685

Autographed Limited Edition Copy of Curtis' The Flute of the

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Historical Memorabilia Start Price:750.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD
Autographed Limited Edition Copy of Curtis' The Flute of the

Bidding Over

The auction is over for this lot.
The auctioneer wasn't accepting online bids for this lot.

Contact the auctioneer for information on the auction results.

Search for other lots to bid on...
Auction Date:2009 Jun 24 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
Location:6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
Ryan, Marah Ellis. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1909. Illustrated by Edward Curtis. 8vo, half leather, gilt illustration front, five bands on spine with gilt title; illustrated endpapers. Number 13 of 500 editions signed by both author and illustrator on back of half title; also inscribed to Ms. S. Gates and signed by Curtis on second free front page - possibly Susan Phillips Gates, sister of his wife, Clara Phillips Curtis. Susan worked for many years as a printer in Curtis' Seattle business. When Edward and Clara divorced in 1919, Susan and Clara ran the Seattle studio (after Clara destroyed many of Curtis' glass plates).

Edward Curtis is best known for his seminal work, the 20-volume series The North American Indian. Convinced, as were many at the turn of the century, that native lifestyles would disappear, absorbed by the larger white society, Curtis set out to document as much as remained of the traditional ways of tribes west of the Mississippi. Backed by J.P. Morgan and encouraged by the likes of TR and other naturalists, Curtis spent the better part of 3 decades photographing and printing his masterpiece. The project was never profitable, in part since Curtis used the best papers and materials available, and they did not come cheaply. By the time volumes 19 and 20 were finished, not only was he bankrupt, but interest had waned. Curtis couldn't keep the enthusiasm of his subscribers high for more than 20 years.

Published in 1909, The Flute of the Gods came early in Curtis' career photographing Native Americans. Although he had a few sporadic images of local peoples in the Seattle area, he didn't seriously begin documenting native lifeways until 1904, and didn't begin work on The North American Indian until 1906. 

Condition: Minor shelfwear, water stain near bound edge on first and last free pages. Text portion does not show the stain. Binding tight; barely opened.