Edward S. Curtis "A Partially Cut Up Whale" Original Photogravure, 1915

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Description

An original photogravure from Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian. A Partially Cut Up Whale shows a whale lying … Read more An original photogravure from Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian. A Partially Cut Up Whale shows a whale lying on a pebble beach with the surf rolling in behind it, the long grooves of its underside sweeping across the foreground. At the far end, a figure bends to the carcass with a long-handled blade beside a basket while another stands wrapped in a blanket. The Nootka of the west coast of Vancouver Island were whalers, hunting from dugout canoes. Curtis made the photograph in 1915, and it was published in 1916 in Volume 11, which covers the Nootka and the Haida.

From Volume 11, facing page 36. Printed on Holland Van Gelder, one of the three papers used for the original subscriber sets. Titled in the plate lower left (A PARTIALLY CUT UP WHALE), with "From Copyright Photograph 1915 by E.S. Curtis" in the plate below the image. The plate mark shows around the image.

Image: 5 1/2 x 7 3/8 inches. Sheet: 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches.

Provenance: the Christopher G. Cardozo Collection. The collection's inventory number is written in pencil on the verso.

A vintage impression from the original publication, not a later restrike. Sold unframed, ready to mat and frame. See less