Call Number:

C1177

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 1.7 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Collection Anthropologique du Prince Roland Bonaparte: American Indians, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

circa 1883 (inclusive)

Creator:

Bonaparte, Roland, prince, 1858-1924

Form:

Albumen prints -- 19th century. and Photographs -- 19th century.

Abstract:

Consists of twenty ethnographic albumen prints of North American Indians, commissioned by Prince Roland Bonaparte and photographed by Alfred Ayotte, plus two additional photographs of Bonaparte.

Prince Roland Bonaparte was a grand nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. He had no royal aspirations; instead he turned to study science, geography, geology, botany, ethnology, and anthropology. He focused on the documentation of physical characteristics, in particular the shape and dimension of the skull as a way to established relations between the human races. He perceived photography as a scientific tool for preserving data from his expeditions, and used it to document the American Indians, Surinamese, Hottentots, and other ethnic groups. Bonaparte was president of the "Société de géographie" (France) from 1910 till his death, and was also a member, then president, of the "Académie des sciences" (France).

Alfred Ayotte was a French (?) journalist, photographer, and traveler who was interested in the anthropological aspects of the natives of the countries he visited.

The collection consists of twenty ethnographic albumen prints of North American Indians, commissioned by Prince Roland Bonaparte and photographed by Alfred Ayotte, plus two additional photographs of Bonaparte. The twenty albumen prints are part of a rare portfolio of thirty-five photographs titled Peaux Rouge: Collection Anthropologique du Prince Roland Bonaparte. They are sitting studio portraits of ten Northern Plains American Indians, two portraits each, full-face and profile. Photographs measure about 22 x 16.8 cm. and are mounted on heavy cardboard, with the series statement written in black ink at the foot of each plate. They are numbered in ink at the top left corner of the mount, each pair having the same number. All twenty plates bear Bonaparte's blind stamp with a crowned eagle: "Collection du Prince Roland Bonaparte." The American Indians pictured are primarily from Omaha and the Northern Plains. Represented in the collection are, in this order, John Pilcher, Homme Connu, Inside Man, Bright Eye (Susette La Flesche (1854-1903)), Hard Chief, Chef Du Bande, Mnigh-Di-Tai (Plains woman), White Crow, Luune Dure, and Beautiful Hill and Village Maker (a Plains woman and an Omaha boy). There are two additional photographs of Bonaparte which are not part of the Peaux Rouge collection. One is a standing studio photograph with Bonaparte leaning on a chair, measuring 26.8 x 20.5 cm; the second is a group photograph on board an Italian ship, measuring 23.2 x 18 cm. Both photographs bear the blind stamp of "Etienne Carjat & Cie., Photographe."

Princeton University holdings are plates numbered 1, 4-7, 9, 12-14, and 16.