Catlin, George, 1796-1872
North American Indian portfolio: Hunting scenes and amusements of the Rocky Mountains and prairies of America: from drawings and notes of the author, made during eight years travel amongst forty-eight of the wildest and most remote tribes of savages in North America
London, 1844.

As a young adult, George Catlin resolved to devote his life to the study and portrayal of the life and customs of Native Americans. His combined genius for accurate and meaningful observation and passion for organized knowledge contributed to the growing understanding of the American West.

In 1830, he went to St. Louis and was befriended by William Clark who was then Governor of the territory, some twenty years after his trip with Meriwether Lewis. By 1832, Catlin was able to take passage on the Yellowstone, the first steamboat to go up the Missouri River all the way to Fort Union at the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers in Montana. He stayed for over a month, and by the end of his journey he had painted over 150 portraits, hunting scenes, ceremonial dances and rituals, games, and landscapes, especially with bison.

This portfolio of hand-colored lithograph prints is based on his paintings of Indians and their world from 1832-1840. Catlin produced it after he had failed to sell his paintings to the U.S. Government and had traveled to London to exhibit them. As a conservation measure, the Linda Hall Library copy of the Portfolio has been disbound to preserve the fragile paper, allowing all of the individual hand-colored prints to be displayed.

These prints can be seen at the Linda Hall Library as part of the exhibit "Science Goes West."