Beschreibung:

CATLIN, George (1796-1872). Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio. Hunting Scenes and Amusements of the Rocky Mountains and Prairies of America. From Drawings and Notes of the Author, made during Eight Years' Travel amongst Forty-Eight of the Wildest and Most Remote Tribes of Savages in North America . London: Geo. Catlin, Egyptian Hall [but Henry Bohn]; text printed by C. and J. Adlard, 1844 [or 1845]. Broadsheets (23½ x 18 7/16 in.; 597 x 468 mm). 25 fine hand-colored lithographed plates after Catlin by Catlin and McGahey, lithographed by Day and Haghe, each heightened with gum arabic and mounted on card within ink-ruled borders (some mounting cards soiled and bumped at corners, heavier soiling on 6 mounts). Letterpress title-page and nine leaves of text loose in modern wrappers. Plates and text laid loose as issued in red half morocco portfolio (restored preserving original covers and label); modern cloth folding case. FIRST EDITION, THIRD (BOHN) ISSUE, FIRST ISSUE WITH THE PLATES HAND-COLORED AND MOUNTED ON CARD. Catlin himself had previously published the very scarce first colored issue with the plates printed on full sheets of paper, unmounted. Although Catlin planned on producing a series of thematic portfolios reproducing images from his Indian Gallery, the present publication overextended his resources. The publication of his North American Indian Portfolio was taken over by Henry Bohn. "These beautiful scenes in Indian life are probably the most truthful ever presented to the public" (Field). Catlin's eight years of field research and painting of forty-eight tribes produced this immensely rich record of Native Americans. "The history and customs of such a people, preserved by pictorial illustrations, are themes worthy the lifetime of one man, and nothing short of the loss of my life shall prevent me from visiting their country and becoming their historian" (Preface). Abbey Travel 653; Field 258; Howes C243; Sabin 11532; Wagner-Camp 105a:1; William S. Reese, "The Production of Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio , 1844-1876," unpublished paper.