MS 39-a Book of drawings by an unidentified Cheyenne artist at Fort Marion, Florida
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: NAA MS 39A

USNM Catalog 30664

PPS NEG 55,025 - 55,046
name: label: Artist
content: Unknown
label: Artist
content: Fort Marion artists
label: Annotator
content: Pratt, Richard Henry, 1840-1924
place: label: Place
content: Florida -- Fort Marion
label: Place
content: North America
creator: label: Artist
content: Unknown
label: Artist
content: Fort Marion artists
label: Annotator
content: Pratt, Richard Henry, 1840-1924
culture: label: Culture
content: Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)
setName: label: See more items in
content: MS 39-a Book of drawings by an unidentified Cheyenne artist at Fort Marion, Florida
bioghist: label: Historical Note
content: Fort Marion, also known as Castillo de San Marco, is a stone fortress in St. Augustine, Florida. Between 1875 and 1878, seventy-two prisoners from the southern plains were incarcerated in the fort under supervision of Lt. Richard Pratt. The prisoners consisted of 27 Kiowas, 33 Cheyennes, 9 Comanches, 2 Arapahos, and a single Caddo. With the exception of one Cheyenne woman, all the prisoners were men. They had been accused of participating in the recent Red River War, earlier hostilities, or both. With the exception of the wife and daughter of one of the Comanche men, the prisoners families were not allowed to accompany them to Fort Marion.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Volume (disbound and laminated; 21 drawings on 23 leaves, graphite and colored pencil, 10.75 x 8.25 inches)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1875 August
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The book was originally collected by the U.S. War Department; it is stamped "Ordnance Office, Rec'd. Sep. 15, 1875; War Dept. Museum." It was transferred to the collection of the U.S. National Museum in November 1877 and entered into the Anthropology department catalog as no. 30,664, where it was recorded as collected by Lt. Emmett Crawford, USA.  The book was transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the National Anthropological Archives in 1969.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS39A
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Volumes
label: Type
content: Works of art
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Ledger drawings
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The original identification of the artist as Making Medicine based on the inscription is in error, based on comparison to other known examples of the artist's work, including MS 39B. Re-identified as anonymous Cheyenne artist by Candace Greene, 2002.  Drawing titles are taken from the inscriptions on the drawings.  The archivist assigned titles to drawings without inscriptions; assigned titles are in square brackets [].
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Works of art
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Ledger drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of an artist's sketchbook, now disbound and laminated, containing scenes of daily life, dances, hunting, and a picture of birds. Individual leaves are numbered 1 through 23. The cover of the drawing book is inscribed in pencil "Drawn by Making Medicine, Cheyenne Prisoner, St. Augustine, Fla. Aug. 1875." Inscriptions on individual leaves are by the same hand, probably Lt. Richard Pratt.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.