curtis met and photographed Princess Angeline (c. 1820–1896), also known as Kickisomlo, the daughter of Chief Sealth of Seattle. This was his first portrait of a Native American.
In 1898, three of Curtis's images were chosen for an exhibition sponsored by the National Photographic Society.
Two were images of Princess Angeline, The Mussel Gatherer and The Clam Digger. The other was of Puget Sound, entitled Homeward, which was awarded the exhibition's grand prize and a gold medal.
In that same year, while photographing Mount Rainier, Curtis came upon a small group of scientists who were lost and in need of direction.
One of them was George Bird Grinnell, considered an "expert" on Native Americans by his peers.
Curtis was appointed the official photographer of the Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899, probably as a result of his friendship with Grinnell. Having very little formal education Curtis learned much during the lectures that were given aboard the ship each evening of the voyage.
Grinnell became interested in Curtis's photography and invited him to join an expedition to photograph people of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Montana in 1900.
The North American Indian
In 1906, J. P. Morgan provided Curtis with $75,000 (equivalent to over $2.5 million in 2024) to produce a series on Native Americans.
This work was to be in 20 volumes with 1,500 photographs. Morgan's funds were to be disbursed over five years and were earmarked to support only fieldwork for the books, not for writing, editing, or production of the volumes.
Curtis received no salary for the project, which was to last more than 20 years. Under the terms of the arrangement, Morgan was to receive 25 sets and 500 original prints as repayment.
Once Curtis had secured funding for the project, he hired several employees to help him. For writing and for recording Native American languages, he hired a former journalist, William E. Myers.
For general assistance with logistics and fieldwork, he hired Bill Phillips, a graduate of the University of Washington and Alexander B. Upshaw a member of the Absaroke tribe (‘Crow’).
Frederick Webb Hodge, an anthropologist employed by the Smithsonian Institution, was hired to edit the series, based on his experience researching and documenting Native American people and culture in the southwestern United States.
Eventually, 222 complete sets of photographs were published. Curtis's goal was to document Native American life, pre-colonization.
He wrote in the introduction to his first volume in 1907, "The information that is to be gathered ... respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost."
Curtis made over 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of Native American language and music.
He took over 40,000 photographic images of members of over 80 tribes.
He recorded tribal lore and history, described traditional foods, housing, garments, recreation, ceremonies, and funeral customs. He wrote biographical sketches of tribal leaders.
His work was exhibited at the Rencontres d'Arles festival in France in 1973.
In the Land of the Head Hunters
Curtis had been using motion picture cameras in fieldwork for The North American Indian since 1906. He worked extensively with the ethnographer and British Columbia native George Hunt in 1910, which inspired his work with the Kwakiutl, but much of their collaboration remains unpublished.
At the end of 1912, Curtis decided to create a feature film depicting Native American life, partly as a way of improving his financial situation and partly because film technology had improved to the point where it was conceivable to create and screen films more than a few minutes long. Curtis chose the Kwakiutl tribe, of the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, for his subject. His film, In the Land of the Head Hunters, was the first feature-length film whose cast was composed entirely of Native North Americans.
In the Land of the Head-Hunters premiered simultaneously at the Casino Theatre in New York and the Moore Theatre in Seattle on December 7, 1914. The silent film was accompanied by a score composed by John J. Braham, a musical theater composer who had also worked with Gilbert and Sullivan. The film was praised by critics but made only $3,269.18 (around $99 thousand in 2024) in its initial run.
It was however criticized by ethnographic community due to its lack of authenticity. The Indians were not only dressed up by the movie director himself but the plot was enriched with exaggerated elements falsifying the reality.
Later years
The photographer Ella E. McBride assisted Curtis in his studio beginning in 1907 and became a friend of the family. She made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the studio with Curtis's daughter Beth in 1916, the year of Curtis's divorce, and left to open her own studio.
Around 1922, Curtis moved to Los Angeles with Beth and opened a new photo studio. To earn money he worked as an assistant cameraman for Cecil B. DeMille and was an uncredited assistant cameraman in the 1923 filming of The Ten Commandments.
On October 16, 1924, Curtis sold the rights to his ethnographic motion picture In the Land of the Head-Hunters to the American Museum of Natural History. He was paid $1,500 for the master print and the original camera negative. It had cost him over $20,000 to create the film.
