Early 1900s Photography

A wonderful and very coveted original large-format photogravure by iconic American photographer Edward Curtis (1868-1952) titled "Mosa Mohave" Of this image Curtis noted “It would b...

Edward S Curtis (1868-1952) Title: Gambler Piegan Plate: 194 Portfolio: Volume 6 Printer: Proof print printed by John Andrew & Son Medium: Photograv...

An original platinum print on textured paper by iconic American photographer Edward Curtis titled "The Piki Maker" The print is hand-signed in ink, blind-stamped with Curtis' embos...

Early original pictorialist sepia tone gelatin silver print photograph of a sultry young woman in a flowing gown by Rochester NY photographer Ned Hungerford, 1900-1910. Beautiful eth...

Edward S Curtis (1868-1952) Title: Oyi – Tsa (“Duck White”), Summer Cacique of Santa Clara Plate: 601 Portfolio: The North American Indians Volume 17, The Tewa, The Zuni Printer: ...

Edward S Curtis (1868-1952) Title: Shot in The Hand - Apsaroke Plate: 133 Portfolio: Volume IV Printer: John Andrew & Son Medium: Photogravure Date: 1908 Dimensions: Sheet: W 15 5/...

Original period pictorialist sepia tone gelatin silver print photograph of a theatrically posed partially clad muscular male nude by Ned Hungerford of Rochester NY, circa 1900-1910. ...

Edward S Curtis (1868-1952) Title: Autumn - Apsaroke Plate: 130 Portfolio: Volume IV Printer: John Andrew & Son Medium: Photogravure Date: 1908 Edwar...

Original early pictorialist sepia tone gelatin silver print photograph of a theatrically posed partially clad muscular male nude by Rochester NY photographer Ned Hungerford. Circa 19...

Magnificent 1903 Framed Photograph – Graduating Doctors, Medical Department, Western University of Pennsylvania This extraordinary and historically significant 1903 graduating class...

Late 19th century Photograph, Victorians in Tropics, domed glass with trompe l'oiel wood grain frame. Period Black White image has been pasted onto board and inserted into frame, needs a matt as the photo does not cover entire backing. Interesting subject matter of a Victorian couple...

Edward S Curtis (1868-1952) Title: Ambrosio Martinez – San Juan Plate: 596 Portfolio: The North American Indians Volume 17, The Tewa, The Zuni Printer: : Suffolk Eng. Co. Cambridge ...

Vintage Lake Tahoe photograph, dated 1905, shows the lake as viewed through trees and winter snow. Typical of that era is a desirable slight sepia to...

Pictorialist gelatin silver print sepia tone photograph by Ned Hungerford, Rochester NY ( hand ink signed lower right ) theatrical subject matter female and male ballet...

Edward S Curtis (1868-1952) Title: Shijako – Pima Plate: 47 Portfolio: Volume 2 Printer: John Andrew & Son Medium: Photogravure Date: 1907 Dimension...

Photographic reproduction “Goethe in the Campagna” is a painting by the German artist Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, created in 1787. The painting depicts the famous German poet ...

Early original sepia tone gelatin silver print photograph reminiscent of a Merce Cunningham Avant Garde art dance performance. By Rochester NY photographer Ned Hungerford / pencil si...

Presented is a fine photogravure portrait of an Ogalala woman by Edward Curtis. The image is Plate 94 from Supplementary Portfolio 3 of Edward Curtis' epic project The North American Indian. The caption provided by Curtis for this image is “A face so strong that it is almost masculine, showing strikingly how slight may be the difference between the male and female physiognomy in some Primitive people.” The photograph was taken in 1907 and the photogravure was published in 1908 by John Andrew & Son, in Boston. Edward S. Curtis created one of the most enduring and iconic visual records in the history of the photographic medium. He was an award-winning artist, a consummate craftsman, a visionary, an intrepid entrepreneur, and was highly regarded as a respected ethnographer and publisher. Curtis began photographing Native Americans in the mid-1890s and selling these images in his successful Downtown Seattle studio. One of his earliest models was Princess Angeline, the aged daughter of chief Sealth, the Suquamish Indian after whom Seattle is named. At the National Photographic Convention of 1899 Curtis was awarded the grand prize for three of his soft-focused, sepia-toned images of Puget Sound Native Americans: Evening on the Sound, The Clam Digger, and The Mussel Gatherer. Curtis spent the summer of 1900 with George Bird Grinnell observing the Sun Dance at an encampment of Blood, Blackfeet, and Algonquin in Montana. This was a pivotal experience for Curtis, confirming his desire to study and photograph the Native tribes of North America. A trip to visit the Hopi reservation in Arizona a few months later further fueled his enthusiasm. Curtis envisioned a plan to create a massive scholarly and artistic work that would document the tribes west of the Mississippi, their ceremonies, beliefs, daily life, and landscapes. In 1906, Curtis approached railroad tycoon J.P. Morgan to request financial assistance for his project. Morgan agreed to pay him a total of $75,000, or $15,000 a year for five years. Morgan and Curtis decided that Curtis' masterwork, The North American Indian, would be a set of 20 volumes of ethnographic text illustrated with high quality photoengravings taken from his glass plate negatives. Each of these volumes would be accompanied by a portfolio of large Size images, all sumptuously bound in Moroccan leather. The papers used for printing would also be of the best quality: a Dutch etching stock by Van Gelder, a Japanese vellum, and for the most discerning subscribers, a translucent Japanese tissue paper. To fund publication, Curtis would sell subscriptions at approximately $3,000 per set, with a total of 500 sets to be published. An ambitious and extensive project, Curtis spent much of his life documenting as many Native tribes as possible. The importance and the urgency of the task was clear to him, as he wrote in the introduction to his first volume of The North American Indians in 1907, "The information that is to be gathered . respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost." In 1930, some 24 years after his initial request for funding, the last two volumes, Vol. 19 and Vol. 20, were published and The North American Indian project was finally completed. Curtis took over 40,000 photographs and made over 10,000 wax cylinder...

Colonial Tent Pegging Photograph, Poona 1903. Rare sepia toned late Victorian Colonial photograph showing a group of horsemen 'Tent Pegging' with the caption 'Poona 1903'. The photo has been embossed...

Epsom Fire Station Commemorative Photograph from 1902 A wonderful large piece in its original frame, presented to their Captain by the officers and men of the Epsom Fire Brigade as ...

Colonial tent pegging photograph, Poona 1903. Rare sepia toned late Victorian Colonial photograph showing a group of horsemen 'Tent Pegging' with the caption 'Poona 1903'. The photo has been embossed...

Early silver gelatin photograph print of the Gaff rigged yacht wayward sailing on port tack with Cowes in the background by Beken of Cowes. Signed and dated 1902.

A rare framed albumen photograph of the Royal Navy Torpedo boat no 79. Inscribed on card as being commanded by the Future King George V.