McKenney and Hall History of the Indian Tribes of North

History of the Indian Tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs, from the Indian Gallery recently destroyed by fire. McKENNEY, Thomas L. (1785-1859) and James HALL (1793-1868). Philadelphia: D. Rice & Co., [no date, ca 1873]. Folio (13 1/2 x 13 4/8 inches). 118 (of 119) hand-colored lithographed plates, EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED with 3 additional plates by George Catlin ("The Ballplayers," "Wi-Jun-jon," and "The Killing of the Buffalo") printed on card and mounted on heavier stock (bound without the map and plate of Billy Bowlegs, some marginal foxing on plate of Red Jacket, light text offsetting affecting about 7 plates, a few minor spots and stains, repair to short tear on index leaf, 2 tissue guards torn, 1 guard creased, the Catlin plates toned and stained). Full red morocco janséniste by Sangorski & Sutcliffe (some minor water damage to lower dentelle). Provenance: Supra libros of H.H. Baxter (Horace Henry Baxter (1818-1884)) Memorial Library, Rutland Vermont ; Herbert G. Wellington. A REMARKABLY BRIGHT AND ATTRACTIVE COPY. An interesting edition referring on the title-page to the devastating fire of January 1865 that destroyed the Indian Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington where the original portraits painted from life or copied by Charles Bird King hung. Published after 1873 when D. Rice & Co., moved to 508 Minor Street, Philadelphia. Thomas McKenney, appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Washington in 1824, began travelling west in 1826 to observe the fading cultures of the Chipewa, Winebago and other tribes. Dismissed from this post by President Jackson in 1839, McKenney conceived of collecting the portraits of notable Native Americans, begun by Charles Bird King in 1824, and pairing them with biographies written by the popular author of western topics, James Hall. Bird was commissioned by McKenney to execute portraits of visiting Indian delegates in his studio in Washington, with some famous sitters including Red Jacket and Major Ridge, as well as a portrait of Pocahontas paired with contemporary quotations attesting the accuracy of the likeness. Most of Bird's paintings were destroyed in the Smithsonian fire of 1865, and given that this work is most commonly encountered in 3 bound volumes in later states, the present parts offer the most original experience of this "MOST DISTINCTIVE AND IMPORTANT BOOKS IN AMERICANA" (Reese). From the distinguished library of Herbert G. Wellington whose fine collection of Indian art was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1983. Without two volumes of text. American Antiquarian Association G460 M155 H87- F. Guidance: Christie's, 2005 - $156,000