1. EDWARD S. CURTIS. Plate 630 Assiniboin Hunter, 1926. 15.7x11.8" image on 18x13.1" copper plate. Plate date 1928. From Portfolio 18, Northern Woodlands into Alberta Canada, of The North American Indian. Engraved on plate recto: Plate 630/ Assiniboin Hunter /From Copyright Photograph 1926 by E.S. Curtis/Photogravure Suffolk Eng. Co. Cambridge, Mass.

2. EDWARD S. CURTIS. Plate 630 Assiniboin Hunter, 1925. 15.5x11.4" Holland Van Gelder photogravure attached to envelope remnants. Envelope date 1928. From Portfolio 18, Northern Woodlands into Alberta Canada, of The North American Indian.h 1925 by E.S. Curtis/Photogravure Suffolk Eng Co. Cambridge Mass. Inscribed in ink on envelope and print recto: Indians/Vol XVIII/Plate 730/Assiniboin Hunter/From Copyright Photograph 1925 - by E.S. Curtis

This magnificent view of a hunter and his dogs is one of a very few photographs where Curtis has included dogs.

To make the photogravure prints from the negative Curtis created a glass positive, that he would edit on and then working with the great photogravure printing companies in Boston, John Andrew & Son that became Suffolk Engraving Company, they made over 2200 copper plates from which the photogravures were to be printed. These plates were then steel faced for small printing runs then refaced, preserving the original image that was etched into the copper plate. Lot 5010 has description of the process. Aesthetically they are brilliant shiny copper almost gold like aesthetic objects on which the image glows; they have sold for as much as $700,000. As opposed the edition of approximately 300 photogravures that were made from each plate and open edition chemical prints Curtis made in his studios these are unique photographic object.

Each of the plates were stored in an envelope that had a Holland Van Gelder Photogravure attached to it, written title information that was to be engraved into the plates and printed on the prints. They also had notes pointing out flaws that needed to be corrected on the copper plates themselves before the final prints were pulled. There are 29 Envelope plate photogravures offered in various lots in this auction. The envelopes themselves only partially survived, tattered and torn.

1. Copper Plate. Very Good. Minor scratches, tarnish, dents, abrasions small dark spots, and ink residue throughout plate surface.
2. Envelope in fair to poor condition, torn lower right corner, tears, abrasions, ink stains, spots and tattered