National Museum of the American Indian

McKenney and Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America folios and lithographs

Summary

Volume 1
Volume 1
Collection ID:
NMAI.AC.115
Creators:
McKenney, Thomas L. (Thomas Loraine), 1785-1859
Hall, James, 1793-1868
Dates:
1836-1844
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
20 Volumes
120 Lithographs
Repository:
This collection contains all 20 original folios of Thomas Loraine Mckenney and James Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs. The folios were published and sent to subscribers between 1836-1844 and include 120 hand-colored lithographic plates. As Superintendent of Indian Affairs from 1824-1830, McKenney commissioned and collected portraits of Native American leaders, the majority painted by Charles Bird King. These portraits, along with biographical text by James Hall, form the basis of History of the Indian Tribes of North America.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection includes all 20 folios of Thomas Loraine Mckenney and James Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs in their original wrappers. Each folio includes six hand-colored lithographic plates along with biographical essays on Native American leaders, both men and women, from the early 19th century.
Native Communities represented in these volumes include—Sauk, Meskwaki (Fox), Shawnee, Osage, Anishinaabe (Chippewa/Ojibwa), Mississippi Choctaw, Mdewakantonwan Dakota (Mdewakanton Sioux), Eastern Band of Cherokee, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Oto, Seneca, Chaticks Si Chaticks (Pawnee), Yanktonnai Nakota, Muskogee (Creek), Omaha, Iowa, Sac and Fox (Sauk and Fox), Oklahoma Cherokee, Lenape (Delaware), Numakiki (Mandan), Euchee (Yuchi), Potawatomi, Seminole, Mohawk, Menominee (Menomini), Quatsino Kwakwaka'wakw, Odawa (Ottawa), Pikuni (Piegan) [Blackfeet Nation, Browning, Montana], Powhatan, Kaw (Kansa).
The lithographs were cataloged individually with P (print) numbers P27694-P27813, though not physically separated from their volumes.
Scope and Contents
Please note that the language and terminology used in this collection reflects the context and culture of the time of its creation, and may include culturally sensitive information. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Arranged by foilio number.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Thomas Loraine McKenney was born in 1785 to a family of Quakers in Hopewell, Maryland. Following the abolition of the U.S. Indian Trade program in 1822, McKenney (1785-1859) was appointed to the new position of Superintendent of Indian Affairs, which he held from 1824-1830. During his time as Superintendent of Indian trade in Georgetown, McKenney hired the painter Charles Bird King and began developing a governmental collection of portraits of prominent Native chiefs and elders who visited Washington. Between 1821-1842, King painted over 100 portraits with some assistance from friend and student George Cook.
Following his dismissal from the War Department by President Andrew Jackson in 1830, McKenney moved to Philadelphia to begin the process of getting his collection of portraits reproduced as lithographs with original hand coloring. The publication would document the extensive collection of King paints, many of which were later lost in a fire that destroyed part of the Smithsonian castle in January 1865.
This process was aided by Edward C. Biddle, a Philadelphia printer, who published the first volume (parts 1-6) in 1836 of what would be a three-volume set of 20 folios. James Hall (1793-1868), a judge and known writer, was hired to write text based on McKenney's research. Later parts were published between 1836-1844 by Frederick W. Greenough (parts 7-13), J.T. Bowen (part 14), and by Daniel Rice and James G. Clark (15-20). Several octavo editions were later published.

Administration

Author
Rachel Menyuk
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Provenance is unknown, part of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation collection when the MAI became the NMAI in 1989.
Processing Information
Processed by Rachel Menyuk, Processing Archivist, 2022.

Using the Collection

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).
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.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); McKenney and Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America folios and lithographs image #, NMAI.AC.115; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Lithographs -- 19th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Indians of North America Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sauk Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Meskwaki (Fox) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shawnee Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Osage Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anishinaabe (Chippewa/Ojibwa) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mississippi Choctaw Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mdewakantonwan Dakota (Mdewakanton Sioux) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eastern Band of Cherokee Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oto Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seneca Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chaticks Si Chaticks (Pawnee) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Yanktonnai Nakota Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Muscogee (Creek) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Omaha Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Iowa Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sac and Fox Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oklahoma Cherokee Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lenape (Delaware) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Numakiki (Mandan) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Euchee (Yuchi) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Potawatomi Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seminole Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mohawk Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Menominee (Menomini) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Quatsino Kwakwaka'wakw Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Odawa (Ottawa) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pikuni (Piegan) [Blackfeet Nation, Browning, Montana] Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Powhatan Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kaw (Kansa) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
King, Charles Bird, 1785-1862 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Biddle, Edward C., 1808-1893 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of the American Indian
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Business Number: Phone: 301.238.1400
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