How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X

New York: J. Gurney & Son, 1871. Albumen print, mounted to captioned card, 12 x 10 in. (305 x 254 mm). Scattered soiling to mount, uneven toning to same.

A fine portrait of prominent Cheyenne warrior turned peace advocate, Little Robe (Takkeomah). Born in 1828, Little Robe gained distinction as a warrior during the 1850s in battles against the Pawnee and Ute. He rose to a leadership position within his tribe, and survived the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, where United States troops slaughtered around 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho. Following this, he waged war against white settlers, but soon came to the conclusion that such actions were hopeless and subsequently became an advocate for peace. He signed treaties at both the Little Arkansas in 1865, and Medicine Lodge in 1867, and became a leader of the peace faction of the Southern Cheyenne. He was a delegate to Washington, D.C., in 1871 and 1873, where he met with President Ulysses S. Grant and Congressional leaders, and then retired to his home on the North Canadian River. He died there in 1886.

From Jeremiah Gurney's portfolio of Native Americans, created for the Trustees of the Blackmore Museum, in Salisbury, England. The Blackmore portfolio contained 12 albumen portraits of Cheyenne, Arapaho and Wichita leaders. Gurney boasted of being the oldest and most extensive photographic establishment in the world, a claim that may well have been true. Born in 1812, he was trained as a jeweler, an occupation he engaged in until 1840 when he took up photography, soon after its invention. He was one of the first to take up the new craft, and as such, had to have French journals translated for instruction, and had to make much of his own equipment. His affable nature combined with great skill made his New York City business a great success. By 1869 he had several studios, including one at 707 Broadway, trading as Gurney & Son, which was described as the most expensive photographic establishment in the world. It was to this studio that this delegation of Native Americans was brought to in June of 1871.