peter
Junior Member
Posts: 98
|
Post by peter on Oct 4, 2017 17:30:09 GMT -5
On ebay, credited to J. H. Hamilton - a posed scalping... I wonder if they were taken during his period at Red Cloud and Spotted Tail in 1877...
|
|
peter
Junior Member
Posts: 98
|
Post by peter on Oct 4, 2017 17:33:48 GMT -5
Dear Grahamew, Yes, this was taken in 1877 at Red Cloud or Spotted Tail. Hamilton catalogue stereoscopic view of the northwest , under "Sioux Indians' # 110 Scalping Scene.
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on Oct 5, 2017 6:51:05 GMT -5
Okay, I´ve got at least a part of Hamilton´s photo list:
Stereoscopic Views of the Northwest.
SIOUX INDIANS.
127. Spotted Tail´s Son and Family. 128. Sun Dancer. 129. Touch-the-Cloud. Led principal charge, under Crazy Horse, in Custer Massacre. 130. Two-Strike, Sioux Chief. 131. Sioux War Dancers. 132. Gray Wolf and Family. 133. Gray Wolf, Winnebago Chief. 134. Sioux Squaw. 135. Arrapahoe Village and Sand Buttes. 136. Pappoose in Cradle, Strapped to Pony. 137. Indian Graveyard at Red Cloud. 138. Red Cloud Village and Sand Buttes. 139. Red Dog and Daughter. 140. Group of Sioux Chiefs. 141. Four Bears, Sioux Chief. 142. Sioux Brave. 143. Yankton Sioux Chief. 144. Santee Sioux Chief. 145. Cooking Scene at Arrapahoe Village. 146. Indian Guarding prisoners. 147. Arrapahoe Squaws & Ponies at Red Cl’d.
|
|
peter
Junior Member
Posts: 98
|
Post by peter on Oct 5, 2017 7:49:52 GMT -5
Dear Dietmar, if you wish I can provide you the all catalogue. Right now I have the original in my hands.
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on Oct 5, 2017 8:01:26 GMT -5
That would be great. Thanks Peter!
SchMoehring@t-online.de
|
|
peter
Junior Member
Posts: 98
|
Post by peter on Oct 5, 2017 14:16:46 GMT -5
Dietmar, I sent you a private email to address you provided me. Couls you confirm you got it?
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on Oct 5, 2017 16:05:22 GMT -5
Thank you very much, Peter. I just got it.
|
|
peter
Junior Member
Posts: 98
|
Post by peter on Oct 5, 2017 16:07:47 GMT -5
ok
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on Oct 6, 2017 10:17:44 GMT -5
Hi Peter: You are right that over the last ten years, we have learned a great deal more about photographers working among the Lakota, including those who visited the Red Cloud Agency. We now know there were a number of different photographers who visited the agency in 1877. The newspaper reporter Robert Strahorn mentions a studio in operation in January 1877, though he did not mention the artist's name. The Sidney Telegraph noted that Charles L. Hamilton operated a temporary studio in that town from Dec. 1876 to Feb. 1877 before heading north to the Black Hills. This would have taken him through the Red Cloud Agency, though no images have been positively identified to him so far. (He is best known for his work in Sioux City and on the Upper Missouri a decade earlier). During the summer of 1877, we know of at least two other photographers visiting the agency: James H. Hamilton (a brother of Charles) from Sioux City, Iowa, as well as Daniel S. Mitchell, who had closed his studio in Cheyenne before making the trip. Two additional photographers came later that fall after Crazy Horse had already died: Private Charles Howard, a soldier with an Army road mapping expedition (who photographed Crazy Horse's grave), and Mr. David Rodocker, a Kansas photographer who was on his way home from a quick trip to the Black Hills. Both of the photographers known to have been at Red Cloud at the same time as Crazy Horse did make native portraits. D. S. Mitchell was the most focused on producing a portfolio of portraits of Oglala leaders. He brought a painted backdrop with him from Cheyenne; it appears in the background of many of his portraits and is very different from the one in the tintype in question. There is the wonderful published tintype of Big Bat and William Garnet, one of my favorite images, that shows Mitchell's painted backdrop behind them, dating this image to the summer-fall of 1877. While most of Hamilton's photographs were outdoor views, he did also produce some portraits, particularly at the nearby Spotted Tail Agency. In each of these, he used a hanging blanket as a backdrop. I am not aware of any painted backdrops in any of Hamilton's portraits from the agencies. Peter is correct that Hamilton listed among his numbered series of stereoviews a view labeled "Crazy Horse." Many of these stereoviews are numbered lightly within the image and can be matched to the numbered labels on the back. I am not aware that the image of Crazy Horse has yet been identified based on that number but I feel certain that one day an example will turn up. The recent Buckley collection is a great example of how more new images continue to be discovered. While we are now well aware that there were photographers at Red Cloud in 1877, I still believe that the tintype in question is from the 1880s. That of course is a subjective opinion based on the clothing style and I am fully willing to revise my interpretation with new evidence. I agree with everyone that ultimately it will be the backdrop that will help to solve this little mystery. I am not aware that any other images with this backdrop have yet been found. Tom Buecker and I have had many conversations about images and the Red Cloud Agency; he did not show me any images with the same backdrop. No doubt we will one day find more examples with this distinct painted canvas backdrop, like a fingerprint that will help identify the photographer and better bracket the time-frame. I for one anxiously await the discovery and publication of such images! Ephriam Ephriam, Do you mean this photo of Big Bat Pourier and Billy Garnett aka Hunter? My scan lacks the quality to show the backdrop recognizable.
