Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-13
CURTIS INDIANS BOOKS
Years Devoted to Picturing the
Native Tribes of America.
TWO VOLUMES PUBLISHED
Issue of Eighteen More Is Pro-
posed.
WORK AIDED BY J. P. MORGAN
President Roosevelt Much Interested
in the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Collections of Similar Nature.
WORK AIDED BY J. P. MORGA1
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.

BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the
Chicago Record-Herald.
NEW YORK, June 1. 1908.
Edward S. Curtis, photographer by
profession. who has had studio at Seat
tie for many years, and still maintains
it, began to make negatives of Indians In
that neighborhood for sale to tourists and
others soon after he went into business.
He gradually increased his, collection until
in 1890 he saw the possibilities and be-
gan to realize the Importance Of his
work. BY that time he had several
thousand negatives representing types of
men, women and children, and the native
homes, customs, habits. sports. amuse-
ments and other interesting features OF
their life. AS these had been taken Incl
dentally without any particular method or
system, he began to classify them. and
to fill up the gaps methodically he went
from tribe to tribe in the northwest and
finally southwark. to Mexico. spending all
of the time he could spare and all the
money he could raise in securing COM
plete collection of large negatives por-
traying every feature of aboriginal eth
nology. No one had ever attempted so
large a work, although the various gov
eminent surveys for half century have
dian life and pOrtraiture.
Aided by J. p. Morgan.
About four years ago Mr.. Curtis took
selected specimens of his pictures to New
York, Boston, Washington and other
cities and exhibited them in clubs, mu-
seums, colleges, and at other places where
they would be apt to attract the notice of
scientific men. They were hung at the
Cosmos Club at Washington for several
weeks. where President Roosevelt saw
them, and they were much admired by him
and by all those who have the highest
appreciation for such things from an eth
biological point of view. Having exhaust
ed his resources, Mr.. Curtis was seeking
assistance to complete his task. but. un-
like most people in similar situations, he
did not ask an appropriation from Con-
greSS. And it was not necessary. MIR. J.
Pierpont Morgan. who takes a deep inter-
est in sucli things. promptly offered to
furnish all the funds necessary to pho
tograph all the tribes Mr.. Curtis had not
already visited, and to publish the collec-
| ton in appropriate form. He became a
partner in the enterprise. and is to share
in the profits.
Mr. Curtis at once began to prepare
negatives and explanatory notes for pub
| LEGATION. and the first two of a series OF
twenty volumes of text. and twenty port
folios of illustrations have just been is
| SueO. he Is now ABOUT starting Will
his comeras and assistants for the west
to continue his field work, and by Civ
| ing his entire time to ii expects to have
every tribe of Indians in the United
States and Alaska photographed within
| the next six years In this way. as Mr.
Leupp, the commissioner of Indian af-
fairs. expresses it. Mr.. Curtis will enable
| future generations to see the Indian. mot
as he has been pictured in romance, OF
| preserved in the mummy wrappings OF
| rob, h,,f he 10 in, hiS ~
his mind. in his spirit. in his artistic
ideals and sympathies, and in those ira
ditions which afford his people their only
substitute for a literature"