In 1827, George Catlin, an illustrator from Philadelphia, became the first artist to attempt the perilous journey up the Missouri River, and the first to create visual records of his experiences traveling among the Plains Indians of North America. His motivation was entirely unselfish and idealistic, and he labored unceasingly to persuade his contemporaries that Native American culture should be honored and preserved. Over the next eight years, Catlin would travel extensively throughout the Western Plains of America doing just that, and accumulating his "Indian Gallery", which consisted of hundreds of oil paintings he executed presenting the appearances and customs of the 48 different tribes of Native Americans he encountered during his journey. In 1837 Catlin began to display his Indian Gallery, touring it in the United States for the next two years before taking the show to London. Having established a name for himself with the success of the Indian Gallery, Catlin turned his attention to finishing his first book, "Letters and notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians…", which first appeared in the fall of 1841. This book was to become one of the most important works on American Indians published in the 19th century. Not only is Catlin's work a wonderful description of his extensive travels and his career as an artist painting scenes of Indian life in the Midwest, but the book contains hundreds of his illustrations that portray many aspects of Indian life: Their costumes, ceremonies, dwellings, villages, buffalo hunts, games, etc. Three significant maps showing Indian tribe locations of the period around 1840 further augment the illustrative plates. "Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs and Conditions…" went on to be re-printed several times in the 1840's but wasn't published with colored plates until the late 1870's.
    This important, classical work on North American Indians describes the Native tribes while they still had their traditional manners and customs. Written in a series of fifty-eight letters, Catlin gives an account of his eight years experiences while visiting Indian tribes in the Mississippi and Missouri valleys and on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. His descriptions of Indian life at the time was of great value as a travel narrative in an almost unknown region of America. This early edition includes the 2 appendices with the Extinction of the Mandans: "From the accounts brought to New York in the fall of 1838, by Messrs. M'Kenzie, Mitchell, and others, from the Upper Missouri, and with whom I conversed on the subject, it seems that in the summer of that year the small-pox was accidentally introduced amongst the Mandans, by the Fur Traders; and that in the course of two months they all perished, except some thirty or forty, who were taken as slaves by the Riccarees" and a vocabulary of different Indian languages. The black & white engraved plates are simply stunning and were among the images that formed (and still form) the basis for our image of the American Indian and life in the American West.

    These rare and historically important volumes are bound in mid 20th century blue, library cloth bindings which are intact, sound and in near mint condition. The interior text pages of both Volumes are complete and very clean throughout. All plates and maps are present. Volume II is very clean, tight and intact except for the title page which is detached. Volume I is also very clean, tight and intact except for the frontispiece plate and the title page which are detached and the folding map which is completely spilt at the fold. Except for the 3 detached leaves and the split folding Map this is an exceptionally well preserved set - clean and crisp throughout and a wonderful example of this early color printing of Catlin's monumental work. This set of Volumes is an ex-library example from a large, recently de-accessioned archive of a Massachusetts library (originally from a Maine Library). We will be selling many more great finds from this archive over the next year or so. The only library markings are remnants of Library Bookplates on the inside front cover, Library labels at the bottom of each spine, a perforation stamp on both title pages, and manuscript number markings on the rear free endpaper. A VERY rare and important, early Color Plate edition of George Catlin's North American Indians and a fantastic addition to any Library or Collection!!! Be sure to check out this seller’s other auctions for a fantastic 1844 edition of Catlin’s North American Indians also being offered for sale this week on eBay!!

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