Edward S. Curtis Papers,

Transcription

1 Overview of the Collection Creator Curtis, Edward S., Title Edward S. Curtis Papers Dates (inclusive) Quantity 1.47 cubic ft. Collection Number 0847 Summary Photographer of the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and California, and creator the North American Indian photography documentation project. Repository University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Special Collections University of Washington Libraries Box Seattle, WA Telephone: Fax: Access Restrictions Open to all users. Languages Sponsor English Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Biographical Note Edward Sheriff Curtis was born in 1868, grew up in Minnesota, and moved to the Puget Sound area with his family in In 1891 he established a photography business in Seattle. Within a few years, Curtis and his partner, Thomas Guptill, established themselves as the leading photographers on Puget Sound. In 1897 Guptill left the business, and its name was changed to Edward S. Curtis, Photographer and Photoengraver. In addition to photoengraving for other businesses and publications, Curtis's stock in trade consisted of fashionable wedding portraits, society portraits, dramatic prints of Northwest scenery, and photographs of local Indians. As his business prospered, Curtis was able to leave the studio in the charge of others so that he could photograph subjects which interested him. In 1899 Curtis was chosen as the official photographer for the Harriman expedition, a scientific expedition to Alaska sponsored by railroad tycoon Edward Harriman. The expedition stimulated Curtis's interest in photographing Native Americans, exposed him to scientific methods, and provided him with a number of useful contacts. In the next several years, he continued his studio work as well as his Indian work, but from 1904 on, he spent most of his time away from Seattle. By 1903 or 1904 he began to form a plan for a photographic project that would be "a permanent record of all the important tribes of the U.S. that still retain to a considerable degree their primitive traditions and customs." Reflecting a general belief that Native Americans were a vanishing culture, Curtis embarked on a monumental project that was both artistic and ethnological. His Indian photographs emphasized traditional elements 1

2 of dress and culture, deemphasizing acculturation. In this he mirrored the interests of ethnologists of the day. Curtis's project benefited from broad public interest in the West. In 1904 Curtis went to the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology and discussed his plans for a multi-volume collection of photos of Indians. Frederick Webb Hodge, a leader of the Ethnology Bureau, agreed to edit Curtis's collection, The North American Indian. In 1904 Curtis also met Theodore Roosevelt, who became an enthusiastic supporter of the project. Curtis organized an Eastern tour in 1905; his exhibitions in Washington and New York resulted in sales of his pictures, patronage for his fieldwork, and a commission from Scribners magazine for four illustrated articles. In 1906 Curtis sought financial support from J. P. Morgan, who initially agreed to give Curtis $15,000 a year for five years to research, write, and publish 20 volumes of The North American Indian. Each volume included ethnological text illustrated with 75 small photogravure prints, plus a companion portfolio of 36 copper photogravure plates. The volumes were printed on handmade paper with fine engravings and bound in Moroccan leather. The first two volumes were published in Apr., 1908, but the project was not completed until 1930, when volumes 19 and 20 were released. By this time, Morgan and the Morgan estate had contributed half of the project's total cost of $1,500,000. Curtis concentrated his study on the tribes west of the Mississippi, from New Mexico to Alaska. He began his work in the Southwest in 1904 and made his last field trip, to Alaska, in He studied over eighty tribes and took 40,000 photographs. He attempted to participate as much as possible in the daily and ceremonial life of each tribe. Although not academically trained, Curtis and his assistants conducted extensive fieldwork. With his assistant, William Myers, Curtis recorded many songs (now in the University of Indiana archives) and amassed information on Indian life. Myers did most of the writing for North American Indian after the first two volumes. The project suffered a number of delays and temporary setbacks. By 1907 Curtis's reputation had grown and his photographs enjoyed popular success, but he was continually short of funds to cover the cost of the project. He spent the warmer months of each year in the field, photographing and conducting research with his crew, and the rest of the year raising money or promoting the project. There was a six-year lapse between the publication of volumes 11 and 12 due to delays caused by World War I. After the war public interest in Curtis's work had waned and he gave up trying to make advance subscription sales of future volumes. In 1917, after a divorce and a loss of the Seattle studio, Curtis moved to Los Angeles and set up a new studio there. In addition to his studio work and efforts finishing up The North American Indian, Curtis pursued an interest in mining and occasionally took jobs as a cameraman on early Hollywood movies. He died on October 21, 1952, in Los Angeles. Florence Graybill was Edward Curtis's middle daughter. As a child she was taken on some of his field trips. In the summer of 1922 she assisted Curtis with his work among the Indians of northern California and southern Oregon. Together with Victor Boesen she published Edward Sheriff Curtis: Visions of a Vanishing Race in She died in Content Description The papers of Edward Curtis include no , a small collection that primarily contains correspondence. The larger collection, no , consists predominantly of Curtis's writings, including early drafts of published texts and unfinished memoirs, as well as correspondence, including letters from Theodore Roosevelt. This accession also contains Florence Graybill's research and writings in a separate subgroup. 2

