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| Portrait of Abdih-Hiddisch, a Minatarre Chief, by Karl Bodmer (1809-1893). Image courtesy of the Newberry. |
The Newberry, Edward
E. Ayer American Indian History Collection
Website: The Newberry
The Treasure: Comprising
many thousands of rare books, manuscripts, maps, artifacts, paintings, and
photographs, the Edward E. Ayer American Indian History Collection at the
Newberry is one of the largest and best collections on Native American history
in the world.
Accessibility: A
full list of research guides is digitally available for help in navigating the
Newberry Library’s collections online. Many objects in the Ayer Collection have
been digitized and their images can be found in three online digital collections: the
Ayer Art Digital Collection, the Great Lakes Digital Collection, and the North American Indian Photographs Collections. Before visiting Chicago, check the Newberry website for upcoming exhibitions, programs, and events.
Background: Edward
E. Ayer (1841-1927) donated his major collection of American Indian material
to the Newberry Library in 1911. While the Newberry had been in existence for
24 years at that time, it was Ayer’s generous donation that really put the
Newberry on the map as one of the country’s leading research institutions. Consisting
of more than 17,000 items at the time of the donation, the Ayer Collection
offered scholars a bonanza of information pertaining to early contacts between
Native Americans and Europeans, as well as important photographic records of
the Indians of his time and valuable archaeological information on
pre-Columbian Indian cultures.
Equally to his credit, Ayer had the foresight to give the
Newberry a significant endowment that has enabled the institution to vastly
increase the size of this collection. Slightly over a century later, the
collection now contains more than 130,000 volumes, 1 million manuscript pages,
2,000 maps, 500 atlases, 11,000 photographs, and 3,500 drawings and paintings. The Newberry’s D’Arcy McNickle Center for
American Indian and Indigenous Studies develops programs and activities to promote use of the collection by scholars, teachers, tribal historians, and others.
With his keen interest in history, Ayer quickly realized the
tremendous importance of primary documents. Whenever possible, he acquired the
manuscript field notes and drawings of the scientists and explorers who did the
pioneering work in recording indigenous cultures. Original manuscripts and
drawings by John Howard Payne, Bernardino de Sahagún, Jean-Frederic Waldeck,
W.H. Holmes, and E.H. Thompson are among the many treasures in the Ayer Collection.
Artwork from the collection brings the material to life. As one example, the
Black Horse Ledger (c. 1874-1878) is a wonderful document of the artistry of
the Plains Indians who maintained a tradition of creating visual records of
their lives. Originally, they practiced their art on buffalo hides but later adopted
the use of paper, such as ledger books obtained from U.S. soldiers, traders,
missionaries, and reservation employees.
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| "Soldiers charging at Powder River" from the Black Horse Ledger in the Ayer American Indian History Collection at the Newberry. Image courtesy of the Newberry. |
The Black Horse Ledger depicts the lives of
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| "War party coming home"
from the Black Horse Ledger in the Ayer American Indian History Collection at the Newberry. Image courtesy of the Newberry. |
Also from the Black Horse Ledger, the drawing above depicts Cheyenne warriors on horseback. The artistry of the Plains Indians comes through in their stylized treatment of the horses, colorfully rendered in hues of gold, blue, and green. All 86 pages of the Black Horse Ledger can be viewed at the Plains Indian Ledger Art Project.
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| Portrait of Pahl-Lee, a young Hopi woman, by Elbridge Ayer Burbank. Image courtesy of the Newberry. |
It seems appropriate that one of the major art collections within the Ayer Collection showcases the work of Ayer’s nephew, Elbridge Ayer Burbank. Ayer encouraged—and even commissioned—his talented nephew to go west to draw and paint realistic portraits of the Indians. In addition to the painting of a young Hopi woman above, the Newberry holds 1,200 red chalk drawings by
And we haven’t even touched on the photographs, maps, atlases, and material relating to Philippine and Hawaiian history in the
Ayer Collection! The collection is truly vast and a remarkable American
treasure.
Notes from the
Editor: In 2000, the Newberry received one of the first grants
from the Save America’s Treasures
program. The funding enabled the Newberry to provide conservation
treatment—including media consolidation, paper and parchment stabilization,
binding repair, and rehousing—for many fragile items in the Ayer Collection.
Sometimes these opportunities for intensive work result in
advancements in the field of conservation. When addressing the needs of seven
parchment treaties between the Oneida Nation and the State of New York , the Newberry Conservation Department decided to
investigate the range of potential treatments for the deteriorating wax seals
on the documents. Through their research and experimentation, they identified
the strengths and weaknesses of various consolidants.
While their findings were technical in nature, this type of
work is vitally important in determining the best treatment strategies available
to conservators engaged in preserving historic documents. The findings of the
Newberry Conservation Department were presented and published at the
30th Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Conservation of Historic
and Artistic Works, held in 2001.
Other Recommended
Sites: The American Indian Center of Chicago is the principal
cultural resource for the many Indians who live in the Chicago metropolitan area. For more than 50
years, they have held a popular annual pow wow. Recently, the American Indian
Center of Chicago opened a Trickster Gallery of Native American art in Schaumberg , Illinois
Without leaving your computer, you can explore a world of
information at Native American Cultural Resources on the Internet, a site
compiled by web designer Karen Strom building upon the earlier work of Paula Giese.
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| Entrance to the Newberry. Photo by Antonio Vernon. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Tour America's History Itinerary
Monday’s destination: Adlai E. Stevenson Historic Home
© 2012 Lee Price
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