Lot 883
McKenney & Hall, c. 1836. Chon-Man-I-Case, An Otto Half Chief. Chon-Man-I-Case, his bust to the left, is repsplendant in a white robe, an armlet, a bear claw necklace, and a tufted hair crown, surmounted by horns. A smallish peace medal hangs at his neck. Published by E.C. Biddle, c. 1836, in Philadelphia. Folio print showing some light toning and a couple of light stains, not intruding on portrait, but colors remain fresh-looking colors. Visible size: 14" x 9". In contemporary frame. impressive image.
Estimated Value $400 - 600.
The native American art prints of McKenney and Hall's indian tribes of North America have long been renowned for their faithful portraits of early Native Americans. Thomas McKenney, United States superintendent of Indian trade in Georgetown, originated the idea of developing a government collection of portraits of prominent Indians who visited Washington. He hired the services of Charles Bird King, a Washington portraitist, to do the paintings. King painted from life the Indian leaders of at least twenty tribes. These portraits were later reproduced as hand colored lithographs in Thomas McKenney and James Hall’s three-volume classic, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, published in 1837. Production of the series spanned some 15 years. Later, King’s Indian Portraits were transferred to the Smithsonian Institution in 1858. Sadly, most of those were destroyed in the Smithsonian's fire of 1865.
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| Realized $870 |
