Illustrations of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians with letters and notes written during eight years of travel and adventure among the wildest and most remarkable tribes now existing.. by CATLIN, George (1796-1872) - 1848

London: Henry G. Bohn, 1848. Two volumes, 8vo. viii,264; viii,266pp. 313 hand-colored etchings on 180 plates, including 3 maps (1 folding). Contemporary three-quarter red morocco and marbled boards, spines gilt Deluxe issue, one of twelve copies with the plates printed in outline and entirely coloured by hand. This book was and is one of the most widely circulated works on American Indians written in the 19th century, and the illustrations so beautifully presented here remain the most important body of illustrative material of American Indian life in the American West. In 1845, Henry Bohn took over the publication of Catlins' Letters and Notes, renaming it as above, and issuing it in various formats. The present version with beautifully hand coloured plates is by the most rare and most desirable. According to Sabin "Mr. Bohn had twelve or more copies colored after the fancy of the artist who did the work, but tolerably well." Sabin knew Bohn personally and was therefore certainly in a position to know. He goes on to state that "Such copies are worth $60 a set" (this was probably a bit optimistic, and, in fact, a set brought $24 at the Field sale in 1875. But, in comparison, a copy of the Indian Portfolio... sold for only $1.50). Howes disagrees with Sabin and states that various editions published by Bohn appear with the plates coloured, however, given the quality of the work involved and the lack of any contemporary evidence amongst Bohn's advertising material of a more generally available coloured issue, it would seem likely that Sabin is correct. The plates themselves are clean, fresh, and very handsomely coloured. It is impossible to identify the colourist, but it was quite possibly one of the Catlin copyists working in England at that time, John Cullum or Rosa Bonheur. The plates illustrate scenes of Indian life in the West, and include a number of portraits of individual Indians. Clark III:141; Field 260; Howes C241, "b."; McCracken Catlin 8k (1866 edition); Miles & Reese America Pictured to the Life 55; Pilling Algonquin p.76; Pilling Proof-sheets 685; Sabin 11537; Streeter sale 4277 (1866 ed); Wagner-Camp 84:17.