In 1927, after returning from Alaska to Seattle with Beth, Curtis was arrested for failure to pay alimony over the preceding seven years. The total owed was $4,500, but the charges were dropped.
For Christmas of 1927, the family was reunited at the home of his daughter Florence in Medford, Oregon. This was the first time since the divorce that Curtis was with all of his children at the same time, and it had been 13 years since he had seen Katherine.
In 1928, desperate for cash, Curtis sold the rights to his project to J. P. Morgan Jr.
The concluding volume of The North American Indian was published in 1930. In total, about 280 sets were sold of his now completed magnum opus.
In 1930, his ex-wife, Clara, was still living in Seattle operating the photo studio with their daughter Katherine. His other daughter, Florence Curtis, was still living in Medford, Oregon, with her husband, Henry Graybill. After Clara died of heart failure in 1932, his daughter Katherine moved to California to be closer to her father and Beth.
Loss of rights to The North American Indian
In 1935, the Morgan estate sold the rights to The North American Indian and remaining unpublished material to the Charles E. Lauriat Company in Boston for $1,000 plus a percentage of any future royalties.
This included 19 complete bound sets of The North American Indian, thousands of individual paper prints, the copper printing plates, the unbound printed pages, and the original glass-plate negatives.
Lauriat bound the remaining loose printed pages and sold them with the completed sets. The remaining material remained untouched in the Lauriat basement in Boston until they were rediscovered in 1972.
Personal life
Marriage and divorce
In 1892, Curtis married Clara J. Phillips (1874–1932), who was born in Pennsylvania. Her parents were from Canada.
Together they had four children: Harold (1893–1988); Elizabeth M. (Beth) (1896–1973), who married Manford E. Magnuson (1895–1993); Florence (1899–1987), who married Henry Graybill (1893–?); and Katherine Shirley ("Billy") (1909–1982), who married Ray Conger Ingram (1900–1954).
In 1896, the entire family moved to a new house in Seattle.
The household then included Curtis's mother, Ellen Sheriff; his sister, Eva Curtis; his brother, Asahel Curtis; Clara's sisters, Susie and Nellie Phillips; and their cousin, William.
During the years of work on The North American Indian, Curtis was often absent from home for most of the year, leaving Clara to manage the children and the studio by herself.
After several years of estrangement, Clara filed for divorce on October 16, 1916. In 1919 she was granted the divorce and received Curtis's photographic studio and all of his original camera negatives as her part of the settlement.
Curtis and his daughter Beth went to the studio and destroyed all of his original glass negatives, rather than have them become the property of his ex-wife.
Clara went on to manage the Curtis studio with her sister Nellie (1880–?), who was married to Martin Lucus (1880–?).
Following the divorce, the two oldest daughters, Beth and Florence, remained in Seattle, living in a boarding house separate from their mother. The youngest daughter, Katherine, lived with Clara in Charleston, Kitsap County, Washington.
Death
On October 19, 1952, at the age of 84, Curtis died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, in the home of his daughter Beth. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
A brief obituary appeared in The New York Times on October 20, 1952:
Edward S. Curtis, internationally known authority on the history of the North American Indian, died today at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Beth Magnuson. His age was 84. Mr. Curtis devoted his life to compiling Indian history. His research was done under the patronage of the late financier, J. Pierpont Morgan. The foreward [sic] for the monumental set of Curtis books was written by President Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. Curtis was also widely known as a photographer.
w-eeks says
Early life
Curtis was born on February 19, 1868, on a farm near Whitewater, Wisconsin.
His father, the Reverend Asahel "Johnson" Curtis (1840–1887), was a minister, farmer, and American Civil War veteran born in Ohio.
His mother, Ellen Sheriff (1844–1912), was born in Pennsylvania.
Curtis's siblings were Raphael (1862 – c. 1885), also called Ray; Edward, called Eddy; Eva (1870–?); and Asahel Curtis (1874–1941).
Weakened by his experiences in the Civil War, Johnson Curtis had difficulty in managing his farm, resulting in hardship and poverty for his family.
Around 1874, the family moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota to join Johnson Curtis's father, Asahel Curtis, who ran a grocery store and was a postmaster in Le Sueur County. Curtis left school in the sixth grade and soon built his own camera.
