American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Archive consisting almost entirely of more than 175 hand-drawn sketches, most created by career army officer Charles A.H. McCauley whose military service spanned nearly four decades. A talented artist, McCauley's drawings depict the physical locations in which he served, but even more so are representative of the soldiers, civilians, and native inhabitants with whom he interacted. Included with McCauley's sketches are more than 30 "ledger" drawings created by Native Americans of the Uncompahgre and Tabeguache Ute bands. Various places, ca 1875-1906. Provenance: By descent directly through the family of Captain (later Colonel) Charles A.H. McCauley to the present owner, Col. McCauley's great-grandson.

AN EXCEPTIONAL COLLECTION FEATURING BEAUTIFULLY RENDERED EXAMPLES OF FRONTIER AND NATIVE AMERICAN ART.

Sketchbook with leather boards, 7 1/2 x 4 7/8 in., 51pp utilized, hand-titled on cover "Sketches among Black, White & Red Men by Lieut. McCauley, 3d Artillery, Asst. Engineer Dept Missouri, with the Ute Indian Commission in Colorado, New Mexico & Utah - 1878." Interior ink inscription "Sketches by Lieut. McCauley 3d Artillery / Asst. Engineer Officer, Dept. Missouri / Fort Leavenworth, Kansas / with the / Ute Indian Commission / to the / Rocky Mountains / Colorado, New Mexico & Utah / in 1878." Each page features either a pencil sketch by McCauley or a colored pencil sketch identified in McCauley's hand to a Native American artist. McCauley's drawings are typically portraits though occasionally he sketches scenes of frontier and military life.  Notable sketches, most in pencil, include: "Residence of Ouray / Head Chief of the Tabeguache Utes / 9 miles north of Los Pinos Agency / Uncapahgre [sic] Agency, Colorado" dated 13 November 1878; "Madam Tom / The Squaw of a well-known Brave"; "Sketch of the The [sic] Old Saw Mill & the City thereof / 2/12 miles up the Uncapahgre [sic] River / south of Los Piños Indian Agency Colo" dated 15 November 1878; "The Symington Conservatory / on the / farm of the Los Piños Agency / Uncapahgre [sic] River Colo" dated 15 April 1878; and "'Old Colorado' / or  / Colorado Grande / Chief / of the Tabeguache Band / of Utes / Los Piños Agency / Uncapahgre [sic] River Colo" dated 14 November (?) 1878.

The 31 Native American sketches housed within McCauley's sketchbook are consistently executed on a smaller piece of paper which is adhered to a sketchbook page. Plains ledger art emerged in the mid-nineteenth century as Native Americans adopted the medium as a means of historical representation. McCauley may have provided the sketch paper and drawing utensils to the artists whose work he collected for the express purpose of creating these drawings, as was common for military officers, traders, missionaries, and government agents to do during this period. The Native American artists are identified by McCauley in his manuscript inscriptions below the drawings, and include Ute men "Billy," "Sam," "Wass," and "Young Shavano" as well as a Ute women "Stowt Wass." The Ute artists portray warriors and warrior life, as well as other cultural elements such as hunting on the plains, horses, and tepees. Sketches all seem to have been made at Los Piños Agency. Notable sketches include: "'Old Colorow' or Colorado grande as depicted by 'Sam,' A Rising Artist and Brave of the Tabequaches / Los Piños Agency / Westn Colorado" dated 11 November 1878; "Desperate Battle between Colorado Grande (Ute) and a Cheyenne as depicted by 'Sam' Artist of the Tabeguaches" dated 12 November 1878; "Fearful Fight between 'Billy' of the Tabeguache Utes and his mortal foe in the Arapahoes, resulting in death of the latter. Drawn by the Hero" dated 12 Noveber 1878; "Wass' Favorite Squaw as drawn by Her 'Old Man' / 'Stowt' ne[?] Shavano, the Belle of the Tribe" dated 12 November 1878; "Wass' Tepee drawn by Stowt His favorite Squaw" dated 14 November 1878; and "The Battle of the Blue fought A.D. 1861 between Ute and Arapohoe Chiefs" dated 12 (?) November 1878. Significantly, these drawings depict Ute life in their Colorado homeland. Roughly three years later, members of these bands would be removed from their ancestral lands and force-marched to a new reservation in Utah.

[With:]  A group of 23 loose pencil sketches, ca 1876, most approx. 3 1/2  x 4 3/4 in., primarily portraits. Roughly 1/3 of the sketches appear to portray individuals of Native American or Mexican ethnicity. Captions include "Our Wagonmaster," "The little Teamster," "Belen 4-8-1876," "'Lo' at our camp near Los Lunas 4/9-76," and "Albuquerque 4/-10-76." -- Colored pencil sketch titled at bottom right "Pueblo of Taos, Near Mexico near North line of New Mexico 60 miles North of Santa Fe," 26 1/4 x 10 in., ca 1876 (folds, chipping at edges particularly on upper right, approx. 1 3/4 in. tear top right). -- "Drawing Book," ca 1876, 8 1/4 in x 6 3/4 in., 4pp utilized, with an assortment of ink drawings some of a comical and satirical nature. Also housing 3 loose ink sketches, each approx. 5 1/2 x 5 3/4 in., showing comedic interpretations of western life and travel. 

