LAST HOME OF JOSEPH 1905 Copper Plate & Gravure

1. EDWARD S. CURTIS. Last Home of Joseph - Nez Perce, 1905. 5.3x7.3" image on 6.9x8.3" copper plate. Plate date 1911. From Volume 8, Nez Perces, Plateau and Columbia River, of The North American Indian. Engraved on plate recto: Last Home of Joseph - Nez Perce / From Copyright Photograph 1905 by E.S. Curtis.

2. EDWARD S. CURTIS. Last Home of Joseph - Nez Perce, 1905. 5.3x7.3" photogravure on 9.1x12.2" Holland Van Gelder paper. Print date 1911. From Volume 8, Nez Perces. Plateau & Columbia River area, of The North American Indian. Printed on print recto: Last Home of Joseph - Nez Perce / From Copyright Photograph 1905 by E.S. Curtis.

Curtis photographed Chief Joseph in 1903 at his studio in Seattle and photographed his last home in 1905 shortly after Joseph died.

Chief Joseph (ca. 1840-1904) Born in the Wallowa Valley in northeastern Oregon among the Nez Perce, Chief Joseph was also known as Young Joseph. His Native American name means "Thunder Rolling in the Mountains." His father, Old Joseph, gave up cooperating with the whites when they attempted to drastically reduce his reservation during the gold rush. Young Joseph carried on this policy after his father's death in 1871.

Although celebrated for his skill in battle, Joseph worked tirelessly for peace with U.S. government authorities. In 1877, under the threat of forced removal from his traditional homelands in Oregon's Wallowa Valley, Joseph reluctantly began leading his followers toward a reservation in Idaho. However, after a group of angry warriors killed several white settlers in retaliation for earlier violence, Joseph redirected his party toward the lands of the Crow, an allied tribe in Montana. In response, federal soldiers began their pursuit of them. The outnumbered Nez Perce embarked on a skillful retreat, at times eluding American forces and at other times repulsing their military advances. General William Tecumseh Sherman remarked that "the Indians throughout displayed a courage and skill that elicited universal praise. . . . [They] fought with almost scientific skill."

When the Crows refused to come to their aid, Joseph decided to seek sanctuary in Canada. After traveling 1,170 miles with his band of followers, Joseph was intercepted only miles from the Canadian border. He surrendered there on October 5, 1877, stating, "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Joseph and his people were taken to a reservation in Oklahoma. Although Joseph visited President Rutherford B. Hayes to demand that his people be returned to the Northwest, this did not happen until 1885. Joseph died on the Colville Reservation in Washington State in 1904.
Condition Report: 1. Copper plate: Very Good. Minor scratches, tarnish, dents, abrasions, small dark spots, and ink residue throughout plate surface.
2. Photogravure. Very Good. Minor surface wear, slight edge discoloration and edge perforations.