ORIGINAL INDIAN WARS Parfleche Ration CARD Pouch. Early Mid 1900s.

Description

Original Indian Wars Era Parfleche Ration Card Pouch with old top part of a watch case from 1811. Executed on tanned dear skin. 3 1/2" x 6 1/2". Or 6 1/2" x 18 1/2" fully open. What a wonderful piece of Western History. Aparflecheis a type of wallet or bag made from rawhide. Historically made by Plateau, Great Basin, andPlains women, they are usually decorated with brightly colored geometrical designs. Aparflecheis aNative Americanrawhidecontainer that is embellished by painting, incising, or both. Envelope-shaped parfleches have historically been used to contain items such as household tools or foods, such as dried meat orpemmican. They were commonly made in pairs and hung from saddles. Their designs may have once served as maps.In contemporary usage, they may carry social, spiritual, and symbolic meaning, or be part of dance or parade regalia. The bags are usually decorated with a distinctive style of graphic artwork, often symbolizing landscape features such as rivers and mountains.Historically women were the main creators of parfleches,first painting stretched-out raw hides, then shaping them into their final form. In the 21st century, both women and men make them Origionaly from the Webbster House Collection. About the Webbster House Pieces. Here is some history and what I know about the origins of the pieces. Kenneth Webbster was a doctor who collected these ledger pieces from about 1930 until his death in 1967. By then he had amassed a substantial collection of these as well as bead work, hunting artifacts, baskets Navajo rugs, some head dresses and tribel clothing. After his death, his kids turned his home/office into a mini gallery to display his collection. It was called the Webbster House Collection. Once his kids got too old to keep it going, the grandkids took over and closed it down. I came across several baskets from the collection on an auction site a few years back. I bought them. With them came the contact info of the sellers. I contacted them to see about other baskets. I ended up taking a trip to Coldwater, Kansas and was introduced to the entirety of the collection. The ledgers are mostly all from the the Indian Industrial Schools. Some of the drawings have where they came from written on the front of them. Some do not. Why they were not listed on the back I do not know. I know that the students were not just children and the schools served as what was referred to as re education schools for adults as well. Thus the the subject matter of some of the drawings. Also, drawings were sent to donors and supporters of the schools as gifts and were coveted by many of the recipients. This would account for why thous students of these schools were encouraged to draw these pieces. Glass frames are inexpensive at Hobby Lobby or you may want to have it professionally framed as it is a very collectible work of historical art. This is a consignment piece. We do not accept returns on consignment items for any reason as the seller is paid once the item sells and getting funds back is difficult, so if you have questions, please ask before bidding. I have been a picker for over 40 years. A Native American Basket Collector for over 45. I am not a Native American Artifact Expert. I find items that are unique and make wonderful additions to collections or decor. I list them with the information I get at the time I acquire or agree to take on consignment. Many pepole don't want to fool with listing it themselves. I do it for them. I take 25% for my service. Due to the high cost of shipping and an effort keep our prices resionable, we do not cover shipping or insurance. Buyer is responsible to add insurance when checking out. We do not cover damage during transport by USPS, that is what insurance is for. We have a 3 day packaging time line. After that we ship once a week. Usually on Thursdays. By bidding on this auction, you are agreeing to the terms of "MY" auction. If you are one of our international buyers, please use eBay's Global shipping program. Thank you so much for looking, best, Keith
NOTE: After 24 years on eBay with a perfect Feedback record, we recently received two negative feedbacks from the same individual.  This buyer wanted money back on two items shipped togather due to damage incurred by the post office.  This buyer was responsible for the shipping and insurance costs on these particular auctions but failed to select the insured shipping option. Unfortunately,  USPS literally crushed their parcel.  The damage was minimal to one item only.  They wanted a 75% refund on both items and threatened negative Feedback if we did not comply. Basically blackmail. Ebay is currently investigating this matter.
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