A Zuni Girl, 1903
Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952)
Original photogravure on Holland Van Gelder paper
Portfolio 17, Plate 613 from the series The North American Indian
22” x 18” paper size
26” x 20.75” framed (archival matting, wood frame)
Edward Sheriff Curtis published The North American Indian between 1907 and 1930 with the intent to record traditional Native American culture before it vanished. The work is comprised of twenty volumes of narrative text and photogravure images. Each volume is accompanied by a portfolio of large photogravure plates. Each volume and accompanying portfolio documented different tribes. The image A Zuni Girl, 1903 is an image in Portfolio 17, which documents the Tewa and Zuni tribes.
The photogravures were printed onto three hand-made papers: a Japanese vellum, a Dutch etching stock called Holland Van Gelder, and a fine Japanese tissue paper. Each volume and portfolio set was printed under Curtis’ direction by master printers back east. Though Curtis had hoped to print 500 sets, fewer than 300 sets were actually printed, each containing 2,227 small and large format photogravures, of which 723 were printed in this larger 22" x 18" portfolio size format.
Provenance provided upon request.