|
|
peter
Junior Member
Posts: 98
|
Post by peter on Oct 6, 2017 12:49:57 GMT -5
Hi Peter: You are right that over the last ten years, we have learned a great deal more about photographers working among the Lakota, including those who visited the Red Cloud Agency. We now know there were a number of different photographers who visited the agency in 1877. The newspaper reporter Robert Strahorn mentions a studio in operation in January 1877, though he did not mention the artist's name. The Sidney Telegraph noted that Charles L. Hamilton operated a temporary studio in that town from Dec. 1876 to Feb. 1877 before heading north to the Black Hills. This would have taken him through the Red Cloud Agency, though no images have been positively identified to him so far. (He is best known for his work in Sioux City and on the Upper Missouri a decade earlier). During the summer of 1877, we know of at least two other photographers visiting the agency: James H. Hamilton (a brother of Charles) from Sioux City, Iowa, as well as Daniel S. Mitchell, who had closed his studio in Cheyenne before making the trip. Two additional photographers came later that fall after Crazy Horse had already died: Private Charles Howard, a soldier with an Army road mapping expedition (who photographed Crazy Horse's grave), and Mr. David Rodocker, a Kansas photographer who was on his way home from a quick trip to the Black Hills. Both of the photographers known to have been at Red Cloud at the same time as Crazy Horse did make native portraits. D. S. Mitchell was the most focused on producing a portfolio of portraits of Oglala leaders. He brought a painted backdrop with him from Cheyenne; it appears in the background of many of his portraits and is very different from the one in the tintype in question. There is the wonderful published tintype of Big Bat and William Garnet, one of my favorite images, that shows Mitchell's painted backdrop behind them, dating this image to the summer-fall of 1877. While most of Hamilton's photographs were outdoor views, he did also produce some portraits, particularly at the nearby Spotted Tail Agency. In each of these, he used a hanging blanket as a backdrop. I am not aware of any painted backdrops in any of Hamilton's portraits from the agencies. Peter is correct that Hamilton listed among his numbered series of stereoviews a view labeled "Crazy Horse." Many of these stereoviews are numbered lightly within the image and can be matched to the numbered labels on the back. I am not aware that the image of Crazy Horse has yet been identified based on that number but I feel certain that one day an example will turn up. The recent Buckley collection is a great example of how more new images continue to be discovered. While we are now well aware that there were photographers at Red Cloud in 1877, I still believe that the tintype in question is from the 1880s. That of course is a subjective opinion based on the clothing style and I am fully willing to revise my interpretation with new evidence. I agree with everyone that ultimately it will be the backdrop that will help to solve this little mystery. I am not aware that any other images with this backdrop have yet been found. Tom Buecker and I have had many conversations about images and the Red Cloud Agency; he did not show me any images with the same backdrop. No doubt we will one day find more examples with this distinct painted canvas backdrop, like a fingerprint that will help identify the photographer and better bracket the time-frame. I for one anxiously await the discovery and publication of such images! Ephriam Ephriam, Do you mean this photo of Big Bat Pourier and Billy Garnett aka Hunter? My scan lacks the quality to show the backdrop recognizable.
