George Catlin, born in 1796, Pennsylvania, was a man given to adventure, at a time when adventure was fairly easy to come by. What was unusual, was that his profession was that of a painter. Catlin became one of the foremost painters of Native American Indian life and culture, and is regarded by many as one of the first to seriously try to depict Native American life according to its own merits and standards.
So the story goes, the very first time that Catlin became enamoured of the Native American Indians were from tales of his mother who had been reportedly captured by Indians herself on the frontier just a few years earlier. These tales filled the young lad with a lust for adventure, and, after a failed few years attempting to be a lawyer, Catlin joined the General Clarke cultural and diplomatic expedition up the Mississippi river, there encountering and painting Pawnee, Omaha, Ponca, Crow, Mandan, Hidatsa and Cheyenne native tribes. Upon his return to settler society, Catlin started to publish his works, and set up his almost permanent exhibition of his 'Indian Gallery'.
George Catlin continued to make trips to the interior and the frontier throughout his life, and seemed to remain always on good terms with the peoples that he made contact with. It is perhaps a testament to his character and his integrity that he managed to skirt the delicate relations of his time, and was accepted by a people so oppressed. Another very important point for his legacy was the fact that he took his craft to his subject of study, not relying on mere sketches or later accounts (or indeed, posing people in studios), but instead took it upon himself to experience the people and the environment in their natural surroundings.
The most important work to collect of George Catlin would be his Illustrations of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians; in a series of Letters. (2 volumes, 1845). This important work he added to throughout his travelling life, adding successive volumes and letters. Whilst the original editions are now all owned privately by institutions or individuals, there are still fourth and fifth edition hard covers to be found, published in 1845 by Henry G. Bohn or London. It contains a large folding map and over three hundred engravings and illustrations by the author. A very good copy (even at fifth edition) could be worth as much as a thousand five hundred US dollars, whilst accepting the same edition with slightly more wear and tear brings that price down considerably (less than five hundred US dollars).
If Illustrations… is perhaps out of reach, consider instead on his lesser-known but lovely work, the green-bound hardback Last Rambles Amongst the Indians of the Rocky Mountains and the Andes (1868) by Sampston, Low, Son and Marston of London. This very attractive hardcover also has gilt engraving on the spine and front, and can be found for less than five hundred US dollars.
Catlin, George. Letters and Notes on the manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians. Wiley and Putnam (1844). Written During Eight Years Travel Amongst The Wildest Tribes Of Indians In North America, 1832-39; 2 Volumes; 400 Illustrations Carefully Engraved; True First Edition First Printing 1841 With black and white Illustrations And Including Errata Slip Mentioning Typgraphics Error.
Catlin, George. North American Indian Portfolio. George Catlin, Egyptian Hall (1844). Hunting Scenes And Amusements Of The Rocky Mountains And Praries Of America; 25 Lithographs On Thick Paper After Drawings By Catlin, Drawn On Stone By Catlin And Mcgahey, Printed By Day and Haghe And Hand-Coloured By Catlin And Mcgahey, Loose In Portfolio, Purple Cloth Gilt By A. Tarrant.
Catlin, George. Buffalo Hunt. James Ackerman (1845). From Catlins North American Indian Portfolio
Catlin, George. Illustrations of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians. Henry G. Bohn (1845). In A Series Of Letters And Notes Written; 2 Volumes; Contents: Shiennes, Ioways, Konzas, Grand Pawnees Pensacola Florida, Start For Comanche Country, First Regiment Us Dragoons; Illustrated By Catlin.
Catlin, George. Catlins Notes of Eight Years Travels and Residence in Europe. Burgess, Stringer and Co. (1848). With His North American Indian Collection; With Anecdotes And Incidents Of The Travels And Adventures Of Three Different Parties Of American; 2 Volumes.
Catlin, George. DIE INDIANER NORD-AMERIKAS UND DIE WAHREND EINREND EINES ACHTJAHRIGEN AUFENTHALTS UNDER DEN WILDESTEN IHRER STAMME ERLEBTEN ABENTEUER UND SCHICKSALE VON G. CATLIN. Leipzig Carl Muquardt, Brussel (1848). First German Edition, First Published In Swedish The Same Year; The Text Is An Amalgam Of An Abridgement Of CatlinsLetters And Notes On The Manners, Customs, And Condition Of The North American Indians (1841) And HisNorth American Indian Portfolio (1844);
Catlin, George. Illustrations of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians. Henry G. Bohn (1848). In A Series Of Lectures And Notes Written During Eight Years Of Travel And Adventure Among The Wildest And Most Remarkable Tribes Now Existing With 360 Engravings, From The Authors Original Paintings By George Catlin; 2 Volumes.
