Sioux Hide Shirt, Collected by Parker Barrows Wickham, a Purchaser of Sitting Bull's Cabin

Sioux Hide Shirt, Collected by Parker Barrows Wickham, a Purchaser of Sitting Bull's Cabin

late 19th century

thread-sewn softly tanned hide; short fringe along seams; buttoned front

length 33 inches x chest 34 inches

Descended through the family of Parker Barrows Wickham (1851-1916).

Shortly after the death of Sitting Bull, Parker Barrows Wickham along with H.S. Parkins, A.E. Thorberg, and Christ Nordstrom purchased Sitting Bull's Cabin and its contents. The outfit consisted of one cottonwood log cabin 36 x 18, 8 feet in height, lighted by two windows and "shingled with dirt." Also one ghost pole 10 inches in diameter at the butt and 15 feet in length, highly decorated with red and blue paint: 14 buffalo robes, painted and bedecked with all manner of fish and animals, besides war scenes illustrative of the Custer massacre, all which are painted in an artistic Indian manner. Included in the bargain were four wagon loads of trinkets, Indian relics and curiosities (Minneapolis Journal, C.S. Branch 1891).

The cabin was reassembled at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair where Wickham attempted to sell trinkets from the purchase. Letters between Wickham and Thorberg describe a rocky start due to inclement weather and lack of attendance: "If it keeps up this way many days longer we will have to raise more money to keep the "shack" afloat."

This lot is located in Cincinnati.
Native American & Prehistoric Art Although this shirt is very similar to the one in D.F. Barry's 1885 portrait of Sitting Bull, small differences point to this not being the same shirt.
Descended through the family of Parker Barrows Wickham (1851-1916), one of the purchasers of Sitting Bull's cabin.