[With:] 3 1/2 x 5 3/4 in. sketchbook, missing cover but identified in ink on upper right corner "No.8 - 1875 / Colorado." 42pp, each containing at least one pencil sketch, primarily portraits, though also scenes of western life. Many sketches are captioned. Folded within the notebook is a handwritten note "Rough sketches in the field - Various trips - Travelling with Lord Leigh, an English Nobleman as his guest in 1877, etc. in Rocky Mts, Colorado." Though the date on the note does not match the date appearing on the sketchbook and various sketches, it seems the sketches may indeed be from a trip with Lord Leigh, as one is titled "Lord Leigh Unfinished Sketch." Other captions include: "Me and My Pet" (apparently a self-portrait of McCauley), "Green Lake - the Cottage," "Britton S. Hill Esq. St. Louis," "Bound for Bear River Oct 3 - 75," "Gansen the 'boss' Trout Fisherman of Hot Sulpher Springs," "Ye grandHunt of My Lord - Oct 10 - 75," "2d Day's sport - A deer on the lookout," and ""A day's 'sport' of 'my Lord' - after antelopes - Unlucky Friday - Oct 22 1875." Lord Leigh is likely the Honorable G.H.C. Leigh, a Liberal M.P. who died in Wyoming in 1884 while hunting. -- Blue pencil sketch, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in., portraying a figure identified in pencil as "Capt. McCauley / Drawn by / Call Her Na[me?] / Mar [?]" (significant chipping at edges affecting text and losses especially at bottom).

[With:] A group of six drawings and watercolors associated with McCauley's duty in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, each measuring approximately 6 5/8 x 10 in. One watercolor is captioned "Totem Poles, Fort Wrangel, Alaska. Drawn July 31, 1894, Major C.A.H. McCauley U.S. Army."  Another totem pole image is sketched and partially painted, with no caption. This image appears to be an earlier version of an August 1894 McCauley watercolor, "C.A.H. McCauley drawing of the totem pole of the Brown Bear and Crow (or Raven) Family" which is housed in the National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. Three totem sketches are in pencil only, and are identified as "Sitka Miss Cork's totem" and "Howkau" (2) respectively. The final watercolor is captioned "Douglas Mountains, Alaska." -- Sketchbook with paper covers, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 in., titled "Sketches on Islands of Panay, Negros, & Mindanao, Phillippine Island 1903." Book contains approximately 55 well-executed pencil sketches documenting a wide range of subjects including native inhabitants and culture, local architecture, wildlife, landscapes, and fellow soldiers, with most sketches bearing captions. -- Two loose sketches, both dated 1901, depicting scenes from the Phillippines. -- Manuscript sermon, 18pp, 5 1/4 x 8in., "The Phillippine Islands Missions, etc. / Grace Reformed Church Bayard & Dittridge Streets / Pittsburgh Pa / Wdy March 17 1909 / 8pm."

[Also with:] A 4 3/4 x 7 1/4 in. notebook sheet containing 12 English words/phrases and their counterparts in an unidentified Native American language. -- Small group of miscellaneous documents including several pages of McCauley family genealogical information. -- A cover from Colonel C.A.H. McCauley addressed to his daughter, Katherine Lay McCauley (1883-1971), with Denver, Colorado, cancellation, 1906, featuring a hand-drawn illustration.

Charles Adam Hoke McCauley (1847-1913) graduated West Point in 1870 and embarked upon a lengthy military career which included extensive service in the American West. McCauley was with the Survey of the Red River in Texas (1876); was in charge of San Juan Reconnaissance, Southwest Colorado and New Mexico (1877); and was with the Ute Indian Commission in Colorado and Utah (1878). From 1879-1882 McCauley was on frontier duty at Fort Steele, Wyoming, before taking charge of the supply depot at Rawlins, Wyoming Territory. Later frontier duty included service as Assistant Quartermaster of the Department of the Platte and Assistant Quartermaster of the Division of the Missouri. While serving as Purchasing and Disbursing Quartermaster at Portland, Oregon, McCauley spent time in Alaska during the 1890s. Following duty in Philadelphia prior to the Spanish-American War, McCauley was assigned in 1901 to the Phillippines as Chief Quartermaster, Department South Luzon. Returning to the United States in 1903, he spent six more years in the service before retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1909. During his lifetime, McCauley authored several works on ornithology including "Ornithology of the Red River of Texas," and he is credited as the inventor of the military system of signaling by mirrors. Additional publications by McCauley include "The San Juan Reconnaissance in Colorado and New Mexico" (1877), "Reports on the White River Indian Agency, Colorado, and the Uinta Indian Agency" (1879), and "Pagasa Springs, Colorado: It's Geology and Botany" (1879).

It was during McCauley's early period of frontier duty that the majority of the sketches in the archive were created. Though the nature of many drawings in the collection suggests that McCauley sketched for his private enjoyment, his work may have also been created for another more formal purpose. The 6 December 1879 issue of "Leslie's Weekly" featured engravings related to the Meeker Incident/Ute Campaign of 1879, and credited the images as being "From Sketches by Lieutenant C.A.H. McCauley, Third U.S. Cavalry." McCauley's sketches may have been intended not just as a personal record of his travels and explorations, but also as documentation for newspapers, the army, and/or for his own publications.