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C. 1836 McKenney & Hall MON-KA-USH-KA Etching

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:150.00 USD Estimated At:450.00 - 900.00 USD
C. 1836 McKenney & Hall MON-KA-USH-KA Etching
Featured in this lot is a Framed Coloured Etching of the Charles Bird King, "MON-KA-USH-KA. A SIOUX CHIEF" (Chief Trembling Earth)., from the folio edition of History of the Indian Tribes of North America by Thomas McKenney & James Hall, circa 1836. Hand-coloured etching on paper from the folio edition of History of the Indian Tribes of North America. Lithographed, coloured, and published by J. T. Bowen, Philadelphia. Bowen was the preeminent Philadelphia lithographer and the most important mid 19th-century American publisher of publication plates. The History of the Indian Tribes of North America is a three-volume collection of Native American biographies and accompanying lithograph portraits, originally published in the United States from 1836 to 1844 by Thomas McKenney and James Hall. The majority of the portraits were first painted in oil by Charles Bird King. McKenney was working as the US Superintendent of Indian Trade and would head the Office of Indian Affairs. Believing that Native Americans were threatened as a race, McKenney wanted to preserve a record of their leaders for government archives, as well as to share it with the American people. He commissioned Charles Bird King to paint portraits of leaders who came to Washington to negotiate treaties, and James Hall to write biographies of them. The publication project incorporated lithographs made from the paintings. The wood frame gold gilt trim matted coloured etching is in nice condition, no obvious marring noted. Visible art measures 5.25"W x 9.25"L, frame is 12"W x 15.75"L x .5"D approximately.