Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian - Volume X and Portfolio X, 1915

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Signature Annual Live Auction: Session Two

By Santa Fe Art Auction

Nov 6, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-11-06 12:00:00 2021-11-06 12:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Signature Annual Live Auction: Session Two https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/santa-fe/signature-annual-live-auction-session-two-7754
The Santa Fe Art Auction is delighted to present the 29th Signature Live Auction – the pinnacle of our calendar year. This year it brings together the very best of our diverse sale categories, including Native American, Spanish Colonial, Prints and Works on Paper, and fine American art. Santa Fe Art Auction info@santafeartauction.com

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• Lot Description
  Edward S. Curtis
  (1868 - 1952)
  The North American Indian - Volume X and Portfolio X, 1915
  Volume and portfolio on Japanese Gampi tissue etching stockFeaturing the Pacific Northwestern tribe of the KwakiutlPortfolio X36 photogravures on Japanese Gampi tissue etching stock with original Van Gelder overmatssigned in plate below image: E. S. Curtis23 x 19 in.  / prints 18 x 22 in.
  Volume X74 photogravures on Japanese Gampi tissue etching stock including 3 hand-colored prints12 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. / prints approx. 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.
  
  Featuring primarily the Northwest Coast tribes of the Nakoaktok and Qágyuhl, photographed in 1914, the images found here depict the rich ceremonial life of those and the surrounding tribes. Included are Hamatsa Emerging from the Woods, Nakoaktok Chief and Copper, Kotsuis and Hohhug, Dancing to Restore an Eclipsed Moon, and the over 20 costumed and masked ceremonial images. Curtis was so inspired by their ceremonial life, that he wrote and directed the first feature-length film whose cast was composed entirely of Native North Americans, In the Land of the War Canoes. This represents an excellent opportunity to acquire this rare and unusual pairing from set #96 of Edward Curtis’ landmark publication.
  
  PORTFOLIO X
  

  LIMITED EDITION: This Portfolio is from set #96, printed on handmade Japanese gampi tissue paper, quarto, original ¾ brown crushed levant by H. Blackwell of Boston, over beige linen-covered boards, original gilt lettered, with photogravure plates by John Andrew & Son of Boston after photographs by Edward S. Curtis, edited by Frederick Webb Hodge, Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology, field research conducted under the patronage of J. Pierpont Morgan. 

  
  

  PORTFOLIO: 36 large format photogravures, including a List of Plates reference that is hand letterpress printed on hand-made paper. Loose bound in a hand-made, 3-flap portfolio.

  
  

  ADDITIONAL: This example is from set #96, which descends from William Henry Moore (1847-1923) and his brother James Hobart Moore (1851-1916) to the Moore Memorial Library.  The brothers founded the library in their boyhood home of Greene, New York, in 1903, in honor of their mother.  While the Moore’s were not as well known as the Carnegies, Morgan’s and Harriman’s, the family operated in the same social milieu.  They were friends of J.P. Morgan, the visionary industrialist, and collector, who first sponsored Curtis’ comprehensive pictoral chronicle of native life, and next to Morgan, successfully exploited the financial possibilities of industrial mergers in the United States.  

  
  

  Exhibited: 

  The following prints from this portfolio have been included in national and international exhibitions:

  A Nakoaktok Chief’s Daughter, Plate 334

  Kotsuis and Hohhuq, Plate 336

  Kwakiutl House Frame, Plate 343

  Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian (176 print exhibit), 2000

  Edward S. Curtis: 100 Masterworks, 2016

  
  

  VOLUME X:

  LIMITED EDITION: This volume is numbered 96, printed on handmade Japanese gampi tissue paper, quarto, top edges gilt, original ¾ brown crushed levant by H. Blackwell of Boston, over beige linen-covered boards, original gilt lettered, raised paneled spine, with photogravure plates by John Andrew & Son of Boston after photographs by Edward S. Curtis, edited by Frederick Webb Hodge, Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology, field research conducted under the patronage of J. Pierpont Morgan. 
  TEXT VOLUMES: 75 photogravures, including 1 hand-colored prints. Over 190 pages of text and transcriptions of language and music. Hand letterpress printed on hand-made paper. Hand-bound.
  ADDITIONAL: This example is from set #96, which descends from original subscriber’s William Henry Moore (1847-1923) and his brother James Hobart Moore (1851-1916) to the Moore Memorial Library.  The brothers founded the library in their boyhood home of Greene, New York, in 1903, in honor of their mother.  While the Moore’s were not as well known as the Carnegies, Morgan’s and Harriman’s, the family operated in the same social milieu.  They were friends of J.P. Morgan, the visionary industrialist, and collector, who first sponsored Curtis’ comprehensive pictoral chronicle of native life, and next to Morgan, successfully exploited the financial possibilities of industrial mergers in the United States.  
  Portfolio and Volume Provenance: Edward S. Curtis StudioWilliam Henry MooreThe Moore Memorial LibraryThe Christopher G. Cardozo Collection, 1998

  Condition

  Portfolio: This original Portfolio of prints is in excellent condition overall. The photogravures are rich and saturated, with luminous highlights and fine details, which the gampi etching stock is known for. The original Van Gelder overmats are crisp and bright. The tissue prints and Van Gelder overmats have been conserved. The prints have been backed, or lined, with another piece of gampi tissue paper. This has the effect of laterally stabilizing the print so that it is less susceptible to contraction and expansion from environmental conditions, which can cause condition issues with prints that are not backed. Some prints have very minor, very soft rippling, which is primarily visible in bright, raking light, and is somewhat typical for Curtis’ photogravures on the Japanese gampi etching stock. Externally, the folio is in good to very good condition overall. The front cover, corners, and spine are excellent, with typical, minor, scattered nicks and scuffs to the leather and buckram, and minor wear at the corners. The rear, or verso, cover has a significant gouge in the leather at the lower right. The fabric ties are present and intact.
  
  Volume: This original volume is in very good to excellent condition overall. Internally, the pages are crisp and bright overall. The photogravures are rich and saturated, with fine highlights and details, including three hand-colored plates. The “Bound by H. Blackwell” stamp is present at the upper left corner of the flyleaf. The original silk bookmark is present, but detached. There is a Moore Memorial Library book-plate on the inside cover. There are minor to moderate interleave transfer marks in the margins of all image pages and facing pages. This is very typical of TNAI volumes with the Japanese gampi ‘tissue’ etching stock, and does not affect the photogravures. Most of the photogravures show minor to moderate wrinkling at the print corners, with some having wrinkles in the image area, which are primarily visible in strong, raking light. Externally, the top-edge gilding is excellent, with a couple of scattered scuffs and nicks. The binding is strong and intact. The front cover, corners, and spine is good to very good, with minor to moderate, scattered nicks and scuffs to the leather and buckram, and minor to moderate wear at the corners.
  Overall, these are very good examples of work from Curtis' seminal set, with exceptional provenance and beautifully rich plates.
  
  The condition reports for the lots offered by Santa Fe Art Auction (SFAA) are provided as a courtesy and convenience for potential buyers. The reports are not intended to nor do they substitute for physical examination by a buyer or the buyer's advisors. The condition reports are prepared by SFAA staff members who are not art conservators or restorers, nor do they possess the qualifications needed for comprehensive evaluation. Each condition report is an opinion of the staff member and should not be treated as a statement of fact. The absence of a condition report does not imply anything as to the condition of a particular lot. Buyers are reminded that the limited warranties are set forth in the Terms and Conditions of Sale and do not extend to condition. Each lot is sold as-is.
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