[NATIVE AMERICANS]. Two stereoviews of Ute Chief Honkapkna, or “Honko” wearing the Lincoln peace medal that purportedly saved his life.

2 stereoviews on cardstock mounts showing Ute Chief Honkapkna, or Honko, including: A flat-mount stereoview of Honko wearing a kepi and military-style coat, identified in lower margin. Uncredited. -- Stereoview of Honko with fur wrapped around his long braids. Verso with imprint of "John P. Lower, Sportsmen's Depot, Denver, Colorado." Manuscript identifications on mount recto and verso.

Note that in each photograph, Honko is shown wearing the Abraham Lincoln peace medal. Research indicates that Honko was supposedly wearing the medal when he was shot during a fight near Cheyenne Welles. The medal stopped the bullet, but in stead of seeing the medal as saving his life, Honko saw it as being responsible for his being shot. As a result, he reportedly sold the medal in disgust in the 1870s because its supposed supernatural powers had not fully protected him from harm. An entry on the Numismatic Bibliomania Society website indicates that John P. Lower, the Colorado businessman listed on the back of one of the stereoviews, owned the medal at one time. The medal, with the bullet still embedded in it, is currently held at the American Numismatic Society.

Information obtained from American-Tribes.com and The E-Sylum Electronic Publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.

Prints overall very good, with toning, light soiling. Some edge and corner wear to mounts.

Lower stereoview: Chips near center of top and bottom edges of mount.

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Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

Katie Horstman

VP, Head of Department, American Historical Ephemera and Early Photography

[email protected]513.666.4958

Ms. Horstman has spent over a decade specializing in historic photography and Americana at auction. During her tenure, she has overseen several notable single owner auctions, including property from the inventory of celebrated Americana and antique arms expert Norm Flayderman. During her time with the firm, she has maintained an active membership in the Daguerreian Society. Ms. Horstman holds an MA in Art History from the University of Cincinnati and a BA in Art History from The Ohio State University.

American Historical Ephemera and Early Photography

[NATIVE AMERICANS]. Two stereoviews of Ute Chief Honkapkna, or “Honko” wearing the Lincoln peace medal that purportedly saved his life.

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