Early career
In 1885, at 17, Curtis became an apprentice photographer in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1887 the family moved to Seattle, Washington, where he purchased a new camera and became a partner with Rasmus Rothi in an existing photographic studio. Curtis paid $150 for his 50% share in the studio.
After about six months, he left Rothi and formed a new partnership with Thomas Guptill. They established a new studio, Curtis and Guptill, Photographers and Photoengravers.
In 1895, Curtis met and photographed Princess Angeline (c. 1820–1896), also known as Kickisomlo, the daughter of Chief Sealth of Seattle. This was his first portrait of a Native American.
In 1898, three of Curtis's images were chosen for an exhibition sponsored by the National Photographic Society.
Two were images of Princess Angeline, The Mussel Gatherer and The Clam Digger. The other was of Puget Sound, entitled Homeward, which was awarded the exhibition's grand prize and a gold medal.
In that same year, while photographing Mount Rainier, Curtis came upon a small group of scientists who were lost and in need of direction.
One of them was George Bird Grinnell, considered an "expert" on Native Americans by his peers.
Curtis was appointed the official photographer of the Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899, probably as a result of his friendship with Grinnell. Having very little formal education Curtis learned much during the lectures that were given aboard the ship each evening of the voyage.
Grinnell became interested in Curtis's photography and invited him to join an expedition to photograph people of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Montana in 1900.
The North American Indian
In 1906, J. P. Morgan provided Curtis with $75,000 (equivalent to over $2.5 million in 2024) to produce a series on Native Americans.
This work was to be in 20 volumes with 1,500 photographs. Morgan's funds were to be disbursed over five years and were earmarked to support only fieldwork for the books, not for writing, editing, or production of the volumes.
Curtis received no salary for the project, which was to last more than 20 years. Under the terms of the arrangement, Morgan was to receive 25 sets and 500 original prints as repayment.
Once Curtis had secured funding for the project, he hired several employees to help him. For writing and for recording Native American languages, he hired a former journalist, William E. Myers.
For general assistance with logistics and fieldwork, he hired Bill Phillips, a graduate of the University of Washington and Alexander B. Upshaw a member of the Absaroke tribe (‘Crow’).
Frederick Webb Hodge, an anthropologist employed by the Smithsonian Institution, was hired to edit the series, based on his experience researching and documenting Native American people and culture in the southwestern United States.
Eventually, 222 complete sets of photographs were published. Curtis's goal was to document Native American life, pre-colonization.
He wrote in the introduction to his first volume in 1907, "The information that is to be gathered ... respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost."
Curtis made over 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of Native American language and music.
He took over 40,000 photographic images of members of over 80 tribes.
He recorded tribal lore and history, described traditional foods, housing, garments, recreation, ceremonies, and funeral customs. He wrote biographical sketches of tribal leaders.
His work was exhibited at the Rencontres d'Arles festival in France in 1973.
In the Land of the Head Hunters
Curtis had been using motion picture cameras in fieldwork for The North American Indian since 1906. He worked extensively with the ethnographer and British Columbia native George Hunt in 1910, which inspired his work with the Kwakiutl, but much of their collaboration remains unpublished.
At the end of 1912, Curtis decided to create a feature film depicting Native American life, partly as a way of improving his financial situation and partly because film technology had improved to the point where it was conceivable to create and screen films more than a few minutes long. Curtis chose the Kwakiutl tribe, of the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, for his subject. His film, In the Land of the Head Hunters, was the first feature-length film whose cast was composed entirely of Native North Americans.
In the Land of the Head-Hunters premiered simultaneously at the Casino Theatre in New York and the Moore Theatre in Seattle on December 7, 1914. The silent film was accompanied by a score composed by John J. Braham, a musical theater composer who had also worked with Gilbert and Sullivan. The film was praised by critics but made only $3,269.18 (around $99 thousand in 2024) in its initial run.
It was however criticized by ethnographic community due to its lack of authenticity. The Indians were not only dressed up by the movie director himself but the plot was enriched with exaggerated elements falsifying the reality.
Later years
The photographer Ella E. McBride assisted Curtis in his studio beginning in 1907 and became a friend of the family. She made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the studio with Curtis's daughter Beth in 1916, the year of Curtis's divorce, and left to open her own studio.
