| Method | Lithograph with original hand colouring |
| Artist | after James Otto Lewis |
| Published | Philadelphia Published Jany. 1836. Lithograph'd by Lehman and Duval No.7 Bank Alley Philadelphia. |
| Dimensions | Image 182 x 303 mm, Sheet 266 x 334 mm |
| Notes |
A rare print showing the Great Treaty held at Prairie du Chien from James Otto Lewis' important work The aboriginal port folio: or, a collection of portraits of the most celebrated chiefs of the North American Indians published in 1836. At the centre of the scene it shows hundreds of Native Americans seated in a circle around a speakers box, two figures stood within. To the right, seated, is a regiment of US soldiers. In the foreground are small families and groups of Native Americans seen seated or conversing. To the left is a row of tents with US soldiers stood outside, behind them the spires of a church with US flags flying. Text below image: September 1825 at which upwards of 5000 Indian Warriors of the CHIPPEWAYS, SIOUX, SACS & FOXES, WINNEBAGOES, POTTOWATTOMIES, MENOMONIES, IOWAYS, & OTTOWAS tribes were present Gov. LEWIS CASS of Michigan and Wm. CLARK of Missouri, Commissioner on the part of the UNITED STATES. Painted on the Spot by J. O. Lewis. This image was made by Lewis on the spot at the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1825, a series of peace treaties that were made and signed in Prairie du Chien, now in modern day Wisconsin, between the United States and representatives from the Sioux, Sac and Fox, Menominee, Iowa, Ho-Chunk and the Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi) Native American peoples. The aboriginal port folio: or, a collection of portraits of the most celebrated chiefs of the North American Indians published in parts between 1835-36 is the first printed publication on American Indians originally issued monthly with 8 plates in each instalment. The issues were not popular however, and the publishers ran in to financial difficulties before completing the series. Because of this the series is incredibly rare and rarely seen complete. The drawings and original paintings were done by Lewis during the series of treaty meetings in the Upper Great Lakes region during the 1820's. Lewis was employed and commissioned for fifteen years by the Federal Government as a working artist, working primarily in Wisconsin and Indiana, where he painted portraits and scenes some of which appeared in the Aboriginal Portfolio. All of the original drawings created by James Otto Lewis were destroyed in a Smithsonian fire in 1865. James Otto Lewis (1799 – 1858) was an American engraver and painter who was noted for his portraiture of Native Americans. Born in Philadelphia Lewis started working with the Federal Government in 1819 as a travelling artist painting official portraits of Native Americans in an effort to preserve a record of their peoples and what was believed to be a vanishing culture during a tumultuous time. He is most known for the important work The aboriginal port folio: or, a collection of portraits of the most celebrated chiefs of the North American Indians published in 1836. Condition: Good clean impression. Trimmed to image at top of sheet and professionally remargined. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £2,250.00 |
| Stock ID | 53349 |