American Historical Ephemera and Photography Featuring the Civil War and American Militaria Collection of Bruce B. Hermann

16mo. contemporary embossed leather album (spine lacking, boards detached, scuffs to extremities). Album contains 32 CDVs, 2 1/4 x 3 1/2 in., or smaller, on cardstock mounts, most credited to Whitney's Gallery (25), with additional images credited to St. Paul, MN, photographers B.F. Upton (2) and Martin's Gallery (5). Many include a Minnesota Historical Society ink stamp on verso and a combination of penciled and manuscript identifications and notations. Condition generally good, with toning, soiling, and some spotting to many cartes. Some images and mounts with wear and loss to edges and corners, and some residue to versos.

The following subjects, identified on rectos and/or versos, are credited to Whitney's Gallery: O-Ge-Mah-O-Cha-Wub, aka Mountain Chief. -- Be-She-Kee, aka Buffalo. -- Qui-Wi-Sain-Shish, aka Bad Boy. -- Maw-Je-Ke-Jik, aka Flying Sky. -- Pha Uza-Tanka, aka The great Scalp taker. -- Po-Go-Nay-Ke-Shick, aka Hole in the Day (2). -- Ah Ah Shaw We Ke Shick, aka Crossing Sky. -- Nah-Bon-A-Aush, aka One Sided Winner. -- Ma-Za-Oo-Nie, aka the Little Bird Hunter. -- Now-We-Ke-Shick, aka Noon Day. -- O-Gee-Tub, aka Heavy Sitter. -- Te-He-Do-Ne-Cha, aka One who Forbids his house. -- Nah-Gun-E-Gah-Bow, aka Standing Forward. -- Little Crow. -- Cut Nose. -- Ta-Tanka-Nazin, aka Standing Buffalo. -- Old Bets. -- Anpetu-Sapa-Win, aka Black Day Woman. -- Can-ku was-te win, aka Good Road Woman. -- Han-Ye-Tu Was-Te, aka Beautiful Night. -- Shena (attrib. to Whitney). -- Chippewa Warrior. -- Winnebago Chiefs in Council. -- Sioux women winnowing wheat.

Additional cartes credited to Martin's Gallery include: Aw-Monse, aka Little Bee (corner and edge loss). -- Ah-Pe-Ma-Za, a Dakota Dandy. -- Ta-O-Pee, aka Wounded Man. -- "Red River Half-Breeds (in Camp)." -- "Village of Yankton Sioux (Dakotah Territory)" (after lithograph/engraving) (creasing to lower right corner). Each with wear and loss to corners and edges.

The remaining cartes are credited or attributed to Upton and include: Wo-Uri-Na-Pe, aka Little Crow's Son (soiling, edge and corner wear to image and mount). -- Little Crow's wife and two children (significant wear, incl. tears and chipping to edges of print and mount, mount trimmed heavily, creasing throughout).

[With:] 3 albumen photographs, 3 3/4 x 4 1/8 in. or smaller, on 4 x 6 in. or smaller cardstock mounts (toning to images). The portraits are uncredited but attributed to Whitney and bear the following manuscript identifications, "Te he si pa, Sioux Dandy." -- "Te na ze pa, A Sioux Dandy, Hung for participation in massacre." -- "Winnesheik and Friends, Winnebagos," (some surface soiling to image and mount, typed label to verso). 

The new state of Minnesota was home to thousands of Native Americans in 1862, many of whom were disenchanted with the government's promise for annuities. In August of that year, a number of the Dakota were starving; on the 18th, Indians at the Lower Agency attacked the white settlers there. Over the next few weeks hundreds of whites were killed, until the uprising was finally put down by Federal troops under the command of Henry Sibley. Whitney photographed a number of the Native American principals involved with the uprising. Cut Nose, for one, was charged with the murder of 18 women and children and five men, and admitted to the brutal murder of several settlers in response to the US Army reneging on its treaty obligations. He was hanged with 37 other Dakota on 26 December 1862.

Joel Ellis Whitney (1822-1886) is considered Minnesota's finest pioneer photographer. He successfully operated his business in St. Paul during the years 1851-1871, before selling his studio and negatives to Charles Zimmerman, who in turn became the most prominent photographer in the state. James Edgar Martin (1825-1869) operated a photo studio in Minnesota during the 1850s and 1860s, specializing in stereoviews. Martin also marketed photographs produced by Whitney and Upton, and in 1869, he sold his gallery to Whitney. Benjamin Franklin Upton (1818-1910) began as a daguerreotypist in Maine between 1844-1851, then started working around the Minneapolis, St. Anthony, and Saint Paul areas of Minnesota, during the 1850s-1860s. He is best known for his portraits of the Dakota Indians imprisoned at Ft. Snelling after the 1862 conflict. 

RARE: An exceptional album containing many uncommon cartes de visite of subjects involved in the Dakota Uprising.