Fully Framed Set of the First Edition of Catlin's North

First edition of Catlin’s North American Indian Portfolio. Hunting Scenes and Amusements of the Rocky Mountains and Praries of America. From Drawings and Notes of the Author, made during Eight Years; Travel amongst Forty-Eight of the Wildest and Most Remote Tribes of Savages in North America. John McGahey (active 1835–1855) after George Catlin (1796-1872). 25 hand-colored lithographs, heightened with gum arabic. London: Geo. Catlin, Egyptian Hall, 1844. Each approximately 22 ¾ x 16 ½ inches sheet. stunning images by the first artist to attempt
the perilous journey up the Missouri River. George Catlin was the earliest great artist to travel extensively among the Plains Indians of North America and visually record their customs and artifacts. Through the important body of paintings and graphics he created and his carful written observations he sought to persuade his contemporaries that Native American culture should be honored and preserved. In 1830 Catlin began his first journey up the Missouri River accompanying General William Clark on a diplomatic mission into Native American Territory. His travel was inspired by his longstanding interest in Native American culture and by his observation of a delegation of Native Americans who were on their way to Washington, D.C. In doing so left behind earlier careers as a Philadelphia attorney and a portrait miniaturist. His goal was perhaps best expressed in the preface to the first edition of his North American Indian Portfolio: “The history and customs of such a people, preserved by pictorial illustrations, are themes worthy the lifetime of one man, and nothing short of the loss of my life shall prevent me from visiting their country and becoming their historian.” handsomely framed to museum specifications, this set makes a
compelling display of life on the Missouri River 185 years ago