National Museum of the American Indian

J.B. Moore copper printing plates

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAI.AC.073
Creators:
Moore, J. B. (John Bradford), 1855-
Dates:
1911
Languages:
No linguistic content; Not applicable
.
Physical Description:
15 Printing plates
Repository:
Container:
1

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The J.B. Moore copper printing plates include 15 copper plates used in illustrating J.B. Moore's catalog, The Navajo (Crystal, Navajo Reservation, New Mexico: J.B. Moore, 1911). The plates depict rugs created by Navajo weavers that J.B. Moore had for sale at his trading post in 1911.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The copper plates are arranged in one box by plate number used in J.B. Moore's publication The Navajo.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
J. B. (John Bradford) Moore was a trader of Irish origin born in 1855 in Texas. Moore married Marion A.E. Cooney in 1887 and they had one child, Eunice Moore, who was born in Wyoming in 1894. In 1896 Moore traveled to the Narbona Pass, a pass through the Chuska Mountains within the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, and purchased a trading site. He named his establishment the Crystal Trading Post and employed Navajo weavers to make rugs. Moore's rug business flourished and in 1903 and 1911 he published mail-order catalogs to gain business from all across the United States. The 1911 catalog included illustrations of rug designs as well as photographs of Navajo weavers carding wool, spinning wool, and weaving on looms. In 1911 Moore left the trading post due to scandal and sold the post to his manager Jesse Molohon. Though J.B. Moore's rugs were woven by Navajo artisans many of the patterns were influenced by the popularity of Oriental rug designs at the time.

Administration

Author
Rachel Menyuk
Processing Information
Processed by Rachel Menyuk, Archives Technician in May 2014.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The J.B. Moore collection of copper printing plates were donated to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Taylor in 1960.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Conditions Governing Use
Copies are unavailible at this time. Copyright is unknown.
Preferred Citation
J.B. Moore copper printing plates, 1911. National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Copper plates Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diné (Navajo) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Navajo rugs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Museum of the American Indian
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