Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio (Limited Deluxe Facsimile Edition)

Catlin, George. Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio. New York: Abbeville Press/The Library of Congress, 1989.

Elephant folio. Original half burgundy leather and cream cloth with gilt titling to spine and cover on calf panel.

This co-publication between Abbeville Press and the Library of Congress represents the most authoritative modern facsimile of the complete portfolio, reproducing for the first time in a single edition all thirty-one plates from both the London and New York issues. 

When George Catlin set out from St. Louis in 1830 to document the Plains Indians of North America, he embarked on one of the most ambitious artistic projects of the nineteenth century. Travelling among more than fifty tribes over six summers — from the upper Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico — he produced over five hundred paintings of a world his contemporaries could scarcely believe existed. The North American Indian Portfolio, first issued in London in 1844 with twenty-five tinted lithographs by Day & Haghe after his paintings, was Catlin's attempt to bring these images to the widest possible audience. Buffalo hunts, ceremonial dances, portrait studies of chiefs, and scenes of daily life across the plains are all represented, each plate accompanied by Catlin's own vivid descriptive text. A further six lithographic stones, prepared in 1844 but left unused at the printer's, appeared in the expanded thirty-one plate edition of 1875 — the version reproduced in full here.

Signed limited edition, number 719 of 950. New York: Abbeville Press/Library of Congress, 1989. Elephant Folio. Half red leather and cream cloth. Gilt titling to spine and front cover. 31 colour-printed plates after Caitlin's original tinted lithographs, each with Abbeville Press blind stamping. Near fine. Albeit for some very faint and scattered foxing to a few plates and some minor markings to binding cloth, volume and contents fine. The remarkable plates remain bold and vivid.

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Please note: This item is large and/or heavy (5.5kg). Depending on the shipping arrangement, it may require additional weight costs to be paid due to protective material being added to ensure protection of the item during shipping. If so, we will contact you after purchase.

This book is currently not on display in store.

If you would like more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact: rarebooks@harryhartog.com.au

Catalogue Number: HH000440