National Museum of the American Indian

Timothy H. O'Sullivan and William Bell photographs from the U.S. Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAI.AC.229
Creators:
O'Sullivan, Timothy H., 1840-1882
Bell, William, 1830-1910
Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian (U.S.)
Dates:
1871-1874
Languages:
No linguistic content; Not applicable
.
Physical Description:
54 Albumen prints
7 Copy negatives
Repository:
This collection contains photographs documenting American Indian communities and landscape scenes in the Southwest photographed by Timothy O'Sullivan and William Bell for U.S. geographical surveys circa 1871-1874.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
P01730, P01731, P01733, P01735, P01743-P01792 (copy negatives: N34849-N34851, N34853- N34855, N35051)
This collection contains 54 photographs (plus 7 copy negatives) that were shot by photographer Timothy O'Sullivan 1871, 1873, and 1874 and William Bell in 1872 for the U.S. Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian, under Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, War Department, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A. The survey was commonly referred to as the "Wheeler Surveys."
The photographs depict American Indian Pueblos in the Southwest including Apache; A:shiwi (Zuni); Diné (Navajo); Hopi; Jicarilla Apache; Laguna Pueblo; Mohave; San Felipe Pueblo; Taos Pueblo; and Ute, among other communities. In addition, the collection contains landscape and scenic shot in the same region.
The bulk of the photos in this collection are one half of a stereoscope photograph that was never pasted onto a stereoscope card. The copy negatives in this collection were created by the Museum of the American Indian in the late 1960s.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is arranged by year and subject matter.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
The geographical surveys west of the 100th meridian were operated under the United States Army Corps of Engineers and supervised by First Lieutenant (later Captain) George Montague Wheeler from 1869 through 1879. They were intended to document the geography in order to make accurate maps, record locations of American Indian tribes in the region, select possible sites for military installations and rail or common roads, and note resources in the area. In total, the surveys analyzed the region now covered by Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon, and the expeditions produced 164 maps, 41 publications, and a series of stereoviews. Timothy H. O'Sullivan began photographing geographical surveys in 1867-1869 when he was the official photographer for Clarence King's United States Geological Exploration of the 40th Parallel. He served as the official photographer for the Wheeler surveys in 1871, 1873, and 1874, with William Bell taking over in 1872. O'Sullivan later became the United States Geological Survey's first photographer in Washington, D.C.
[History note from the National Anthropological Archives collection record NAA.PhotoLot.167 with edits made by NMAI]

Administration

Author
Emily Moazami
Immediate Source of Acquisition
It is unclear when most of these photographs were obtained by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.
Processing Information
This collection is still in need of processing. Collection record written by Emily Moazami, Supervisory Archivist, 2020.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.
Conditions Governing Access
Access to NMAI Archives 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).
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Collection of Timothy H. O'Sullivan photographs, image #, NMAI.AC.229, National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
A:shiwi (Zuni) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diné (Navajo) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cochiti Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hopi Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Isleta Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jicarilla Apache Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Laguna Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mojave (Mohave) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
San Felipe Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taos Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ute Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chelly, Canyon de (Ariz.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arizona Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Colorado Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New Mexico Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Idaho Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Museum of the American Indian
4220 Silver Hill Rd
Suitland, Maryland 20746-2863
Business Number: Phone: 301.238.1400
Fax Number: Fax: 301.238.3038
nmaiarchives@si.edu