Native American Artifacts & Collectibles
Lot 252:
Original 1835 J.O. Lewis Hand Painted Lithograph of MA-CHE-KA-KAT OR THE BAD HAWK - A Monomonie
Original 1835 J. O. Lewis hand painted lithograph of MA-CHE-KA-KAT, also known as The Bad Hawk, a Monomonie Chief. This hand-colored Native American portrait was published in 1835 by Lehman and Duval, Philadelphia, as part of James Otto Lewis’s celebrated Aboriginal Port Folio, one of the most important early American ethnographic and Western Americana print series.
James Otto Lewis (1799-1858) was an American artist and engraver known for creating one of the earliest published series of Native American portraits. He worked mainly in the Great Lakes region, including Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana, during a period of major treaty negotiations between the U.S. government and tribal nations. Under commission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, he attended treaty councils between 1825 and 1828 and produced portraits on the spot as delegates appeared.
The Aboriginal Port Folio, published 1835-1836 in Philadelphia, is a collection of hand colored lithographs based on Lewis’s original paintings. It is historically important as the first major published series of Native American portrait lithographs in the United States. The set contains 72 plates depicting Native American leaders, tribal representatives, and scenes of Indigenous life, printed by Lehman and Duval, one of the foremost lithography firms of the period.
This example is one of the original first-edition plates from The Aboriginal Port Folio. The portrait depicts MA-CHE-KA-KAT, identified in the plate inscription as "The Bad Hawk" and "Monomonie Chief." The plate notes that Lewis sketched the subject at the Treaty of Green Bay in 1827. The hand-colored lithograph retains its original title and publication information and is numbered in pencil at the lower right. The lithograph measures about 17 3/4 x 10 1/4 inches. It is housed in a cushioned board frame measuring about 20 x 16 inches.
From the late Leonard E. Wally Estate Collection.
Condition: Ancient Authentic
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