Photographs of Indians of the Southwest by E.A. Bonine, 1880-1883

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Summary

Creators:
Bonine, Elias A., 1843-1916
Abstract:
This collection contains 73 studio portraits of Native Americans from southwestern Arizona, and were probably taken between 1880 and 1883 in E.A. Bonine's photography tent in Yuma, Arizona.
Extent:
0.81 Linear Feet (73 photographs in 1 box; photographs 17.5 x 11 cm. (7 x 4 in.))
Language:
English.
Preferred citation:

Photographs of Indians of the Southwest by E.A. Bonine. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains 73 studio portraits of Native Americans from southwestern Arizona, and were probably taken between 1880 and 1883 in E.A. Bonine's photography tent in Yuma, Arizona. The collection includes photographs of Chief Pasqual of the Yuma tribe, and posed portraits of members of the Yuma, Apache, Pima, Cocopa, Tohono O'Odham (also known as the Papago), and Mohave tribes. A few of the portraits have been identified with the names of people and tribes, but the majority of individuals remain unidentified.

Biographical / historical:

Elias A. Bonine (1843-1916) was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Not much is known about his early life, but at some point he became interested in photography for a career. In 1876, Bonine sold a sawmill he owned and moved to California along with his cameras. He traveled throughout California, operating a tent photography business as he went. His travels from 1880 to 1883 took him to Yuma, Arizona, where he photographed the Yuma, Mohave, and Cocopa Indians. The point of these photographs was not to archive the tribes' cultures, but to satisfy customers' desires to see a romanticized version of the Indians. Despite his popularity, Bonine left Yuma and moved back west to Pasadena, where he set up his home base. He travelled back to Arizona in later years, photographing the Silver King Mine area and the town of Pinal.

Acquisition information:
Gift of the Grace Nicholson Estate in 1963.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Terms of access:

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:

Photographs of Indians of the Southwest by E.A. Bonine. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
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