Catlin, George. Nord-Amerikas Indianer. P.G. Berg, Stockholm (1848). Hand-Coloured Lithographic Frontispiece And 22 Other Plates
Catlin, George. Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway Indians in England, France, and Belgium. George Catlin (1852). Being Notes Of Eight Years Travels And Residence In Europe With His North American Indian Collection: 2 Volume Set; Limited To 85 Numbered Copies; Illustrated By Catlin.
Catlin, George. Illustrations of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians. Henry G. Bohn (1857). In A Series Of Letters And Notes Written During Eight Years Of Travel And Adventure Among The Wildest And Most Remarkable Tribes Now Existing; 2 Volumes.
Catlin, George. Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians. J. W. Bradley, Philadelphia (1860). 2 Volume; With 150 Illustrations On Steel And Wood.
Catlin, George. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND CONDITION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Henry Bohn (1866). With Letters And Notes Written During Eight Years Of Travel And Adventure Among The Wildest And Most Remarkable Tribes Now Existing; With 360 Engravings, From The Author'S Original Paintings; 2 Volumes.
Catlin, George. O-Kee-Pa. J.B. Lippincott and Co, Philadelphia (1867). A Religious Ceremony And Other Customs Of The Mandans; 13 Chromolithographed Plates After Catlin By Simonau and Toovey; Purportedly Issued In An Edition Of Approximately 25 Copies.
Catlin, George. The Lifted And Subsided Rocks Of America. Trubner and Co (1870). With Their Influences On The Oceanic, Atmospheric, And Land Currents, And The Distribution Of Races; Two Color Images By Catlin.
Catlin, George. Illustrations of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians. Chatto and Windus (1876). With Letters And Notes; Written During Eight Years Of Travel And Adventure Among The Wildest And Most Remarkable Tribes; With 360 Coloured Engravings From The Author'S Original Paintings; 2 Volumes.
Catlin, George. North American Indians. Chatto and Windus (1880). Being Letters And Notes On Their Manners, Customs, And Conditions, Written During Eight Years Travel Amongst The Wildest Tribes Of Indians In North America; 2 Volumes; With 360 Coloured Engravings From The Author'S Original Paintings.
Catlin, George. The George Catlin Indian Gallery in the U.S. National Museum. Government Printing Office, Washington (1887). (Smithsonian Institution) With Memoir And Statistics; Illustrated By Catlin; 2 Volumes. 142 Plates, 2 Folding Maps (Indian Reservations, Indian Territory).
Catlin, George. Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians. Catlin, Piccadilly (1892). 2 Volumes; First Published In 1841, Reissued Many Times Over The Following 50 Years, This Copy With The Printed NoteReprinted From The Original Plates, 1892 Verso Of The Front Free Endpaper. Frontispiece To Each And 178 Other Plates, Including A Folding Map.
Catlin, George. North American Indians. John Grant, Edinburgh (1926). Being Letters And Notes On Their Manners, Customs And Conditions Written During Eight Years Travel Amongst The Wildest Tribes Of Indians In North America; 2 Volumes; L75 Copies On Hand Made Paper; 320 Colour Illustrations On 180 Plates, Including Folding Colour Maps.
Catlin, George. Catlins North American Indian Portfolio. Swallow Press Inc. (1989). Hunting Scenes And Amusements Of The Rocky Mountains And Praries Of America, From Drawings And Notes Of The Author, Made During Eight Years Travel Amongst Forty-Eight Of The Wildest And Most Remote Tribes; Introduction By Harold Mccracken; Design By Renee Khatami; Limited To 1000 Copies. 25 Large Loose Plates.
Catlin, George. George Catlin and His Indian Gallery. W. W. Norton and Companyorporated (2002). Edited By Therese Thau Heyman And George Gurney. 275 Illustrations, 150 In Color.