American West Social History Settlement Labor and Indigenous Life Documented in Nineteenth Century Western Albumen Photographs

American West Social History Indigenous Life

Photograph

19th century photographs of frontier life document settlement, labor, travel, and Indigenous presence in the developing American West during the later decades of westward expansion. Twelve albumen photographs depict wagons traveling across open terrain, ranch buildings and campsites, cattle branding, hunters with game, Native riders on horseback, and families living in rudimentary dwellings. Several photographs were produced by photographer Abraham Bogardus of New York, a studio photographer active during the mid to late nineteenth century whose work circulated widely through photographic prints and studio images. The images together record the daily material realities of life in western territories including transportation, subsistence hunting, and the building of homesteads.

Archive of twelve original albumen photographs ranging in size from approximately 4 x 5 inches to 8.25 x 11 inches mounted on large 11.5 x 14 inch mats. Nine of the smaller photographs carry the imprint of Bogardus Photographer, 363 Broadway, corner of Franklin Street, New York. Three photographs are mounted together on a single large sheet whose verso contains a political cartoon and an additional albumen studio photograph of a circus performer. The photographs portray a variety of frontier scenes including horses and mules with wagon travelers, ranch properties, outdoor campsites, and cattle branding activities. One photograph shows two hunters standing beside a stag with large antlers following a successful hunt. Another image depicts a family gathered outside a log cabin with a rock pile nearby, the figures dressed in nineteenth century clothing including long dresses and western work wear such as wide brimmed hats and boots. A further image shows a Native woman on horseback wrapped in a shawl while transporting two children in a small wooden cage structure attached to a dragging pole behind the horse.

Photographic documentation of western settlement expanded rapidly in the later nineteenth century as photographers recorded landscapes, communities, and everyday activities associated with frontier life. These photographs capture both settler environments and Indigenous presence during a period when western territories were undergoing rapid economic development and population change through ranching, migration, and agricultural settlement. Scenes of wagon travel, homestead construction, and hunting illustrate the physical labor and subsistence practices required for frontier survival, while the photograph of a Native rider with children evokes the mobility and adaptation of Indigenous communities during a time of profound disruption caused by U.S. expansion across western lands. Twelve albumen photographs mounted on mats measuring approximately 11.5 x 14 inches. Minor cracking and foxing visible on several mounts with light toning on a few images; mounts remain firm and photographs retain clear detail. Overall condition very good.

Item #19725

Price: $1,450.00