3 Other Descriptive Information Ts: Typescript TsS: Typescript Signed TDf: Typed Draft XC: Photo Copy w/rev: With hand-written corrections frag: fragment Publication data are provided whenever known. Titles in quotation marks are actual titles. Square brackets [ ] indicate the subject of untitled writings. Administrative Information Arrangement Organized into 2 accessions. No , Edward S. Curtis papers, No , Edward S. Curtis papers, Acquisition Information no (a merger of nos and ) was donated by Edward Shell in Jan., items were transferred to this accession from the papers of Edward's brother, Asahel Curtis, in Dec., One letter was transferred from within the repository in Mar., no was donated by Florence Graybill in May, Processing Note Initially processed in Final processing took place in Detailed Description of the Collection No : Edward S. Curtis papers, /2" linear (14 items; 1 letter) Scope and Content: Correspondence of Curtis, an American Indian photographer; lists. Mostly Curtis's outgoing letters to Edward Shell and Alice Daniels (Shell's sister). Restrictions on Access: Open to all users. Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries. Acquisition Info: Edward Shell. 3

4 Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries. Container(s) Description Dates Incoming Letters 1/ Bok, Edward Nov. 18, / Hornaday, William T. Feb. 2, / Page, Walter H. Jan. 23, / Smith, Herbert A. Apr. 13, / Stevenson, Matilda Coxe Mar. 15, / Stewart, A. B. Dec. 26, / Outgoing Letters , Correspondence Regarding Edward S. Curtis 1/ Pinchot, Gifford to Stokes, Anson Phelps, Jr. Mar. 27, / Blethen, Joseph to Judson, Harry Pratt Nov. 29, 1910 Lists 1/ List of Volumes of North American Indian... 1/ Partial List of Patrons of The North American Indian 4

5 1/ Tributes to Edward S. Curtis 1/ Clipping 1/ Covers No : Edward S. Curtis papers, cubic feet (3 boxes and 1 oversize folder) Scope and Content: Incoming letters, writings, ephemera, clippings, photographs. Florence Graybill, daughter of Edward Curtis, used these writing for her book, "Edward Sheriff Curtis: Visions of A Vanishing Race." Restrictions on Access: Open to all users. Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries. Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation or publication. Contact Repository for details. Copyright transfer applies only to Curtis' and Graybill's writings. Acquisition Info: Florence Curtis Graybill, Port Townsend. Container(s) Description Dates Personal Papers Incoming Letters 1/ Roosevelt, Theodore Outgoing Letters 1/ To Meany, Edmond S. [1923] 1/ Unidentified 5

6 General Correspondence 1/ (Mrs.) Gardner 1937 Writings 1/ "Apache" Scope and Content: TDf w/rev (2), XC, XC w/rev. "As It Was" 1/ Early Draft Scope and Content: TDf w/rev frag 1/ Later Draft Includes 2 copies of Ch. 12, "The Sea Otter," each with its own revisions. 1/ "The Sea Otter," Ch. 12 Scope and Content: TDf w/rev frag, (very early draft?). 1/ "Whaling," Ch. 4 Scope and Content: TDf w/rev, (very early draft?). 1/ "The Atsina," Ch. 9 1/ "The Awakening" Scope and Content: Ts, TsS. 1/ "Crisis in an Oasis" 6

