Scope and Contents note

Copy print of a daguerreotype depicting Seth Eastman seated on an inscribed rock, Dighton Rock, in Massachusetts on July 7, 1853.

Biographical/Historical note

Seth Eastman (1808-1875) was an army officer who also made paintings, drawings, and sketches of American Indians and fortifications. While on detail with the Office of Indian Affairs, he was commissioned to prepare illustrations for Henry Rowe Schoolcraftsʹ book, "Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States." In 1853 Eastman traveled to New England to explore ancient sites, during which he collaborated with Horatio King, a daguerreotypist with a studio in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Local Call Number(s)

Reproduction Note

Copy print possibly made by Christie's East in New York, NY, circa 1980.

Location of Other Archival Materials

Originals and copies of Seth Eastman's artwork can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 1671, Photo Lot 24, Photo Lot 78, and the BAE historical negatives.

Location of Other Archival Materials

Records relating to an exhibition of Seth Eastman's artwork can be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives in SIA Acc. 97-004.

Custodial History note

Copy print donated by Dale W. Stulz, Vice President of 19th and 20th Century Photographs, through Ives Goddard and William Fitzhugh, in 1980.