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Papers and illustrations of George Catlin, 1868-1892.

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Title	Papers and illustrations of George Catlin, 1868-1892.
Creator	Catlin, George, 1796-1872
Physical Description	240 pieces (three folio manuscript volumes, one small bound volume, and 236 sheets containing unbound illustrations)
Biographical Note	George Catlin, artist and author, was known especially for his paintings of Indians. Born in Wilkes-Barre, PA, he practiced law until his talent for painting led him to join a group of artists in Philadelphia in 1823. Catlin concentrated on portrait painting in Washington, D.C., until 1829, when he saw a delegation of visiting American Indians in Philadelphia. He then resolved to devote his life to preserving the appearance and character of the vanishing Indians and for forty-two years traveled extensively in the U.S. West and lived among the tribes. Catlin wrote many books and articles related to his experiences.
Notes	The collection consists of the following: 1. an unpublished bound folio manuscript titled, The North Americans in the middle of the nineteenth century; 2. 237 unbound illustrations of both North and South American Indians (of which a large number were meant to accompany the manuscript text), and 21 unbound illustrations of the La Salle expedition; 3. a small bound volume containing a list of the extant illustrations called for in the manuscript, along with correspondence and other materials concerning the collection . The folio manuscript has been conserved and bound in three volumes, and its text consists of a series of captions, many of which individually describe the unbound illustrations. Several of the illustrations of North American Indians have corresponding captions in the manuscript, but 52 of the illustrations depict “unidentified groups” of indigenous peoples that are not described. Some of the unidentified subjects may be South American. The La Salle works are not addressed in the manuscript . The illustrations in the collection include the following: 50 oil paintings (including the 21 unfinished paintings of the La Salle expedition), 155 pencil drawings (many are counterproofs), 43 line engravings from Catlin’s published works, and ten other prints. With few exceptions, most of the line engravings have been removed from published versions of Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians . The small bound volume contains letters, dated 1892, regarding the contents of the collection, its origins, and the translation of some Indian names found in the manuscript text. Also included in the volume is a list of the 206 illustrations called for in the manuscript of George Catlin’s unpublished book, The North Americans in the middle of the nineteenth century . Similar sets of George Catlin images can be found at other institutions, according to William Truettner’s 1977 work The Natural Man Observed: A Study of Catlin’s Indian Gallery. Truettner also observes that there are twelve or more of these image sets, called ‘Albums Unique,’ in existence. They range in date from 1849 to 1863, and they each contain from around ten to 220 illustrations. Each album contains different numbers and combinations of outline drawings, but each was likely based on a master copy belonging to Catlin . Online research indicates that some of the institutions with collections similar to that of the Huntington Library are the Gilcrease Museum, the National Gallery, the New York Public Library, and the Rutgers University Library in New Brunswick, NJ. The Gilcrease Museum possesses a bound volume of Souvenir of the North American Indians with 100 pages: fifty watercolors, each with a facing page of text in Catlin’s hand. The National Gallery has about 350 varied works by Catlin, including paintings of the La Salle expedition. The New York Public Library possesses over 170 items from Souvenir of the North American Indians, most of which are pencil drawings. The Rutgers University Library has a souvenir album of the North American Indians that contains 99 portraits of chiefs and representative men of 34 Indian tribes.
Date	1870-1872
Provenance	Frank Glenn, purchase, 11/9/54
Subject	Catlin, George, 1796-1872. Art, American. Indians of North America -- Pictorial works. Indians of South America -- Pictorial works. Artists -- United States -- Archives. Painters -- United States -- Archives.
Form/Genre	Albumen prints -- United States -- 19th century. (aat) Drawings -- United States -- 19th century. (aat) Engravings (prints) -- 19th century. (aat) Oil paintings -- United States -- 19th century. (aat) Planographic prints -- United States -- 19th century. (aat) Photomechanical prints United States 19th century. (aat)
Department	Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. Manuscripts Dept.
Call Number	mssHM 35183
Physical Collection	Western Americana Drawings
Digital Collection	Manuscripts, Huntington Digital Library
Cataloging Notes	Images only scanned.

Title	Sioux Group: Ee-ah-sa-pa, Wy-loo-tah-ee-tchah-ta-ma-nee, Eeh-loo-ta.
Creator	Catlin, George, 1796-1872
Physical Description	47 x 61.5 cm. ; Oil on board
Notes	Color . Three adults and two children . Catlin manuscript volume "The North Americans in the Middle of the Nineteenth Century" Part One: "Sioux (Dakota). Ee-ah-sa-pa (the Black Rock) head war chief of the Sioux tribe, in a magnificent dress of skins; His head dress of Eagle's quills and Ermine, descending to the ground, and surmounted with horns, indicating his authority and power, as head war chief of the tribe. (like an ancient Jewish custom?) His Buffalo Robe is painted with curious devices -- his shirt and leggings are fringed with scalp locks, and in his hand he holds his lance and medecine Bag. (for 'scalps' and 'medecine Bags,' see Glossary). Wy-loo-tah-ee-tchah-ta-ma-nee (the red thing that touches the ground in marching) (a little red tassel attached to the lower extremity of the chief's head dress) an unmarried girl, daughter of the war Chief, in a pretty dress of skins. Eeh-loo-ta (willow) a Sioux woman, wife and child of the war chief, and the infant (pappoose) carried on the mother's back, lashed to its crib (or cradle.)"
Date	1870-1872
Subject	Dakota Indians -- Portraits. Dakota Indians -- Pictorial works.
Form/Genre	Oil paintings -- United States -- 19th century. (aat)
Department	Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. Manuscripts Dept.
Part of Object	Papers and illustrations of George Catlin, 1868-1892
Call Number	HM 35183 (1a)
Physical Collection	Western Americana Drawings
Digital Collection	Manuscripts, Huntington Digital Library
Digitization Specifications	High Res.
Date Digital	4/1/2003
Digital Format	Image/tiff
Restrictions	Images in this collection are for scholarly research; please review the Huntington Library's copyright information: http://cdm16003.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/about . For purchasing images for publication please review our permission to publish policy: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=590 .
Cataloging Notes	Related to images 1b, 1c.
Unique Digital Identifier	43901
Image Request	To request an image for scholarly research or personal use, please use this form: http://catalog.huntington.org/screens/HDL_photo_form.pdf . Be sure to provide the Unique Digital Identifier (UDID) number with your order; if there is no UDID present please provide call number and title.
Object File Name	HM_35183_001a.jpg

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Papers and illustrations of George Catlin, 1868-1892.

Sioux Group: Ee-ah-sa-pa, Wy-loo-tah-ee-tchah-ta-ma-nee, Eeh-loo-ta.

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Papers and illustrations of George Catlin, 1868-1892.

Papers and illustrations of George Catlin, 1868-1892.