(PHOTOGRAPHY). (WESTERN AMERICANA). [FRANCIS, Charles Spenser]. Buffalo Bones.

From One of Just 15 Copies Printed

(PHOTOGRAPHY). (WESTERN AMERICANA). [FRANCIS, Charles Spenser]. Buffalo Bones. ([Montana: ca. 1889]) (Photograph: 118 x 198; on card stock: 151 x 232 mm.)   Single albumen photo mounted on thick card. Verso with remains of linen guard on one edge. Slight wave to the card, mild toning on verso, photo in fine condition. 

A striking image depicting the mass slaughter of the American bison in the late 19th century, from a rare work printed for private distribution.

This poignant photograph, simply captioned "Buffalo Bones," tells the story of the American bison in the late 19th century. In the foreground is a massive pile of bleached-out bones--a tangle of spines, skulls, and horns unceremoniously heaped together in an otherwise flat stretch of land in eastern Montana. Behind this pyre of bones are railroad tracks and a freight car--potent symbols of the rapid westward expansion that signaled the beginning of the end for scores of bison, as well as the native tribes that depended on them. Most estimates put the population of bison in the American West in the tens of millions prior to the 1870s; by 1890, the animal was on the verge of extinction thanks to a mixture of habitat loss, aggressive hunting, and government policies aimed at disrupting indigenous peoples' food supply. The bones in this photo were likely collected and placed near the tracks for easy transport to industrial processing plants back east, where they were used in substances such as glue, fertilizer, and dyes.

This photograph comes from a rare work titled "Sport Among the Rockies: The Record of a Fishing and Hunting Trip in North-Western Montana," printed in Troy, New York in 1889. Composed of letters written by the author for his newspaper, the Troy Times, it was accompanied by 49 photographs of the region, including images of Native Americans, portraits of the hunting party, landscapes, and the first published views of Glacier National Park. Just 15 copies were printed for private distribution, making complete copies as well as individual photographs removed from extant copies very rare both institutionally and on the market. (1141)

See: Howes F311; Streeter sale 7, no. 4110.