National Anthropological Archives

Copies of Christian Barthelmess photographs of American Indians and United States Army

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.PhotoLot.R87-1
Creators:
Barthelmess, Christian
Dates:
circa 1876-1898, 1903-1906
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
119 Copy negatives
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Photographs from an album compiled by Christian Barthelmess for a fellow soldier, O.S. Gordon. The bulk of the images relate to American Indians and the United States army and include studio portraits; images of dwellings and camps; cowboys; Zuni and Navajo performing daily activities; Cheyenne and Zuni dances; a Cheyenne travois; fishing and hunting parties; and American Indian scouts for the army. There are also scenic views of Colorado, Zuni Pueblo, Santa Fe, Custer (Little Bighorn) Battlefield, Camp Proctor, and Forts Merritt and Keogh. The collection also includes some images from Germany, including images of a German singing club and the Bavarian town of Klingenberg on the Main. One photograph was made by W. J. Carpenter, a Colorado photographer.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Christian Barthelmess (1854-1906) was born in Bavaria and immigrated to the United States in the early 1870s. Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1876, he directed military bands and was an official army photographer. Barthelmess retired from the Army in 1903, but remained post photographer for Fort Keogh until his death in 1906.

Administration

Author
Sarah Ganderup
Existence and Location of Originals note
Originals now in the Thompson Memorial Library at Ohio State University.
Custodial History note
Martha Foreman Leonard, the granddaughter of O. S. Gordon, lent the album of original photographs for copying in 1986.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
This copy collection has been obtained for reference purposes only. Contact the repository for terms of use and access.
Preferred Citation note
Photo Lot R87-1, Copies of Christian Barthelmess photographs of American Indians and United States Army, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Location of Other Archival Materials

Location of Other Archival Materials
Additional photographs by Barthelmess can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in MS 4423, Photo Lot 24, and the BAE historical negatives.
Location of Other Archival Materials
The Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University hold photographs by Barthelmess.
Location of Other Archival Materials
The Montana Historical Society Archives holds the Barthelmess Family Papers, 1926-1971, including a series relating to Christian Barthelmess.

More Information

Local Call Number(s)

Local Call Number(s)
NAA Photo Lot R87-1

Reproduction Note

Reproduction Note
Copy negatives made by Smithsonian Institution, 1989.

Bibliography

Bibliography
Photographs published in Maurice Frink with Casey E. Barthelmess, Photographer on an Army Mule, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1965.

Addl. KW Subj

Addl. KW Subj
Navaho


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Indians of North America -- Great Basin Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Germany Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Colorado Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fort Lewis (Colo.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fort Bayard (N.M.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lame Deer (Mont.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fort Keogh (Mont.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Santa Fe (N.M.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Little Bighorn Battlefield (Mont.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dance Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Soldiers -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Studio portraits Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Weaving Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
A:shiwi (Zuni) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diné (Navajo) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Germans Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ute Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States. Army. Indian Scouts Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carpenter, W. J. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu