PLATE 62 THE YUMA 1907 Copper Plate Magnificent

EDWARD S. CURTIS. Plate 62 The Yuma, 1907. 15.25x7.75" image on 17.75x9.25" copper plate. Plate date 1908. From Portfolio 2, Tribes of Arizonai, of The North American Indian. Engraved on plate recto: The Yuma / From Copyright Photograph 1907 by E.S. Curtis/Photogravure John Andrew and Son

Portraiture was Curtis's forte as he learned this from years working in his Seattle studio.

To make the photogravure prints from the negative Curtis created a glass positive, that he would edit on and then working with the great photogravure printing companies in Boston, John Andrew & Son that became Suffolk Engraving Company, they made over 2200 copper plates from which the photogravures were to be printed. These plates were then steel faced for small printing runs then refaced, preserving the original image that was etched into the copper plate. Lot 5010 has description of the process. Aesthetically they are brilliant shiny copper almost gold like aesthetic objects on which the image glows; they have sold for as much as $700,000. As opposed the edition of approximately 300 photogravures that were made from each plate and open edition chemical prints Curtis made in his studios these are unique photographic object.
Condition Report: Very Good. Minor scratches, tarnish, dents, abrasions, small dark spots, and ink residue throughout plate surface.