Beschreibung:

George Catlin's North American Indians Chatto & Windus, 1875 [CATLIN, George (1796-1872). Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio. Hunting scenes and amusements of the Rocky Mountains and Prairies of America. London: Chatto & Windus, 1875]. Rare first printing of the six new plates for the North American Indian Portfolio, vibrantly hand-colored. Of this most impressive work of Western Americana, Catlin was able to publish only one of his planned series of four portfolios. That portfolio had 25 plates and was issued in the fall of 1844 (see lot 25). Soon afterwards, Catlin soon sold the copyright to London publisher, Henry Bohn. “[Bohn] kept the book in print, with several reissues, through the late 1860s, when he sold the copyright, along with the rest of his publishing empire, to the firm of Chatto & Windus. The new publishers discovered that six more lithographic stones after Catlin had been prepared but never used. The stones were made in 1844, when Catlin had projected more portfolios, but had sat with the printer ever since” (Best of the West). These plates are: “Joc-O-Sot, the Walking Bear;” “Mah-To-Toh-Pah, the Mandan Chief;” “O-Jib-Be-Ways;” “Buffaloe Hunting;” “The War Dance;” and “The Scalp Dance”. The lithographs are not captioned in this issue, but were in later ones. Bennett 22; Best of the West 81; Field 258; Howes C-243 ("b" with no reference to card issue); Wagner-Camp 105a. Folio (555 x 455mm). Six hand-colored lithographic plates mounted on card, heightened with gum arabic, within ink-ruled frames (only, of 31, and without title), without numbering or captions (minor spotting to mounts, a few small spots to image edges). Each leaf in individual window mat; modern half morocco solander box.