Around 1922, Curtis moved to Los Angeles with Beth and opened a new photo studio. To earn money he worked as an assistant cameraman for Cecil B. DeMille and was an uncredited assistant cameraman in the 1923 filming of The Ten Commandments.
On October 16, 1924, Curtis sold the rights to his ethnographic motion picture In the Land of the Head-Hunters to the American Museum of Natural History. He was paid $1,500 for the master print and the original camera negative. It had cost him over $20,000 to create the film.
In 1927, after returning from Alaska to Seattle with Beth, Curtis was arrested for failure to pay alimony over the preceding seven years. The total owed was $4,500, but the charges were dropped.
For Christmas of 1927, the family was reunited at the home of his daughter Florence in Medford, Oregon. This was the first time since the divorce that Curtis was with all of his children at the same time, and it had been 13 years since he had seen Katherine.
In 1928, desperate for cash, Curtis sold the rights to his project to J. P. Morgan Jr.
The concluding volume of The North American Indian was published in 1930. In total, about 280 sets were sold of his now completed magnum opus.
In 1930, his ex-wife, Clara, was still living in Seattle operating the photo studio with their daughter Katherine. His other daughter, Florence Curtis, was still living in Medford, Oregon, with her husband, Henry Graybill. After Clara died of heart failure in 1932, his daughter Katherine moved to California to be closer to her father and Beth.
Loss of rights to The North American Indian
In 1935, the Morgan estate sold the rights to The North American Indian and remaining unpublished material to the Charles E. Lauriat Company in Boston for $1,000 plus a percentage of any future royalties.
This included 19 complete bound sets of The North American Indian, thousands of individual paper prints, the copper printing plates, the unbound printed pages, and the original glass-plate negatives.
Lauriat bound the remaining loose printed pages and sold them with the completed sets. The remaining material remained untouched in the Lauriat basement in Boston until they were rediscovered in 1972.
Personal life
Marriage and divorce
In 1892, Curtis married Clara J. Phillips (1874–1932), who was born in Pennsylvania. Her parents were from Canada.
Together they had four children: Harold (1893–1988); Elizabeth M. (Beth) (1896–1973), who married Manford E. Magnuson (1895–1993); Florence (1899–1987), who married Henry Graybill (1893–?); and Katherine Shirley ("Billy") (1909–1982), who married Ray Conger Ingram (1900–1954).
In 1896, the entire family moved to a new house in Seattle.
The household then included Curtis's mother, Ellen Sheriff; his sister, Eva Curtis; his brother, Asahel Curtis; Clara's sisters, Susie and Nellie Phillips; and their cousin, William.
During the years of work on The North American Indian, Curtis was often absent from home for most of the year, leaving Clara to manage the children and the studio by herself.
After several years of estrangement, Clara filed for divorce on October 16, 1916. In 1919 she was granted the divorce and received Curtis's photographic studio and all of his original camera negatives as her part of the settlement.
Curtis and his daughter Beth went to the studio and destroyed all of his original glass negatives, rather than have them become the property of his ex-wife.
Clara went on to manage the Curtis studio with her sister Nellie (1880–?), who was married to Martin Lucus (1880–?).
Following the divorce, the two oldest daughters, Beth and Florence, remained in Seattle, living in a boarding house separate from their mother. The youngest daughter, Katherine, lived with Clara in Charleston, Kitsap County, Washington.
Death
On October 19, 1952, at the age of 84, Curtis died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, in the home of his daughter Beth. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
A brief obituary appeared in The New York Times on October 20, 1952:
Edward S. Curtis, internationally known authority on the history of the North American Indian, died today at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Beth Magnuson. His age was 84. Mr. Curtis devoted his life to compiling Indian history. His research was done under the patronage of the late financier, J. Pierpont Morgan. The foreward [sic] for the monumental set of Curtis books was written by President Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. Curtis was also widely known as a photographer.
