370

Ca. 1878 W. R. Cross Rosebud Agency Photograph

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:75.00 USD Estimated At:700.00 - 900.00 USD
Ca. 1878 W. R. Cross Rosebud Agency Photograph
This is an original photograph taken in 1878 titled, “No. 446 Rosebud Agency. D. T.” by W.R. Cross of the Rosebud Spotted Tail Agency in Dakota Territory by William Richard Cross. The image shows grazing animals, teepees (tipis), one covered wagon and numerous log cabins and edifices with the Rosebud Indian Agency in the background. The Rosebud Indian Agency was setup for the Sicangu Brule Lakota Sioux people in 1878, the year this image was taken, where Spotted Tail was their leader / chief. William Richard Cross (1839–1907) started his Western photography career in 1867 when he and his wife settled in Nebraska at the midst of the Indian Wars, where he later opened a gallery. Around 1871, he began photographing the Brulé Sioux on their lands around the Spotted Tail, later the Rosebud Agency. This image was most likely taken in 1878, during a several month trip to the agency between February-June. By the late 1880s, Cross relocated to the area around the Black Hills (Paha Sapa) and in 1890, he took over the gallery of photographer J.W. Piek in Hot Springs. A copy of this image is in the Denver Public Library collection. Marked in the image, “No. 446. Rosebud Agency. D. T.” and on the back, “CROSS South from Post-Office, HOT SPRINGS, S.D. VIEWS and PORTRAITS. PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST”. In graphite, “Rosebud Agency”. The large format silver gelatin albumen photograph on boudoir card shows three nail holes in the mounting with rounded corners, a clear and well kept original image. Provenance: From the Jim Aplan Piedmont, South Dakota collection.

References: Mitchell, Lynn Marie. William Richard Cross, Photographer on the Nebraska–South Dakota Frontier at www.sdhspress.com; Mautz, Carl. Biographies of Western Photographers (Nevada City, CA, 2018), p. 220; Guide to the W.R. Cross Photograph Collection at the Leland D. Case Library of Western Historical Studies at iis.bhsu.edu; Rosebud Indian Reservation US Indian Reservation at rosebudsiouxtribe-nsn.gov. James Arnault.*