William E. Irwin Photographs of Great Plains Indians: Finding
Aid
Finding aid prepared by Michelle Sanchez.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2013
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
Title: William E. Irwin Photographs of Great Plains Indians
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1890-1910
Collection Number: photCL 161
Creator:
Irwin, William E., 1871-1935
Extent:
50 photographs in 1 box; prints 14 x 10 cm. (5.5 x 4 in.)
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: A disbound album of primarily portrait photographs of Plains Indians, taken by photographer William E. Irwin from the 1890s
to early 1900s, in Indian Territory.
His images document the Chiricahua Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa Indians who lived near Anadarko and Fort Sill, Oklahoma; some
photographs may have been taken at Irwin’s studio at Chickasha,
Indian Territory. Besides the studio and field portraits, there are also candid views illustrating late 19th-century Plains
Indians in their daily lives; several views of cowboys and cow
herding; Fort Sill; tepees; landscapes; and one view of a Wichita Indian grass house or wickiup. Notable portraits include
those of Geronimo, seated, posing with headdress and revolver;
Appeahtone (Kiowa Chief) and his wife; and Quanah Parker (Comanche Chief) with two of his wives.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
William E. Irwin Photographs of Great Plains Indians. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
Purchased from Cherokee Bookstore, January 24, 1967.
Biographical and Historical Note
William E. Irwin was born in 1871 in Red Oak, Missouri. He learned photography around 1893 in either Indian Territory or Texas,
and went on to operate galleries in Chickasha,
Oklahoma and Silver City, New Mexico. In 1904, along with his brothers John and Marvin, Irwin opened and operated a photography
studio in Bisbee, Arizona. In 1913, he
renovated the McPhearson Building as a studio, and worked there until 1922. Irwin’s last photography studio was located in
Douglas, Arizona, which he managed until his
death in 1935.
Scope and Content
A disbound album of primarily portrait photographs of Plains Indians, taken by photographer William E. Irwin from the 1890s
to early 1900s, in
Indian Territory. His images document the Chiricahua Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa Indians who lived near Anadarko and Fort
Sill, Oklahoma; some photographs may have been
taken at Irwin’s studio at Chickasha, Indian Territory. Besides the studio and field portraits, there are also candid views
illustrating late 19th-century Plains Indians in their
daily lives. Notable portraits include those of
Geronimo, seated, posing with headdress and revolver; Appeahtone (Kiowa Chief) and his wife; and Quanah Parker (Comanche Chief)
with two of his wives.
Many of the photographs focus on Comanche and Kiowa Indians posing for studio portraits.
These portraits depict infants and children, young women, mothers, scouts, and warriors, many identified by name. Named individuals
include Poor Buffalo, White Buffalo,
Lone Wolf, and Little White Shield, among others.
Field photographs show Apache, Kiowa, and Comanche encampments; a Wichita grass house; both cowboys and Indians caring for
their herds; and views in and around Anadarko and Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Item titles in the contents list are transcribed from handwritten captions below photographs; cataloger-supplied information
is in brackets.
Indexing Terms
Apache Indians -- Photographs. -- Photographs.
Chickasaw Indians -- Photographs.
Comanche Indians -- Photographs.
Cowboys -- Photographs.
Indian encampments—Oklahoma -- Photographs.
Indians of North America—Dwellings—Great Plains -- Photographs.
Indians of North America—Great Plains -- Photographs.
Indians of North America Indian Territory -- Photographs.
Kiowa Indians -- Photographs.
Medicine-man -- Photographs.
Tipis -- Photographs.
Wichita Indians—Dwellings -- Photographs.
Wikiups -- Photographs.
Geronimo, 1829-1909 -- Photographs.
Parker, Quanah, 1845?-1911 -- Photographs.
Anadarko (Okla.) -- Photographs.
Fort Sill (Okla.) -- Photographs.
Photographs.
Photograph album.
Studio portraits.
Box 1 , Item 1
Comanche Indian camp near Fort Sill [Comanche man with two children on horse]
Box 1 , Item 2
Kiowa Indians drawing rations at the Commission, Anadarko [Oklahoma]
Box 1 , Item 3
Comanche Indians butchering a beef
Box 1 , Item 4
Kiowa Indian camp near Anadarko
Box 1 , Item 7
Gertrude Threefinger. A Chickasaw belle.
Box 1 , Item 9
Little Kiowa boy [Boy with ribbon-wrapped pigtails]
Box 1 , Item 10
A young warrior [Toddler boy dressed in breastplate]
Box 1 , Item 11
Big Tom, Comanche monte [?] dealer
Box 1 , Item 12
Comanche squaw and papoose [Woman sitting outside with infant in lap]
Box 1 , Item 13
Cruis and family. Comanches
Box 1 , Item 15
Little Kiowa girls [One girl standing and one girl sitting in animal fur]
Box 1 , Item 17
Poor Buffalo in War Costume
Box 1 , Item 18
Waterman’s squaw and papoose
Box 1 , Item 20
Millie Oytant. Dress val. $1000.00
Box 1 , Item 21
Kiowa Annie. Dress val. $500.00
Box 1 , Item 22
White Wolf in war costume. Comanche
Box 1 , Item 24
Kokome’s daughters. Kiowa.
Box 1 , Item 25
Appeahtone and squaw. Kiowa chief
Box 1 , Item 28
Kiowa kids [Six Kiowa girls sitting by wagons]
Box 1 , Item 31
Little White Shield (Kiowa)
Box 1 , Item 33
Kiowa squaw and papoose [Kiowa woman facing away from camera with infant on her back]
Box 1 , Item 34
Lone Wolf dancing the war dance
Box 1 , Item 35
Kiowa squaw and papoose [Kiowa woman with child on her back, both facing the camera]
Box 1 , Item 39
Apache squaw carrying wood
Box 1 , Item 40
Chief Quanah Parker with two of his wives
Box 1 , Item 41
Kiowa squaw and papoose [Woman wrapped in dark blanket holding papoose upright]
Box 1 , Item 42
Ponto and Lone Bear. Kiowa warriors
Box 1 , Item 43
Wichita Indian grass house near Anadarko
Box 1 , Item 44
Indians watering ponies in the Washita Riv. near Anadarko
Box 1 , Item 45
Kiowa Indian scouts of Anadarko
Box 1 , Item 46
Fort Sill as seen from the top of the hospital
Box 1 , Item 47
Cattle grazing near Fort Sill
Box 1 , Item 48
Views around Fort Sill [Cowboys on horseback with cows at watering hole]
Box 1 , Item 49
Apache Indian camp near Anadarko
Box 1 , Item 50
Kiowa Indian camp near Anadarko [Camp with cow hides drying on line]