July 19, 2018
Like most Americans, I have seen Curtis' work throughout the years. But a recent visit to Santa Fe where we saw some original reproductions from his portfolios put his work in a whole new light. This Taschen book (not expensive - $20 - for such beautiful repros!) has all of his portfolios, and they are the oeuvre of a true genius. Leafing through these pages gives you a profound sense of what we lost in our culture when we decimated the American Indians and their culture. As someone who lives in the West, the pictures of well-known natural monuments and plains with the original peoples in the landscape is moving beyond words. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
November 28, 2009
This is the invaluable tome of Edward Curtis. It is rich with images of American Indians – but many of the pictures were staged by Curtis, so it must be viewed with this knowledge. The pictures are from approximately 1907-1930, and elicit great emotive response. Many of them are stunningly beautiful, awe inspiring, and thought provoking. The geographical range of the myriad tribes represented include Arctic and Subarctic, through the Northwest, Plains, Plateau, Prairie Plains, Great Basin, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and California culture regions.
October 28, 2015
Having read Shadow Catcher (Egan), I jumped at the chance to see the Curtis exhibit showing locally (Bend OR). Of course, there were only a few of the numerous photographs on exhibit, but the drive was worth the time and effort. AND I was anxious to purchase this book.
I did so, and was not disappointed! This is not a book to be 'read' so much as so be savored and enjoyed...over and over. While there is some text, the information provided enhances the enjoyment of Curtis's photos. It is truly a treasure trove!
I purchased the book new at the Exhibit.
I did so, and was not disappointed! This is not a book to be 'read' so much as so be savored and enjoyed...over and over. While there is some text, the information provided enhances the enjoyment of Curtis's photos. It is truly a treasure trove!
I purchased the book new at the Exhibit.
August 14, 2015
This pictoral book is a collection of many of the pictures from Edward S. Curtis' "North American Indian" 20 volume set. They are far too small to reveal the detail that is available in a large print version like "Sacred Legacy" (which I would recommend greatly over this one). Although one of the things that I did pick up from this book is the ability to visually recognize the markings of a few different tribes.
December 16, 2017
Even though Curtis' photography and documentation on American Indians is often contested, it has been (and still is I suppose) an important source. Taschen did a great job making his photography accessible (at affordable price) to common people and not just old, dusty history professors.
February 19, 2016
Unbelievably beautiful. A treasure.
December 31, 2024
Stunning photos with shocking narrative.
April 30, 2023
I have already read the author's another book, Indian Days Of The Long Ago, but that was mostly stories. Here we have hundreds of photos he's better known about, from rare 20 portfolios (721 photos), with some selections from encyclopedia photos. This was a 30-year project that started in late 19th c., and besides photos, oral material of traditions and stories, music, linguistic study, etc. were collected by him and his assistants. At first, most of the Native Americans he met were reluctant or even hostile, but grew to respect him, appreciate his efforts of preservation, and even helped to spread the word of his serious commitment to preserve already-fading lore and ways, in a time when there was about 250 000 Native Americans left (today it's about 2 million) struggling in reservations due to conflicts, wars, illinesses, hunger, and likely also alcoholism and such.
The map at the beginning shows where the author's tours took him, from the Mexican border to Alaska (you notice that he doesn't really go at all to Southeastern US), with names of the people groups included. Curtis really did a lot of hard work with constant money issues even when sponsored by wealthy people like JP Morgan, and his work really only started to gain approval in the 1970s. Also at the beginning is a good background introduction, and a nice introduction from Teddy Roosevelt (who probably felt by then less hostile towards the Native Americans).
Of course, all photos are in black and white; most of them are of good quality, though in some a good lighting could've brought out the details better. Here I list some themes I found among the photos (which are arranged by area and by tribes):
- portraits (with Native and/or Western names): men, women, children, in everyday clothes or dance/gala/special occasion ones, sometimes with the same person in one extra photo.
- on horseback (incl. herding, war-party, and scouts)
- at a river/lake (for water, travel, dwell near, canoes and kayaks of various types, fishing, gathering, traveling due to marriage)
- hunting or gathering water, food, materials (learned they use moss as 'diaper' material for babies, for example)
- activities like storytelling, singing, preparing food or hides
- dwellings like camps, houses (clay, grass, branches, reed mats, stone, wood...), tipis (occasionally painted, or for kids)
- landscapes, ruins, burial grounds or platforms
- belief-related: shrines and altars, dances (incl.animal-themed, medical ceremony), art, offerings, sun dancing, purifications
- blanket weaving, making baskets, pottery, house-posts/columns (incl.miniature), dolls, shell money
- tools (fe. burden basket, woven head-burden ring, the travois)
- hairstyles and ornaments (that appear in portraits also)
- animals: horses, dogs (the latter helped with burden in earlier times even more)
You find that sometimes certain tribes adopt certain things like outfit details and dances from tribes living in other areas. The levels of dressing vary too (in things like nudity level, using white men's clothing or accessories like buttons). Attitude towards the photographer(s) show sometimes clearly: dislike, pride, curious, smiling, weary...
