ORIGINAL 1837 McKENNEY & HALL LARGE FOLIO NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN LITHOGRAPH #1

Description

Very rare and original, 1837 Large Folio size, Hand colored Stone Lithograph from McKenney and Hall's “Portfolio of American Indians” of the Great Native American Chippewa Indian Chief Anacamegishca (known as Foot Prints) – leader of the Rainy Lake Chippewa and signer of the 1826 Fond Du Luc Treaty.
This fantastic, hand colored lithograph measures approx. 14 1/4" by 20" and retains its original full margins. The Lithograph is matted for display (overall size of matted display is 18” by 24”).
The Image is a bust portrait of the Chippewa Chief with a blanket wrapped around his midsection and wearing a presidential Peace Medal around his neck. It is titled in the stone “A-Na-Cam-E-Gish-Ca / A Chippeway Chief”. It is copyright 1836 by the publisher E. G. Biddle of Philadelphia. The portrait was painted by Charles Bird King and lithographed by Lehman & Duval of Philadelphia. The original hand coloring is very dark and strong and this wonderful, early 19th century lithograph is stunningly beautiful.
All that is known of this Chippewa Chief is Colonel McKenney's terse, stereotyped description: "He is six feet three inches in stature, and well made." The Indian superintendent first met the chief at the Fond du Lac treaty council in the summer of 1826. The appearance of the chief was a singular victory for McKenney and Michigan Governor Lewis Cass; both were aware of the long allegiance of the Rainy Lake Chippewa to the British. The close relationship of the tribe and the crown began with Anacamegishca's great grandfather, the famous Chippewa chief Nittum. (This is McKenney's spelling, but it may be the Chippewa “Nitam”, meaning "the first"). His influence over the nation was so great that the North-West Fur Company wooed him for years with gifts of whiskey, rifles and powder in order to keep his friendship and maintain their monopoly of the fur trade. When the old man died the officials of the company ordered his burial platform elevated near the Grand Portage trading post in the northeastern corner of Michigan and the Union Jack flown nearby. In 1803, when the post was abandoned for the new trading center Forth William on the northwest shore of Lake Superior, the chief's bones were removed with great ceremony, as McKenney recalled, and "honored with distinguished marks of respect..." The respect and trust with which the Indian nations of the frontier of the 1820s regarded Colonel McKenney and Governor Cass undoubtedly helped to influence the Chippewa to abandon the British for the Americans.
The McKenney and Hall “History of the Indian Tribes of North America” was produced between 1836-1844. These richly hand colored lithographs are today one of the most important and attractive ethnographic works created in nineteenth century America. McKenney and Hall's Indian Tribes of North America have long been renowned for its faithful portraits of Native Americans. The portrait plates are based on paintings by the artist Charles Bird King, who was employed by the War Department to paint the Indian delegates visiting Washington D. C., forming the basis of the War Department's Indian Gallery. "the most colorful portraits of Indians ever executed" (Howes). T. L. McKenney's goal in commissioning the work was both to educate the American public about these greatly exotic warriors and chiefs and to preserve them for posterity in a series of beautiful portraits. Most of the original oil portraits were painted from life in studio of Charles Bird King, to whom McKenney brought many of the subjects. The rest were copied from watercolors executed in the field by a young frontier artist named James Otto Lewis. Once finished the portraits were housed in the Smithsonian, where they remained until an 1865 fire burned down the institution and destroyed most of the paintings. Their appearance in McKenney and Hall's magnificent work is thus our only record of the likenesses of many of the most prominent Indian leaders of the early nineteenth century. Numbered among King's sitters were Sequoyah, Red Jacket, Major Ridge, Cornplanter, and Osceola. After six years as Superintendent of Indian Trade, Thomas McKenney had become concerned for the survival of the Western tribes. As a result the folio and octavo editions are vital in their "faithful recording of the features and dress of celebrated American Indians who lived and died long before the age of photography"
This beautiful, original 1836 hand colored portrait is in excellent condition. As noted above the sheet retains its full, wide original margins with some minor wear along the right hand edge. The original hand coloring is bright and vibrant – rich and warm and the Lithograph displays beautifully. The sheet is clean and crisp with no soiling, staining or foxing however there is some VERY light offset of the text from the facing page in the blank areas surrounding the portrait as can be seen in the scans below. As stated above, the Portrait is matted for display and the matt has an old Booksellers label / price tag affixed at the upper left hand corner. Overall this outstanding 180+ year old, Hand Colored Stone Lithograph is exceptionally well preserved and displays beautifully!!
An exceptionally rare and stunningly beautiful, original McKenney and Hall Native American Indian, Large folio, Hand Colored, Stone Lithograph Portrait of the young and handsome, Chippewa Chief Anacamegishca and a fantastic addition to any collection!!
Be sure to check out this seller’s other auctions for 3 other McKenney and Hall Portraits which are also being offered for sale this week on eBay!!
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