69. CATLIN, George. North American Indians:
Being Letters and Notes on Their Manners, Customs, and
Conditions, Written during Eight Years’ Travel amongst
the Wildest Tribes of Indians in North American,
1832-1839.... Edinburgh: John Grant, 1926. ix [3] 298 +
xii 303 [1] pp., 320 colored illustrations of American
Indians, folding map of U.S. locating the Native American
tribes. Royal 8vo, original elaborate gilt pictorial maroon
cloth, t.e.g. Very mild foxing to endpapers, else a very
fine, fresh, tight, sparkling set in the beautiful
bindings. This is the best set we have seen.
Handsome
English reprint of the original edition published in London
in 1841, under title Letters and Notes on the Manners,
Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians.
Howes C241. McCrackin 8n. Pilling 689n. Plains &
Rockies IV:84:1n. Raines, p. 46n. Tate, The Indians
of Texas: An Annotated Research Bibliography 2142:
"Includes information and drawings by Catlin following his
1834 journey with the Dodge-Leavenworth Expedition. His
dramatic descriptions and sketches of mounted Comanches
have been continuously cited by later historians, and the
entire account of the Comanche camps is worth a close
reading by the researcher." Tyler, Prints of the
American West, pp. 46-55: "The basis for much Plains
ethnology.... Today [Catlin’s] work is criticized for
its unrelenting Romanticism, but it is treasured by
historians and anthropologists alike, who value his
attention to details and brave dedication to his task"
(Tyler, Prints of the American West, pp. 46-55).
Included among the plates is a portrait of Red Jacket and
illustrations of the Dodge expedition to the Comanche
country north of the Red River at the Texas border. See
The Handbook of Texas Online (George Catlin).
(2
vols.)
($900-1,800)