Karl Bodmer (Swiss-born, 1809-1893). Three vignettes from the "Iconographic Encyclopedia of Science, Literature, and Art" by Johann Georg Heck (b. France 1795, d. Germany, 1857), 1851. A hand-colored steel engraving by Henry Winkles (British, 1801-1860) after Bodmer's works, featured in "Travels in the Interior of North America" (1832-34). Set in a white mat with a cellophane window. Size: 11.625" L x 9.125" W (29.5 cm x 23.2 cm); 15.5" L x 13.5" W (39.4 cm x 34.3 cm) with mat
Karl Bodmer's works demonstrate his immense technical virtuosity and during their day provided a detailed image of a previously little known (and unfortunately not long for this world) way of life. Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (1782-1867) invited Bodmer to create a visual record of his travels in North America, primarily to learn more about the Plains Indians in this era prior to the invention of the camera. The pair, along with David Dreidoppel, the Prince's hunting companion and servant, traveled from 1832 to 1834. They landed in Boston in July 1832, then traveled to Philadelphia, where Napoleon Bonaparte's elder brother Joseph hosted them. Next, they headed west via Pennsylvania across the Alleghenies to Pittsburgh and the Ohio country, all the while visiting important German settlements - the utopian colony of New Harmony in Indiana being a particularly important stop. It was there that the Prince spent five months in the company of some of the country's leading experts and studied informative literature about the American frontier. On March 1833, the party reached St. Louis, Missouri, and set off on their journey to meet and learn about Native Americans.
The trio left St. Louis aboard the steamer known as Yellow Stone on April 10, 1833. Proceeding up the perilous Missouri River, following the line of forts established by the American Fur Company, they first met Native Americans at Bellevue; next, they met the Sioux peoples, all the while learning everything they could and recording ceremonial dances and customs. Next, they transferred from the Yellow Stone to the Assinboine steamer, and continued to Fort Clark, visiting the Mandan, Crow, and Mintari tribes, and then the Assinboins at Fort Union, which was the primary base of the American Fur Company. They next boarded a smaller vessel to travel the Missouri to Fort Mackenzie in Montana, where they cautiously established a friendship with the legendarily fierce Blackfeet. This was their westernmost point, as it was considered much too dangerous to continue on. Hence, they returned downstream, and the winter months presented their own set of challenges. However, Bodmer continued to create magnificent studies of the peoples, dances, and villages they encountered along their way.
Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection
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#134551
Condition
Minute scuff to upper margin that does not interfere with the imagery. Slight toning to paper. Inventory notes handwritten in pencil on lower margin.