Guide to MS 7135 Fielding Lucas Jr. scrapbook, including drawings by James Otto Lewis, circa 1814-1830

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of a scrapbook of engraving samples and drawings assembled by Fielding Lucas, Jr. Many of the drawings are by James Otto Lewis and were used to illustrate McKenney's Sketches of a Tour to the Lakes, pubilshed by Lucas. The drawings include portraits of individuals and landscape views around Lake Superior and the Michigan Territory.

Other items in the scrapbook include samples of engraved bank papers, portraits, and title pages and illustrations from publications. The portraits include De Witt Clinton, William Cobbett, James Thomson, Goliah Werner, and William Bainbridge.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.

Arrangement

The drawings have been removed from the scrapbook and are described individually. The separated drawings are arranged in the order in which they appeared in the scrapbook.

Biographical Note

James Otto Lewis (1799-1858) was an American engraver and painter who was noted for his portraits of Native American leaders and other figures of the American frontier. Lewis began his engraving career in Philadelphia about 1815. He traveled west in 1819, and from 1823 to 1834 he worked for the U.S. Government as an artist in the office of Indian Affairs. In 1826 Lewis accompanied Thomas L. McKenney, superintendent of Indian Affairs, on an official trip to the Michigan Territories. McKenney published a record of his expedition, Sketches of a Tour to the Lakes... (1827); it contained 29 engraved or illustrated images. Although Lewis is not credited on any of the plates, the majority of images appear to be by him. Lewis returned to the East in the late 1830s, and published The Aboriginal Portfolio, a book of his hand-colored lithographs. He died in New York City in 1858.

Fielding Lucas Jr. (1781–1854) was an American cartographer, artist, and a publisher. Lucas was owner Lucas Bros, a printing and publishing firm in Baltimore. In 1827, Lucas published Thomas L. McKenney's Sketches of a Tour to the Lakes.