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Lot Essay
An exceptional example and largest print in private hands of the much-lauded 1867 Buffalo Soldiers serving during the “Indian Wars”.
Alexander Gardner was a preeminent American photographer of the 19th century and Abraham Lincoln’s favorite portraitist. During the Civil War, Gardner became known for his work in the field, creating the greatest visual record of the war, his two-volume Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War.
In 1866 Gardner was commissioned by William Henry Blackmore to photograph American Indian delegates visiting Washington. In 1867, he was commissioned by the US Government to photograph the peace talks between the federally appointed Indian Peace Commission, which included General Sherman, and chiefs of the Plains Indians tribes at Fort Laramie in Wyoming. In an attempt to end conflict, an unprecedented gathering of tribal leaders from the Northern Plains assembled at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, in 1868. The resulting series of photographs, Scenes in the Indian Country, made over a nearly two-year period is considered to be among Gardner’s most poignant works.
The present lot is from this series. With his wagon serving as a darkroom, Gardner also photographed a variety of scenes throughout the territory. In this image, Gardner depicts the U.S. Overland Stagecoach departing from Kansas for Denver, Colorado, with passengers and numerous soldiers. Research indicates that the subjects in this picture are members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment.
On July 26, 1866, Congress had passed legislation creating the 9th & 10th Cavalry Regiment of Colored Soldiers. Commanders were charged with guarding the lines of the Union Pacific railroad, the Denver stage road, and the posts of Forts Harker, Hays, and Wallace.
This print is one of three known prints in Imperial plate size, with others identified at the Newberry Library, Chicago and the Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Alexander Gardner was a preeminent American photographer of the 19th century and Abraham Lincoln’s favorite portraitist. During the Civil War, Gardner became known for his work in the field, creating the greatest visual record of the war, his two-volume Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War.
In 1866 Gardner was commissioned by William Henry Blackmore to photograph American Indian delegates visiting Washington. In 1867, he was commissioned by the US Government to photograph the peace talks between the federally appointed Indian Peace Commission, which included General Sherman, and chiefs of the Plains Indians tribes at Fort Laramie in Wyoming. In an attempt to end conflict, an unprecedented gathering of tribal leaders from the Northern Plains assembled at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, in 1868. The resulting series of photographs, Scenes in the Indian Country, made over a nearly two-year period is considered to be among Gardner’s most poignant works.
The present lot is from this series. With his wagon serving as a darkroom, Gardner also photographed a variety of scenes throughout the territory. In this image, Gardner depicts the U.S. Overland Stagecoach departing from Kansas for Denver, Colorado, with passengers and numerous soldiers. Research indicates that the subjects in this picture are members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment.
On July 26, 1866, Congress had passed legislation creating the 9th & 10th Cavalry Regiment of Colored Soldiers. Commanders were charged with guarding the lines of the Union Pacific railroad, the Denver stage road, and the posts of Forts Harker, Hays, and Wallace.
This print is one of three known prints in Imperial plate size, with others identified at the Newberry Library, Chicago and the Getty Museum, Los Angeles.