Edward S. Curtis Waiting in the Forest Cheyenne Photogravure Framed Print

PRODUCT DETAILS

• Brand: Edward Sheriff Curtis (American, 1868-1952); the plate was published by Edward S. Curtis, Seattle, with portfolio printing by John Andrew & Son, Boston

• Material: Photogravure (intaglio) on wove paper, continuous tone with a random aquatint-type grain and no halftone dot pattern resolved in detail photography; framed under glass and double-matted

• Dimensions: Framed approx. 21 1/2 in W x 25 in H; printed image approx. 10 3/4 x 15 1/2 in; full sheet size concealed by the mat

• Color/Finish: Black-and-white image, cream outer mat with narrow light inner reveal, late-20th-century gilt-and-mahogany moulding with applied notched corner ornaments

• Condition: Good. Image tone even with no foxing, tears, stains or cockling inside the mat opening; two very small light specks in the upper image field. Frame gilding is rubbed at the corner ornaments with a small chip/loss at the lower-left ornament. Not examined out of the frame, so the paper margins, verso, any watermark and any platemark have not been seen; sold as found with authenticity not verified

• Era/Period: Negative dated 1910; the plate was published in 1911 in Portfolio VI of The North American Indian. The printing date of this impression is not established

• Subject: A single standing figure fully wrapped in a pale blanket, face covered but for a slit at the eyes, in dark woodland. The letterpress caption centred below the image reads WAITING IN THE FOREST - CHEYENNE, matching Curtis's Plate 218 exactly. No signature is present, and the plate number, copyright line and printer's credit that portfolio sheets carry in the lower margin are not visible within the roughly 1/4 in of exposed margin; this is offered as an unverified impression, not as an authenticated 1911 portfolio plate

This is one of Curtis's most recognized images, presented large and ready to hang in a gilt-and-mahogany frame with a cream double mat. The printed image size of approx. 10 3/4 x 15 1/2 in corresponds to the large-format portfolio plate dimensions recorded at Sotheby's (15 3/4 x 11 in) and Phillips (15 1/2 x 11 in) and does not match the modern Curtis Gallery restrike format of approx. 17 1/2 x 12 in. We are selling it as found and unexamined out of the frame, so a buyer who wants to settle the paper, platemark and margin questions should plan on having it unframed and reviewed in hand.