I carefully measured how much each day I would progress with this book; wanted to enjoy it more rather than grow tired of familiar themes - appreciate the people who were photographed (and thus gave knowledge to us on how things were, and the photographer(s) who went on several trips to capture everything here. A random buy at the bookstore gave me appreciation on some things I never saw this well before.
The map at the beginning shows where the author's tours took him, from the Mexican border to Alaska (you notice that he doesn't really go at all to Southeastern US), with names of the people groups included. Curtis really did a lot of hard work with constant money issues even when sponsored by wealthy people like JP Morgan, and his work really only started to gain approval in the 1970s. Also at the beginning is a good background introduction, and a nice introduction from Teddy Roosevelt (who probably felt by then less hostile towards the Native Americans).
Of course, all photos are in black and white; most of them are of good quality, though in some a good lighting could've brought out the details better. Here I list some themes I found among the photos (which are arranged by area and by tribes):
- portraits (with Native and/or Western names): men, women, children, in everyday clothes or dance/gala/special occasion ones, sometimes with the same person in one extra photo.
- on horseback (incl. herding, war-party, and scouts)
- at a river/lake (for water, travel, dwell near, canoes and kayaks of various types, fishing, gathering, traveling due to marriage)
- hunting or gathering water, food, materials (learned they use moss as 'diaper' material for babies, for example)
- activities like storytelling, singing, preparing food or hides
- dwellings like camps, houses (clay, grass, branches, reed mats, stone, wood...), tipis (occasionally painted, or for kids)
- landscapes, ruins, burial grounds or platforms
- belief-related: shrines and altars, dances (incl.animal-themed, medical ceremony), art, offerings, sun dancing, purifications
- blanket weaving, making baskets, pottery, house-posts/columns (incl.miniature), dolls, shell money
- tools (fe. burden basket, woven head-burden ring, the travois)
- hairstyles and ornaments (that appear in portraits also)
- animals: horses, dogs (the latter helped with burden in earlier times even more)
You find that sometimes certain tribes adopt certain things like outfit details and dances from tribes living in other areas. The levels of dressing vary too (in things like nudity level, using white men's clothing or accessories like buttons). Attitude towards the photographer(s) show sometimes clearly: dislike, pride, curious, smiling, weary...
I carefully measured how much each day I would progress with this book; wanted to enjoy it more rather than grow tired of familiar themes - appreciate the people who were photographed (and thus gave knowledge to us on how things were, and the photographer(s) who went on several trips to capture everything here. A random buy at the bookstore gave me appreciation on some things I never saw this well before.
October 28, 2023
Edward Curtis set out at the end of the 19th Century to capture images of North American Indians because he had seen the effects of white Americans on them. He was acutely aware that these people were vanishing as concrete societies because of white contact.
The decimation of the American Indian was mainly a result of the diseases brought from Europe combined with the loss of tribal lands. In the Plains the slaughter of the buffalo was critical in destroying those who relied on that animal.
Various treaties were concluded with different groups of Native Americans - the majority were not upheld. I believe it may have been Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce who said the whites only kept one promise - they would take our (Indian) land.
Curtis worked for thirty years to photograph (and film) as much as he could of the Indian societies West of the Mississippi River. Time prevented Curtis from going into the Eastern US, Mexico and further into Canada.
Some criticism of his stems from his lack Anthropological/Ethnological qualifications but at this time, these disciplines were only just emerging. - at least up to about 1910, perhaps. Franz Boas, Bronislov Malinowski, Ruth Benedict and others who developed anthropology in America and the world were developing their expertise and experience in the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's.
The point about Curtis was that he did what nobody else had done - photograph the Indian before contact and assimilation finally destroyed those societies. The photos are invaluable. It is true that they depict the latter years of North American Indian societies, that there was staging of scenes and that there were some inaccuracies. If you look carefully at some pictures things such as western clothing can be seen, machine sewn blankets, white hair styles and such like - but not that much in actual fact. Assimilation had had its effect. Given the state of cameras at this time, Curtis needed to have his subjects stationary.
