The Aboriginal Port Folio facts for kids
Waukon Decorah lithograph from The Aboriginal Portfolio
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| Author | James Otto Lewis |
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Publication date
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1835-1836 |
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The Aboriginal Portfolio is a special book from the early 1800s. It's filled with beautiful, hand-colored pictures of important Native American leaders. This book was one of the very first to show what Native American life was like through art.
About The Aboriginal Portfolio
This amazing book was published in Philadelphia between 1835 and 1836. The artist, James Otto Lewis, created all the pictures. He was asked by the government's Bureau of Indian Affairs to draw Native American chiefs.
How the Pictures Were Made
James Otto Lewis traveled to many important meetings between 1825 and 1828. These meetings were called treaty ceremonies. At these events, he drew pictures of the tribal chiefs who were there.
Most of his drawings came from these important treaty ceremonies:
- The First Treaty of Prairie du Chien, signed in August 1825 in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
- A treaty with the Potawatomi people, signed in October 1826 in Mississinewa, Indiana.
- A treaty with the Miami people, signed in October 1826 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- A treaty with the Chippewa and other groups, signed in 1827 in Butte des Morts, Wisconsin.
Besides drawing chiefs, Lewis also sketched scenes from the treaty grounds. He drew pictures of a Chippewa pipe dance and a tomahawk dance. He even traveled to Fond du Lac in the summer of 1846 to make more drawings.
From Sketch to Book
The earliest painting used in the book is from 1823, and the latest is from 1833. Sadly, none of Lewis's original paintings still exist today. Most of his pictures were first sketched on location. He then finished them in Detroit between 1827 and 1833.
The pictures were turned into prints using a method called lithography. This was done by a company named Lehman and Duval in Philadelphia. After printing, each picture was colored by hand. Some of the portraits are signed by J. Barincou, who was likely the person who made the lithographs.
