Beschreibung:

LEWIS, James Otto (1799-1858). Aboriginal Port Folio; or a Collection of Portraits of the most Celebrated Chiefs of the North American Indians . Philadelphia: Published by the Author, 1836-1838 [i.e. May 1835-February 1836] 2 o (457 x 298 mm). Lithographed title-page with hand-colored vignette, lithographed wrapper for Part I on blue paper, 3 leaves letterpress advertisements for parts 1-3 [all issued], 80 hand-colored lithographed plates after Lewis by Lehman & Duval (some occasional spotting at edges of advertisement leaves, some other intermitent pale spotting, plate of Waa-Na-Taa with chips at fore-edge renewed, with very slight loss of image). Contemporary half morocco, marbled boards (rebacked); brown half morocco folding case. Provenance : H.M. Schieffeling (signature on front free endpaper); Frank T. Siebert (his sale Sotheby's New York, 28 October 1999, lot 697); Laird U. Park, Jr. (his sale Sotheby's New York, 29 November 2000, lot 208). THE SIEBERT-PARK COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION, INCLUDING THE COMPLETE SET OF 80 PLATES, TITLE-PAGE AND ADVERTISEMENT LEAVES: THE ONLY KNOWN COPY WITH A TITLE-PAGE. Scarcer than McKenney and Hall's History of the Indian Tribes , Maximilian's Reise in das Innere Nord-America or Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio , Lewis' work records the dress of the Potawatomi, Winnebago, Shawnee, Sioux, Miami, Fox, Iowa and other tribes at treaties of Prairie du Chien, Fort Wayne, Fond du Lac and Green Bay. Publication of the work was costly and time consuming. The work was originally issued in 10 parts with 8 plates per number in printed wrappers. The publisher was forced into bankruptcy while part nine was in the press, however, reducing the edition and forcing part ten to be just barely finished and sparsely distributed. A projected eleventh part would have contained "Historical and Biographical Description of the Indians," but was never completed. The title and three advertisement leaves are therefore the only text in the work, excluding that on the wrappers. The front wrappers bear a lithographic portrait vignette and the note: "Subscription price $2.00 pr Number issued Monthly untill 10 numbers are Complete." Bennett p. 68; Field 936; Howes L-315; Reese Stamped with a National Character: Nineteenth Century American Color Plate Books 23; Sabin 40812.