Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - April - 2007 Issue
Images of American Indians from William Reese Co.
Robert Riggs' fantastic portrait of Cheyenne Warrior Roman Nose.
6. The three-volume 1842-1844 folio edition of Thomas McKenney and James Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America…Embellished with One Hundred and Twenty Portraits from the Indian Gallery in the Department of War, at Washington. Reese notes that the folio "is one of the most significant 19th-century works on the American Indian, and one of the grandest color plate books printed in America." $162,500.
7. Historiae Canadensis (Canadian History) by Jesuit missionary Francois Du Creux, published in Paris in 1664. This book includes twelve plates depicting Huron Indians, a large folding plate depicting the martyrdom of some missionaries, and a folding map. $35,000.
8. A circa 1790 oil painting of an Iroquois warrior, by an unknown artist. $42,500.
9. Seventy-four hand-colored lithographs from James Otto Lewis' Aboriginal Portfolio (1835-1836). Lewis was the first artist to publish a collection of Indian portraits. $120,000.
10. The first Bohn issue (1844) of Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio, by George Catlin. As Reese comments, "This is one of the monuments of illustration of American Indian Life and the American West." $150,000.
The William Reese Company may be found online at www.reeseco.com, telephone 203-789-8081.
