Your Summer Guide to Buying Native American Art and Artifacts, Fine Western Art and Western Americana

Your Summer Guide To Buying Native American Art and Artifacts, THEFine WesternOLD Art and Western WEST Americana A SUPPLEMENT TO ANTIQUES AND THE ARTS WEEKLY | 5 CHURCH HILL RD | NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT, 06470 | JULY 21, 2017 2 - THE OLD WEST Antiques and The Arts Weekly — July 21, 2017 THE OLD WEST • THE OLD WEST • THE OLD WEST • THE OLD WEST R. Scudder Smith, Publisher Laura Beach, Editor Cindie Niemiera, Advertising/Sales email: [email protected] Tel: 203-426-8036 or 426-3141 or Fax: 203-426-1394 Website: www.antiquesandthearts.com Published by The Bee Publishing Company, Box 5503, Newtown Connecticut 06470 THE OLD WEST • THE OLD WEST • THE OLD WEST • THE OLD WEST Collecting Edward S. Curtis Knowledge Is Key When Pursuing Works By The Eminent Photographer BY CHRISTOPHER CARDOZO were initially printed as cyanotypes. Of Curtis scholar, author and these, however, only a few hundred ap- internationally recognized collector pear to have survived. Knowledge is key when building a col- Hand-Colored and Experimental Prints lection of works — especially those by Additionally, Curtis created a small an internationally acclaimed American body of hand colored gelatin silver and icon. Born in 1868, Edward S. Curtis platinum photographs using watercolors was a highly prolific and award-winning and oils, as well as experimental prints photographer. In total, he created more that appear to employ a gum process than 40,000 to 50,000 negatives of and/or ink. Hand colored and other North American Indians and at least experimental prints are extremely rare 10,000 to 20,000 studio portraits, and generally unique. A small body of landscapes, Gold Rush and Harriman Curtis’s lantern slides still exist, some Expedition photographs. hand colored. Lastly, Curtis created Yet, as Curtis has gained ever-increas- blue-toned gelatin silver prints, which ing acclaim, the reprints, reproductions should not be confused with his cyano- and fakes make it critical that a collec- types. tor be well informed. Distinctions must Availability and Pricing be made between vintage prints, later Availability and pricing of existing original prints and posthumous prints. prints can vary greatly depending upon Experts specializing in Edward Curtis image, medium, size, print quality and often prove invaluable in this identifica- “Mosa-Mohave,” 1904. “Bear’s Belly — Arikara,” 1909. print condition. Many nongravures are tion process. unique and come on the market only The following is a brief introduction once every ten to 20 years, if at all. Most to the unusually wide variety of photo- photogravures, of which approximately graphic processes Curtis employed. 80 to 90 impressions of each image have Photogravures become available individually over the The clear majority of Curtis prints (ap- past century, can generally be located proximately 98 percent) were produced and purchased within weeks or a few as photogravures and printed on one months. However, the more valuable of three handmade papers: Japanese photogravures have become increasingly vellum, Dutch “Van Gelder” or Japa- difficult (and expensive) to source. nese “tissue” (also known as India proof Photogravure prints range from very paper). low in price for the least desirable Platinum Prints to very high for the most desirable. In addition, Curtis created a signifi- Smaller, volume-size photogravures cant body of platinum prints (com- generally range in price from very low prising 0.25–0.5 of one percent of his to moderate, with the smaller print of extant body of work) that vary in size. Chief Joseph commanding moderately Varying paper weights and surfaces were high prices (approximately $15,000 to employed. Approximately 400 to 800 $20,000). Larger photogravures are typi- negatives are estimated to have been cally in the low to moderate range but printed as platinum prints, but possibly can in some cases range from high to as few as 200 negatives were printed as very high ($80,000 to $90,000). Non- finished exhibition or sale prints. Gener- goldtone silver prints and goldtones ally, there are fewer than four or five range from low to high or very high in prints per negative. Several of the most price for extremely rare and desirable popular images are estimated to have 40 “An Oasis in the Badlands Sioux,” 1905. examples. Cyanotypes range in price to 80 examples in existence in platinum from low to moderate. Goldtones range in various sizes. always sepia-toned and are rarer than 100) of toned silver prints were cre- in price from moderate to very high for Silver Prints platinum prints or orotones. The small ated as “border prints.” These are quite extremely rare and desirable examples. Other works include silver prints, of body of warm-toned gelatin silver prints scarce, with generally only one or two Posthumous original prints and repro- which the most frequently encountered that also exist — incorporating a