- Collection Overview
- Collection Description & Creator Information
- Access & Use
- Collection History
- Find Related Materials
Expanded View
Collection Overview
- Creator:
- Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories U.S.
- Title:
- "Photographs of North American Indians" Albums
- Repository:
- Manuscripts Division
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/jq085k72z
- Dates:
- circa 1840-1879
- Size:
- 10 boxes and 13.0 linear feet
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-10
- Language:
- English
Abstract
Consists of two disbound photograph albums containing 1,025 mounted albumen photographs of various Indigenous peoples of North America, including portraits of delegates to Washington, D.C.; expedition photographs; and early Western studio portraits by American photographers. Most of the photographs in the albums are described in the Numerical Index of William Henry Jackson's Descriptive Catalogue of the Photographs of North American Indians (1877), which is pasted to the albums.
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Scope and Contents
Consists of two disbound albums containing 1,025 mounted albumen photographs of various Indigenous peoples of North America, including portraits of delegates to Washington, D.C.; expedition photographs; and early Western studio portraits. Also included are photographs of ruins in the American Southwest and Mexico, of Southwestern Indian pottery and implements, and of models of Southwestern ruins.
Most of the photographs in the albums are described in the Numerical Index of William Henry Jackson's Descriptive Catalogue of the Photographs of North American Indians (1877), which is pasted on leaves at the beginning of each volume.
Item-level descriptions that end with the initials PRF were dated or otherwise reviewed by Paula R. Fleming, author of The Shindler Catalogue (Smithsonian 2003) and a photograph specialist familiar with the original negatives.
Complete list of known photographers: C. M. (Charles Milton) Bell, Mathew B. Brady, Charles William Carter, Savage & Ottinger, W. G. (William Gunnison) Chamberlain, Désiré Charnay, Thomas M. (Thomas Martin) Easterly, Edric L. Eaton, John H. Fitzgibbon, T. M. Galey, Alexander Gardner, John K. Hillers, J. D. Hutton, J. Gurney & Son, Jackson Brothers (Omaha, Neb.), William Henry Jackson, James E. McClees Studio, N. Brown & Son, Savage & Ottinger, A. Zeno (Antonio Zeno) Shindler, C. S. Stobie, Ulke Brothers, Orloff R. Westmann, Joel E. (Joel Emmons) Whitney.
- Content Warning
Racist, colonialist, and sexist language were used to describe many of the items in this collection. In most cases, descriptions were creator-supplied. In other cases, in which photographs lacked identifying information, descriptions were created by an archivist. However, the collection is a candidate for ongoing reparative description work. We hope that researchers will engage in a dialogue with staff about issues in the collection and changes that could help.
- Arrangement
This collection is arranged by volume and leaf number into ten boxes. Volume 1 (leaves i-iv, 1-99) is arranged in boxes 1-5, Volume 2 (leaves i-iv, 1-91) in boxes 6-10.
Collection History
- Acquisition:
Gift of Prof. William Libbey, Class of 1877, Department of Geology, circa 1895-1897. Accession numbers AM 125286 and AM 125287.
- Appraisal
No appraisal information is available.
- Processing Information
This collection was identified, researched, and described by Heather Shannon in 2005, with further research and description by Valerie Addonizio in 2009. Finding aid written by Valerie Addonizio in 2012. Researcher Paula R. Fleming also provided date and attribution information on specific items.
The existence of harmful language was noted in the collection-level description note by Faith Charlton in 2023 as an initial step per reparative description-related work.
As part of reparative description efforts in 2024, archivists removed the word "sq---" from item titles and replaced it with "wife" or "woman" based on available context. Former item titles, which had been derived from the 1877 Index of the Descriptive Catalogue of Photographs of North American Indians, remain evident in Scope and Contents notes.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
"Photographs of North American Indians" Albums; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/jq085k72z
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-10
Find More
- Bibliography
Descriptive and historical notes of the Bureau of American Ethnology Collection of Glass Negatives at the National Anthropological Archives, accessed online at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/guide/_b3.htm in 2010 and 2012. Descriptive and historical notes of Manuscript 4420 in the Bureau of American Ethnology-United States National Museum Collection of Indian Photographs, accessed online at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/guide/appx_g.htm in 2010 and 2012. Fleming, Paula R. Native American Photography at the Smithsonian: The Shindler Catalogue. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Books, 2003. Jackson, William H., and F. V. Hayden. Descriptive Catalogue of the Photographs of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories for the Years 1869 to 1875, Inclusive, Miscellaneous Publications, Number 5. Washington: G.P.O., 1875. Jackson, William H. Descriptive Catalogue of the Photographs of North American Indians, United States Geological Survey of the Territories, Miscellaneous Publications, Number 9. Washington: G.P.O., 1877.
- Subject Terms:
- Indigenous peoples of Mexico -- photographs
Indigenous peoples of North America -- photographs - Genre Terms:
- Albumen prints.
Ethnographic photographs.
Portrait photographs. - Names:
- Carter, C. W.
Chamberlain, W. G. (William Gunnison)
Charnay, Désiré (1828-1915)
Easterly, Thomas M. (Thomas Martin) (1809-1882)
Eaton, E. L. (Edric L.) (approximately 1836-)
Gardner, Alexander (1821-1882)
Jackson, William Henry (1843-1942)
Shindler, A. Zeno (Antonio Zeno)
Westmann, Orloff R.
Whitney, Joel E. (Joel Emmons) (1822-1886)
