Book Description

Excerpt from Descriptive Catalogue of Photographs of North American Indians As a rule, front and profile views have been secured whenever practicable. Usually it is only when an Indian is subjected to confinement that those measurements of his person which are suitable for anthropological purposes can be secured. In most cases the India will not allow his person to be handled at all, nor submit to any inconvenience whatever. Much tact and perseverance are required to overcome his superstitious notions, and in many cases, even of the most noted chiefs of several tribes, no portrait can be obtained by any inducement whatever. If, therefore, the collection fails to meet the full requirements of the anthropologist, it must be remembered that the obstacles in the way of realizing his ideal of a perfect collection are insurmountable. About two hundred of the portraits, or one-fifth of the whole collection, have been derived from various sources, and most of these are pictures of Indians composing the several delegations that have visited Washington from time to time during the past ten years. Such individuals are usually among the most prominent and influential members of the respective tribes, of which they consequently furnish the best samples. The greater portion of the whole collection is derived from the munificent liberality of William Blackmore, esq., of London, England, the eminent anthropologist who has for many years studied closely the history, habits, and manners of the North American Indians. The Blackmore portion of the collection consists of a number of smaller lots from various sources; and it is Mr. Blackmore's intention to enlarge it to include, if possible, all the tribes of the North American continent. The entire collection, at the present time consisting of upward of a thousand negatives, represents ten leading "families" of Indians, besides seven independent tribes, the families being divisible into fifty-four "tribes," subdivision of which gives forty-three "bands." The collection continues to increase as opportunity offers. The present "Catalogue." prepared by Mr. W. H. Jackson, the well-known and skilful photographer of the Survey, is far more than a mere enumeration of the negatives. It gives in full, yet in concise and convenient form, the information which the Survey has acquired respecting the subjects of the pictures, and is believed to represent an acceptable contribution to anthropological literature. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.