CATLIN, GEORGE
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 Chatto & Windus, 1875]. The expanded edition, the first to include the six additional unnumbered plates. Later half brown morocco by Rivière, tan cloth sides, the spine stamped and lettered in gilt, top edge gilt. 22 3/8 x 17 inches (59 x 41.5 cm); with letterpress title, list of plates and 31 finely hand-colored lithographed plates after Catlin mounted on guards, the plates drawn on stone by McGahey and printed by Day & Haghe. Neatly rebacked with the original spine laid down, the front endpaper reattached, the verso of which has staining from the attachment of a bookplate, no longer present; one plate (Buffalo Hunt on Snow Shoes) with dust soiling affecting the image and a pale marginal stain, margins toned, one corner with a small marginal chip; two other plates with minor marginal stains, small tape repair in the extreme margin of plate 5, some minor dust soiling here and there but a generally attractive copy. The large bookplate of Richard Bayard Dominick mounted on the first blank, some adhesive staining to the blank and slight offsetting to the title .
In seeking subscriptions for the North American Indian Portfolio, Catlin envisioned the work in four parts comprising one hundred plates. Beyond the first part, which contained the hunting scenes and amusements, the subsequent parts were to present portraits, religious ceremonies, and warfare scenes. When work began on the portfolio a total of 31 lithographic stones were prepared but only 25 were included in the first issue of the book and the plans for subsequent parts were apparently scrapped. Catlin, facing financial difficulty, sold the copyrights to the book to Bohn, whose firm specialized in reprints of color plate books. He published each of the various London editions of the book from 1845 until 1872, when he sold his copyright and several sets of the Portfolio to the publishers Chatto & Windus, who in turn reissued the work. In the process, they added back in the six plates originally lithographed in 1845. These, featuring numerous figures, add much to the work and are titled "The War Dance," "The Scalp Dance," "Buffalo Hunting," "Mah-to-Toh-Pa," "Joc-O-Sot," and "Ojibbeways." The Chatto & Windus issue of the work is noted for its darker backgrounds which emphasize the action of the scenes depicted. Reese The Production of Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio, 1844-1876, unpublished paper; Howes C-243; Sabin 11532; Wagner-Camp 105a:3; Siebert II; lot 846.
Sold for $46,875
Estimated at $40,000 - $60,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
CATLIN, GEORGE
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 Chatto & Windus, 1875]. The expanded edition, the first to include the six additional unnumbered plates. Later half brown morocco by Rivière, tan cloth sides, the spine stamped and lettered in gilt, top edge gilt. 22 3/8 x 17 inches (59 x 41.5 cm); with letterpress title, list of plates and 31 finely hand-colored lithographed plates after Catlin mounted on guards, the plates drawn on stone by McGahey and printed by Day & Haghe. Neatly rebacked with the original spine laid down, the front endpaper reattached, the verso of which has staining from the attachment of a bookplate, no longer present; one plate (Buffalo Hunt on Snow Shoes) with dust soiling affecting the image and a pale marginal stain, margins toned, one corner with a small marginal chip; two other plates with minor marginal stains, small tape repair in the extreme margin of plate 5, some minor dust soiling here and there but a generally attractive copy. The large bookplate of Richard Bayard Dominick mounted on the first blank, some adhesive staining to the blank and slight offsetting to the title .
In seeking subscriptions for the North American Indian Portfolio, Catlin envisioned the work in four parts comprising one hundred plates. Beyond the first part, which contained the hunting scenes and amusements, the subsequent parts were to present portraits, religious ceremonies, and warfare scenes. When work began on the portfolio a total of 31 lithographic stones were prepared but only 25 were included in the first issue of the book and the plans for subsequent parts were apparently scrapped. Catlin, facing financial difficulty, sold the copyrights to the book to Bohn, whose firm specialized in reprints of color plate books. He published each of the various London editions of the book from 1845 until 1872, when he sold his copyright and several sets of the Portfolio to the publishers Chatto & Windus, who in turn reissued the work. In the process, they added back in the six plates originally lithographed in 1845. These, featuring numerous figures, add much to the work and are titled "The War Dance," "The Scalp Dance," "Buffalo Hunting," "Mah-to-Toh-Pa," "Joc-O-Sot," and "Ojibbeways." The Chatto & Windus issue of the work is noted for its darker backgrounds which emphasize the action of the scenes depicted. Reese The Production of Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio, 1844-1876, unpublished paper; Howes C-243; Sabin 11532; Wagner-Camp 105a:3; Siebert II; lot 846.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, May 11, 2023