ILLINGWORTH, W.H. (1844-1893), photographer. A group of 37 stereoviews of George Custer's expedition to the Black Hills.

37 stereoviews on yellow cardstock mounts with W.H. Illingworth's St. Paul, MN imprint, with titles printed in the lower margin or on mount verso with descriptive information about the series.

Titles include: Our first crossing of an Alkail Valley. -- Camp at Hildenwood Creek. Ludlow's cave, 450 feet deep. -- Inyan Kara, altitude 6,000 feet. -- View from our first camp in the hills, looking north. -- Castle Creek Valley near the Divide. --Wagon Train passing through Castle Creek valley. -- Castle Creek valley, looking east. -- Lime Stone Peak and Castle Creek Valley. -- Sioux Camp in Castle Creek Valley. -- Camp in Castle Creek Valley. -- Headquarters in Castle Creek Valley. -- Lime Stone Peak in Castle Creek Valley. -- Elk Horn prairie. -- Harney's Peak - Ten Miles Distance. -- Pulpit Knob. - Altitude 9700 Feet. -- Illingworth Valley near Harney's Peak. -- Organ Pipes and Harney's Peak in the Distance. -- From Top of Beaver Mount over Agnes' Park. -- Flora Park. -- Head of Golden Valley. -- Sunshine and Shadow Mount. -- Godfrey Peak. -- Agnes Park. -- Looking West from Granite Knob. -- Spectre Canon. -- Golden Park, where gold was first found. -- Permanent camp in Agnes Park (2 different scenes, same title). -- Permanent Camp in Custer Valley. -- Our First Grizzly, killed by Gen. Custer and Col. Ludlow. -- Red Sandstone in Elk Creek Valley. -- Top of Custer Peak and Elk Creek Valley. -- Our Wagon Master. -- Custer's Expedition. -- Custer's Expedition on the Plains.

The 1874 Black hills Expedition, under the command of General George Custer, changed the West, by sparking the last gold rush on the continental United States and at the same time violating the important Ft. Laramie Treaty with the Sioux. This expedition was one of the better documented western expeditions of this era, with several journals kept by participants and extant filed official reports, five journalists accompanied the expedition and wrote stories on it for Eastern and Mid-Western newspapers, and photographer W.H. Illingworth recorded dozens of fascinating images.

A significant offering of 37 stereoviews from Illingworth's well-known series documenting Custer's expedition to the Black Hills.

The Larry Ness Collection of Native American Photography

This lot is located in Cincinnati.