TIM GREYHAVENS

The North American Indian

Twenty volumes and twenty accompanying portfolios, published over a twenty-four-year timespan. 4,956 numbered pages. 2,234 photogravures, including 1,486 original photos inserted into the books and 723 large-format prints in the portfolios. This is a basic physical description of the publication. However, due to the enormity of the work and the extended timeline for its production, The North American Indian is far more complex than this simple depiction.

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For example, the sets originally were available only to the very wealthy by subscription. A complete set of the standard edition, with photogravures printed on Van Gelder paper or Japanese vellum, was initially priced at $3,000 (equivalent to about $107,00 today).  A deluxe edition, with photogravures printed on Japanese tissue, cost $3,750 (about $134,000 today).

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Curtis began his project with a stated intention of publishing a limited edition of 500 sets. He did not reach his goal. Most of the sets produced by Curtis are numbered on the verso of the half-title page of each volume with a small printed notice that says “This edition is limited to 500 sets of which this is number ___.” All volumes known to have been issued by Curtis have a handwritten number in the blank space; however, some sets are not numbered.

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Only the text volumes of each set are numbered. There is no corresponding set number in the portfolios, which are marked only with the volume number. The only known way to associate a portfolio with a specific numbered edition is through documented provenance.​​

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After the first books of The North American Indian appeared, reviewers lauded the publication as “the most gigantic undertaking in the making of books since the King James Bible” and “the most wonderful publishing enterprise ever undertaken in America.”​​

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