|
|
peter
Junior Member
Posts: 98
|
Post by peter on Oct 6, 2017 12:50:36 GMT -5
Hi Ephriam, thanks for your reply. Without touching anymore the tintype/photograph issue of Crazy Horse, I would love to communicate with you about photographs in general, photographers and so forth. You are one of the best for sure. I just want to point out that is true that Hamilton produced, as you stated,portraits at Spotted Tail and he used hanging blanket as backdrop, so true, but he did not have any other alternative. His son stated that at Spotted Tail, his father set a portable studio, small in size in my opinion, and could not have set up any big backdrop. So far so good. At Red Cloud instead there was a studio with skylight and pretty big in dimension, plenty room there to set up a portable backdrop, exactly like the backdrop of the Little Bat tintype. Regarding the 104 image, it could very well be the Little Bat tintype or perhaps one of the three photographs Crazy Horse was photographed on horseback or perhaps one taken on the Sun Dance or when he went to the Spotted Tail agency on his way there, we do not know, but chance are that he took a photo of him. He had a lots of opportunities and plenty time and he knew who Crazy Horse was and where his camp was. I know in the past you stated that Hamilton was in the vicinity of Crazy Horse only in August, but according to his son he was also there in June, July and perhaps even in May. These last three months was the time when Crazy Horse was not defiant towards the white people and would do anything to show his good intention towards them, those were the months that Little Bat was there and that was the period that Crazy Horse would have posed for a picture. Regarding Tom Buecker, he did not show me those photos, but he said that he knew of those two photos with the same backdrop and where the backdrop originated. He even told me the name of one of them, but was not sure if it was Red Cloud or Red Feather, but the name started with Red. Tom, mentioned the same backdrop of the Little Bat tintype putting it in writing in the Greasy Grass magazine, confirming exactly what he had told me in 1989 ten years before that the same backdrop was from a photographer from Sioux City. Many years later he told me that that studio belonged to Hamilton and a partner. Regards Peter
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Oct 9, 2017 11:19:12 GMT -5
Peter: We have learned quite a bit about the three photographer brothers, James, Charles and Grant Hamilton. I discuss Charles and James a bit in my article in Nebraska History (Click here for link), though I have never been able to find any records that gives precise dates for James' trip to the Red Cloud Agency. I tracked down family descendants but unfortunately there were no letters or diaires; I was able to get a copy of a photograph James and his family about 1881-82. Here are a few historical notes that might be of interest as we try to narrow down the timeframe when Hamilton was at the agencies: March 6, 1877 -- James H. Hamilton wrote to the commanding officer at Fort Laramie asking permission to open a photograph gallery at that post. March 15, 1877 -- Major A. W. Evans replied to Hamilton's request granting permission for him to come to Fort Laramie "if you will find your own building, and understand that by residing on a military reservation you subject yourself to military discipline. You had better make a visit here first and see how you like the place." Sioux City Daily Journal, April 8, 1877 -- J. H. Hamilton contemplates a trip to the Black Hills before long. Sioux City Daily Journal, April 29, 1877 -- J. H. Hamilton is now talking of taking a trip to the Black Hills, and thence to the Yellowstone country, for the purpose of securing stereoscopic views of the beauties of those regions of country. Black Hills Times, May 2, 1877 -- James Hamilton of Iowa in Deadwood Black Hills Times, Oct. 3, 1877 -- J. H. Hamilton of Sioux City in Deadwood Black Hills Times, Nov. 5, 1877 -- J.H. Hamilton and son return to Sioux City Hamilton returned to the Black Hills in 1880, but I do not yet know much about this trip. He died in 1897 and was buried in Sioux City, Iowa. I have visited his grave during a research visit to Sioux City. Hope this is helpful. Ephriam
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on Oct 9, 2017 12:24:31 GMT -5
ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=11157&context=annals-of-iowa
From the article above provided by Peter we learn this:
- James´s son Charles Hamilton made the trip with Dr. W. O. Davis and his son Finn from Sioux City to Pierre in early April 1877 by boat on the Missouri in 21 days. - It took them 46 days from Pierre to Rapid City. - They left Rapid City and went to Crook City, then Deadwood.
- James H. Hamilton came from Sioux City on a Union Pacific train to Cheyenne, and from there to Red Cloud Agency by freight train.
- He picked up Charles to go to Red Cloud Agency.
- At Red Cloud Hamilton took pictures of the Sun Dance.
- Thereafter they went to Spotted Tail Agency.
- Hamilton secured pictures of “all the leading Indian chiefs”, officers and scouts at Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies.
- He photographed the surrender of Lame Deer´s band.
- They were a couple of weeks at Spotted Tail when Crazy Horse was killed at Fort Robinson.
- They witnessed the burial ceremony of Crazy Horse.
- They returned to Red Cloud and then to Crook City.
- James Hamilton there established his headquarter and took pictures of noted characters in Crook City and Deadwood.
- In October 1877 they started to go home.
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on Oct 9, 2017 15:07:50 GMT -5
Peter owns a scan of the whole J. H. Hamilton catalogue, which I will not post here, but two backsides of Hamilton photographs with excerpts of the catalogue are now published in the internet. List 1 can be found at Cowan´s auction, list 2 is from Ebay:
|
|
peter
Junior Member
Posts: 98
|
Post by peter on Oct 9, 2017 16:40:12 GMT -5
Dietmar, not to worry, you can post( scan) from # 1 to # 230, all the photo listed, so everybody can see all the photos Hamilton had on his "Stereoscopic Catalogue Views of the Northwest".
|
|