The North American Indian: The Complete Portfolios

At the turn of the 20th century, the American photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868–1952) started on his thirty-year project to produce a monumental study of North American Indians. Using an approach that was both artistically and scientifically ambitious, he recorded, in words and pictures, the traces of the traditional Indian way of life that was already beginning to die out. With tireless personal commitment Curtis visited American Indian tribes from the Mexican border to the Bering Strait, gaining their confidence through his patience and sensitivity. His photographic life's work was printed in 20 volumes between 1907 and 1930 as The North American Indian. There were only 272 copies, in total, so original copies are now extremely rare. This book gives lasting life to Curtis’s great achievement by making the photographs available again.