CHOATE, John N. (1848-1902), photographer. A pair of cabinet cards featuring identified male Pueblo students at Carlisle Indian School, before and after. Carlisle, PA, ca 1880-81.
Studio portrait of Pueblo students Sheldon Jackson, John Shields, and Harvey Townsend, wearing traditional garb as they would have entered the school at Carlisle. They are posed before a backdrop painted with trees and plants, with hay or grass covering the studio floor (toning to edges, some spots and minor abrasions, mount with some soiling and wear). Ca 1880. -- Studio portrait of the same 3 students sporting conservative hairstyles and wearing school uniforms, posed with the same studio backdrop and ground cover. Ca 1881. -- Together, 2 cabinet cards featuring a group of 3 male Pueblo students, before and after being "civilized" by the school. Each approx. 4 x 5 3/4 in. on cardstock mounts. Each with Choate's imprint and title list to verso, with correct caption underlined.
The original caption for the "before" photograph includes the Pueblo boys' traditional names: "No. 18. Watte—Sheldon Jackson. Keise-te-wa—John Shields. He-ri-te—Harvey Townsend. Pueblo Indians from San Felipe, N. M."
John N. Choate (1848-1902) began a long photographic career at Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1879 when the famous Carlisle Indian Industrial School was founded. The school's superintendent, Richard Henry Pratt, commissioned Choate to take these "before and after" portraits to document the progress his school was making in "civilizing" the students. The photographs were distributed widely, to Native American reservations to recruit new students, and to United States officials and wealthy donors to encourage their support.
This lot is located in Cincinnati.