Despite all of this his pictures are a fabulous photographic record of dynamic societies that lost their struggle against overwhelming odds. We would be that much poorer without Curtis and his camera.
My only 'complaint' (hence 4 stars - should be 4 and 3/4)is that the photos have no dates with them which is explained in the introduction. As a record, the volume is priceless ,regardless of criticism. As with any photo, look at all of it not just the person depicted. Excellent.
The decimation of the American Indian was mainly a result of the diseases brought from Europe combined with the loss of tribal lands. In the Plains the slaughter of the buffalo was critical in destroying those who relied on that animal.
Various treaties were concluded with different groups of Native Americans - the majority were not upheld. I believe it may have been Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce who said the whites only kept one promise - they would take our (Indian) land.
Curtis worked for thirty years to photograph (and film) as much as he could of the Indian societies West of the Mississippi River. Time prevented Curtis from going into the Eastern US, Mexico and further into Canada.
Some criticism of his stems from his lack Anthropological/Ethnological qualifications but at this time, these disciplines were only just emerging. - at least up to about 1910, perhaps. Franz Boas, Bronislov Malinowski, Ruth Benedict and others who developed anthropology in America and the world were developing their expertise and experience in the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's.
The point about Curtis was that he did what nobody else had done - photograph the Indian before contact and assimilation finally destroyed those societies. The photos are invaluable. It is true that they depict the latter years of North American Indian societies, that there was staging of scenes and that there were some inaccuracies. If you look carefully at some pictures things such as western clothing can be seen, machine sewn blankets, white hair styles and such like - but not that much in actual fact. Assimilation had had its effect. Given the state of cameras at this time, Curtis needed to have his subjects stationary.
Despite all of this his pictures are a fabulous photographic record of dynamic societies that lost their struggle against overwhelming odds. We would be that much poorer without Curtis and his camera.
My only 'complaint' (hence 4 stars - should be 4 and 3/4)is that the photos have no dates with them which is explained in the introduction. As a record, the volume is priceless ,regardless of criticism. As with any photo, look at all of it not just the person depicted. Excellent.
September 8, 2022
"Avec M. Curtis, nous avons affaire à la fois à un artiste et à un observateur expérimenté, dont l'œuvre est non seulement fidèle à la réalité mais aussi d'une grande sincérité." -Théodore Roosevelt-
On les a chassé, parquet dans des réserves comme si la terre qui les avait vue naître n'était plus, n'était pas, n'avait jamais été à eux. Décimés par les guerres, la persécution, la sous-alimentation et les maladies. Ils n'étaient pourtant pas des "sauvages", nom que leur ont donné les colonisateurs, ces hommes blancs se pensant supérieur. Si seulement on les avait écouté et respecté...ils nous auraient appris tant de choses.
C'est un album qui renferme de très nombreuses photos prise à la fin du XIX siècle jusqu'au début du XX par Edwards Curtis.
Chaque peuple est photographié, avec une justesse historique remarquable, chaque photo a une histoire, un massage, pour ne pas oublier. Il est impossible de décrire cette œuvre, il faut en parcourir les pages, croiser leurs regards.
Cet ouvrage est magnifique comme tout ceux de la collection, j'aime beaucoup les livres publiés chez Taschen.
On les a chassé, parquet dans des réserves comme si la terre qui les avait vue naître n'était plus, n'était pas, n'avait jamais été à eux. Décimés par les guerres, la persécution, la sous-alimentation et les maladies. Ils n'étaient pourtant pas des "sauvages", nom que leur ont donné les colonisateurs, ces hommes blancs se pensant supérieur. Si seulement on les avait écouté et respecté...ils nous auraient appris tant de choses.
C'est un album qui renferme de très nombreuses photos prise à la fin du XIX siècle jusqu'au début du XX par Edwards Curtis.
Chaque peuple est photographié, avec une justesse historique remarquable, chaque photo a une histoire, un massage, pour ne pas oublier. Il est impossible de décrire cette œuvre, il faut en parcourir les pages, croiser leurs regards.
Cet ouvrage est magnifique comme tout ceux de la collection, j'aime beaucoup les livres publiés chez Taschen.