7 2/ "Dancing with Snakes" Published as "Snake Rite" in Westways, Aug. 1974, pp / [Early Indian Work] 2/ "Experiment" 2/ "Foreword" Scope and Content: Possibly to "As It Was." TDf w/rev. 2/ "The Forgotten Mapmaker" Scope and Content: Ts. In the Land of the Headhunters Scope and Content: Published / "In the Land of the Headhunters" Scope and Content: TDf w/rev frag, TDf. 2/ "Prologue" Scope and Content: TDf, TDf w/rev. 2/ "The Indian and His Religious Freedom" Scope and Content: Ts. 2/ [Kwakiutl Wedding] 2/ "The Lost Mine of Dead Man's Gulch" Scope and Content: TDf w/rev, (story). 2/ "Mount Rainier, the Great Peek [sic] of the Pacific Forest Reserve" 7

8 Scope and Content: "Mount Rainier, and the Pacific Forest Reserve." TDf frag, TDf w/rev (3), photo lists (2). 2/ "Navajo Yebichai" 2/ [Nez Perce] Scope and Content: TDf, TDf frag. 2/ "The Nez Perce War," Scope and Content: TDf. 2/ [Nezz (sic) Perce] Scope and Content: TDf, TDf w/rev. North American Indian Scope and Content: Published / "Foreword," by Theodore Roosevelt Scope and Content: Ts. 2/ "Outline of the Curtis Publication, The North American Indian" Scope and Content: Ts. By Curtis? 2/ "Southern California Shoshoneans" Scope and Content: Ts. Published in vol. 15 of NAI. 2/ "Octopus" 2/ [Sea Lions] Scope and Content: TDf. 2/ "Origin Story--Sioux. First Version" Scope and Content: TDf. 2/ "The Sioux" 8

9 Scope and Content: TDf. 2/ "Sioux Ceremonies " Scope and Content: TDf. 2/ "Sioux Notes. Visions" Scope and Content: TDf. 2/ "The Sioux; Chapter" Scope and Content: TDf, TDf w/rev. 2/ [Skykomish] 2/ [Summer 1923] 2/ "Travelling the Route of Lewis and Clark; One Hundred Years Later" Apparently based on Ch. 1 of "As it Was." 2/ "Vanishing Indian Types; The Tribes of the Southwest" Scope and Content: Ts. Published in Scribner's Magazine, xxxix, 1906, pp / [Whaling Trip] Scope and Content: ADf. 2/ Fragments Scope and Content: ADf. 2/ Notes 2/ Lists 2/ Prospectus--North American Indian 1907, / Promotional Material[view] 2/ Programs[view] 1912, 9

10 2/ Reviews Box:Oversize Reviews / Clipping--Curtis Article: "Vanishing Indian Types; The Tribes of the Northwest Plains" Scope and Content: Published in Scribner's Magazine, xxxix, pp / Clipping / Ephemera Florence Curtis Graybill 3/ Incoming Letters , Writings 3/ Edward Sheriff Curtis: Visions of a Vanishing Race Scope and Content: Published Ts frag, written with Victor Boesen. 3/ Miscellaneous Research Materials 3/ Notes 10

11 3/ Lists 1908, 3/ Copies from Edmond S. Meany Papers Scope and Content: Re: Chief Joseph , 3/ Copies from Various Repositories 1889, 1906, 3/ Miscellaneous 1913, 1951, Photographs 3/ Edward Sheriff Curtis 1899, 3/ Photo Lists 1974, 3/ Photo Captions--for Edward Sheriff Curtis; Visions of a Vanishing Race Writings of Others 3/ Homer Boelter/Lonnie Hull 3/ Beth DeWall Thesis / Katherine Curtis Ingram 3/ Poems 1985, 3/ Miscellaneous Clippings 11

12 3/ Re: Edward S. Curtis[view] , 3/ Re: Chief Joseph / Miscellaneous , Ephemera 3/ Re: Edward S. Curtis , 3/ Miscellaneous 1982, Names and Subjects Subject Terms : Indians of North America--Great Plains Indians of North America--Northwest, Pacific Indians of North America--West (U.S.) Photographers--Washington (State)--Archives Photographic historians--washington (State)--Archives Personal Names : Curtis, Edward S., Archives Graybill, Florence Curtis--Archives Roosevelt, Theodore, Titles within the Collection : North American Indian Names and Subjects Subject Terms : Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington) 1996 (Last modified: 11/20/2017) 12

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