barely prints per negative. ductions have been, and continue to are called goldtones (or “orotones” or discernable screen pattern — are often In terms of rarity and extreme collect- be, produced. Expert opinion may be re- “Curt-Tones”). Like platinum prints, confused with platinum prints. Another ibility, gold-toned printing-out paper quired for proper identification. As any these comprise approximately 0.25-0.5 group comprises the untoned, gelatin prints are highly desired. These collodi- Curtis collector soon discovers, learning of one percent of Curtis’ extant work and silver “reference prints,” featuring a on-silver prints, on single weight paper, begets learning, yielding a deepened joy vary in size. Experts estimate that Curtis semigloss or glossy surface and printed are a printing-out process and gold- and understanding of Edward Curtis, printed approximately 60 to 70 of his on single-weight paper. toned. They are extremely rare and were his works and the contributions of his negatives as goldtones. Curtis’s individual More than 1,000 negatives of un- produced principally in 1899 and 1900. Native co-creators. goldtone images range from unique to toned silver “reference” prints survive, Marked by their fine grain structure, Christopher Cardozo, often recognized probably more than 500 impressions for although most of these are among the these prints feature sharp resolution and as the world’s foremost Edward Curtis The Vanishing Race. Size and potential archive originally filed with the United russety sepia tone. scholar and author, is also the curator of damage play a large role in valuations. States Copyright Office. For toned silver Cyanotypes the worlds’ largest and most broad-ranging For example, goldtones measuring 18 by prints, it is estimated that prints from Curtis also created a large body of Curtis collection. In addition to creat- 22 inches are extremely rare and desired several hundred negatives exist, but gen- cyanotypes (blue-hued, printing-out ing and curating 100-plus exhibitions on by many a seasoned collector. erally only one to five prints exist from process prints). These were made in Curtis, he is a board chair of the Edward Curtis also created gelatin silver any individual negative, although a few the field contemporaneously with the Curtis Foundation. A comprehensive Cur- paper-based prints for sale and/or for of the most popular images are probably creation of negatives and, presumably, tis Collector’s Guide is on his website at exhibition purposes. These are virtually higher. A small number (probably under virtually all 40,000 to 50,000 negatives www.edwardcurtis.com/a-collectors-guide. Antiques and The Arts Weekly — July 21, 2017 THE OLD WEST — 3 Reputation matters. SEEKING CONSIGNMENTS FOR OUR ANNUAL AUCTIONS COWBOY AND INDIAN ARTIFACTS FINE WESTERN ART Edward Borein, Watercolor Billy the Kid Tintype Blackfoot Man’s Shirt Sold $138,000 Sold $2,300,000 Sold $109,250 Dixie Thompson’s Loomis Saddle Custer Battlefield Sharps Rifle Demuth Cigar Store Indian Sold $195,500 Sold $258,750 Sold $28,320 Annie Oakley Lithograph E. I. Couse, Oil on Canvas Goldberg/Staunton/Estrada Spurs Sold $57,500 Sold $141,600 Sold $40,250 Specializing in authentic fine art and artifacts of the American West. Old West Events is home to the January and June Old West Shows, featuring the finest national dealers in Western art, antiques and design. We also oer appraisal and consulting services, as well as private treaty sales and acquisitions. Single items or collections welcome. Next Auction: January 20, 2018, Mesa, AZ Submit items for review: OldWestEvents.com/Sell Or call 480-779-9378 BRIAN LEBEL’S OLD WEST EVENTS | PH: 480-779-WEST (9378) | OLDWESTEVENTS.COM 4 - THE OLD WEST Antiques and The Arts Weekly — July 21, 2017 The Buffalo Bill Legend Continues At Brian Lebel’s Old West Events Two rare Wild West pennants, $1,888. Original photograph of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West cast in New York by Emil J. Krae- mer, Auburn, N.Y., circa 1887–88, $4,720. This year marks the centennial of the death of the man the world came to know as Buffalo Bill. The scout, hunter and, above all else, showman was acclaimed for the Old West performances he staged throughout the United States, Great Britain and Europe. He continues to be a leading man at auction, as a sale staged in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 10 by Old West Events impresario Brian Lebel con- firmed. Lebel’s Old West Show and Sale featured seminars on Buffalo Bill and the Wild West era by Steve Friesen, di- rector of Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave in Golden, Colo. Born February 26, 1846, in the town of Le Claire in Iowa Territory, William Frederick Cody learned early how to fend for himself. Eleven when his father died, he worked as a Pony Express rider and fought for the Union in the Civil War. After the war, the US Army employed him as a civilian scout during the Indian Wars.

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