American Historical Ephemera and Early Photography

2 cabinet photographs on cardstock mounts, including:

[JACKSON, William Henry (1843-1942) photographer]. A studio view of Lower Yanktonais Dakota Indian Bull's Ghost, or Ta-Tan'-Ka-Wa-Na'-Gi. Uncredited, but originally taken by William Henry Jackson. Verso with manuscript notation in an unknown hand, "Lower Yanctonais [sic], Our Indian Friends at Fort Sully Dakota, 1870." Bull's Ghost served as Sitting Bull's mouth piece in the Ghost Dance exercises. Only having one eye, he was purportedly called "One Eyed Riley" by whites. (See James McLaughlin's memoirs, My Friend the Indian, p. 203.)

GARDNER, Alexander (1821-1882), photographer. A studio view of Running Antelope, Hunkpapa. Verso manuscript notation in an unknown hand, "Oncpapa [sic]." He was an adviser of Sitting Bull, but his eventual belief that cooperation with Anglos was in the Native American's best interests, lead to their falling out. In 1868 he presided over the Ft. Laramie Treaty Council. He was also a member of a delegation to Washington, DC, in 1872, where he had his portrait taken by Alexander Gardner.

Together, 2 cabinet photographs.

Provenance: Acquired from an October 2024 auction containing material identified to General David Sloane Stanley (1828-1902) (consignor notes). After graduating from West Point in 1852, Stanley was assigned to frontier duty. He was stationed at various forts in the Dakota Territory, Indian Territory, and Kansas, where he aided in quelling disturbances at the Kansas border in 1856. When the Civil War began, he was given command of a division in the Western Theater, participating in numerous battles over the next three years. He was wounded in the neck at the Battle of Franklin and later received the Medal of Honor for his actions (November 1864). Following the Civil War, Stanley was appointed colonel of the 22nd US Infantry, primarily serving in the Dakota Territory until 1874. He was the Commanding Officer at Fort Sully, Dakota Territory, from 1867-1873, so it is entirely possible that the photographs offered here were inscribed in Stanley's hand. Following his time at Fort Sully, Stanley commanded the Yellowstone expedition of 1873, encouraging settlement in the area.