Edward S. Curtis "The Hand-Game - Qagyuhl" Original Photogravure, 1914

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An original photogravure from Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian. The Hand-Game - Qagyuhl shows a large gathering on … Read more An original photogravure from Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian. The Hand-Game - Qagyuhl shows a large gathering on a grassy clearing before a dark stand of spruce. Players kneel in a row along planks laid on the ground, holding sticks to beat time on the boards, while a player across from them reaches out with open arms and others stand behind, wrapped in woven cedar-bark robes, one in a broad woven hat. In the hand game, one side hides marked pieces in their hands while singing, and the other side tries to guess where they are. Curtis used the name Qagyuhl for the Kwakiutl of Fort Rupert, on northern Vancouver Island. Curtis made the photograph in 1914, and it was published in 1915 in Volume 10, which covers the Kwakiutl, today called the Kwakwaka'wakw.

From Volume 10, facing page 48. Printed on Holland Van Gelder, one of the three papers used for the original subscriber sets. Titled in the plate lower left (THE HAND-GAME - QÁGYUHL), with "From Copyright Photograph 1914 by E.S. Curtis" in the plate below the image. The plate mark shows around the image.

Image: 5 5/8 x 7 1/2 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