June 26, 2024
Edward Curtis was a photographer who visited 80 different Native American tribes. He took incredible photographs of the people, their homes, their ceremonies, and the land they lived on. I thought the book did a good job in the introduction giving a well-rounded view of him. On the one hand, he did believe in the nonsense idea of "the vanishing Indian" but on the other hand, he believed that we should treat Native Americans equally, not break treaties, and that phrenology was total BS. So for his time, he would've been a progressive guy. I also liked that the intro set up that the vast majority of his work was carefully staged, but I think his notes also make that clear. Often it seemed his goal was to photograph outfits etc. that were falling out of style so that there would be a record of them.
July 10, 2021
If there's anything wrong with this, it's too much of a good thing?
Yes, it is 700 pages of Curtis's photos taken of Native Americans in the early 20th century. Some have captions, most do not. The introduction does a good job of addressing any issues that might occur to you. While I cannot fault the work for being what it is (exhaustive, fascinating, beautiful, informative), I would recommend reading something that goes more in to depth about Curtis's quest. And of course one quickly comes to long for a less romanticized, sentimental, obvious lens on this subject. I could have used some more texts with my photos, is what I'm saying. But if you have enough background on this work, then the photos are here in nice quality and great quantity.
My copy ISBN: 9783836573146
Yes, it is 700 pages of Curtis's photos taken of Native Americans in the early 20th century. Some have captions, most do not. The introduction does a good job of addressing any issues that might occur to you. While I cannot fault the work for being what it is (exhaustive, fascinating, beautiful, informative), I would recommend reading something that goes more in to depth about Curtis's quest. And of course one quickly comes to long for a less romanticized, sentimental, obvious lens on this subject. I could have used some more texts with my photos, is what I'm saying. But if you have enough background on this work, then the photos are here in nice quality and great quantity.
My copy ISBN: 9783836573146
July 29, 2019
Wow, an extremely important book for our US history. The documentation of the photo's for all the different North American Indians that were around at the turn of the century can not be undervalued. The treatment, agreements and every following one that was broken makes this one of the worst tragedies in our Country's history. So the documentation of the tail end of some of the tribes that may have not continued is important.
Unfortunately Edward did not make much money for his work and it is a shame, but what he left is a national treasure that should be appreciated for everyone to see.
Unfortunately Edward did not make much money for his work and it is a shame, but what he left is a national treasure that should be appreciated for everyone to see.
March 6, 2025
Un travail remarquable. EDWARD CURTIS démontre dans ce livre tout son talent, tout son art. Il se dégage de ces photos, témoins d'une époque aujourd'hui disparue, toute la beauté, la dignité et la noblesse des indiens d'Amérique du Nord. Cette collection est d'une immense portée historique, ethnologique. Dans chacune de ses photographies un battement semble faire écho celui d'un idéal : la liberté de tout un peuple. Riche et unique !!!
March 3, 2021
What is sure: the photographs are beautiful; their purpose also as a witness and testimony of tribes, customs, ceremonies, adjournments, etc.
what I cringe at while reading is the use of some terms, usually used at that time, but unacceptable today as "savage" or a judgment of some tribes smartness. it's a beautiful book, with great shots and of importance.
what I cringe at while reading is the use of some terms, usually used at that time, but unacceptable today as "savage" or a judgment of some tribes smartness. it's a beautiful book, with great shots and of importance.
November 23, 2021
This book is a beautiful, heartbreaking love note to the North American Indian tribes that Curtis spent time with. Each picture holds a story set in a time capsule. And each description leaves you curious, wanting to know more.
February 4, 2023
Monumental enciclopedia fotográfica sobre las peculiaridades de cada tribu a lo ancho y largo de Norteamérica. Veinte volúmenes llenos de imágenes de calidad excepcional que guardan infinitas vidas que ya no existen, que fueron borradas.
March 24, 2023
A breathtaking collection. I’m in awe. A monumental amount of work must have gone into this, especially given the times. A long lost world. Thankfully not completely forgotten.
Thank you Edward S. Curtis, wherever you are.
Thank you Edward S. Curtis, wherever you are.
March 10, 2018
A book that is a work of art. Beautiful and breathtaking. And somewhat sad.
May 10, 2018
This was a great companion while reading Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher.
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