BEN WITTICK Headquarters Of The Zuni Expedition, Sept 1891 or 1894 Silver Collodion Print, 7.5x9.5" ASG# BW2/1354.

In this rare view of 9 military officers standing and sitting in front of their tents, Wittick has documented an obscure expedition. Sadly the gallery could not find any information on it and would welcome any information.

Provenance: From the collection of legendary Santa Fe American Indian Art and Trader Rex Arrowsmith, who was active from the late 1940s until his death in 2017

G. Ben Wittick (b. 1845 Huntington County, Pennsylvania; d. 1903, Ft. Wingate, New Mexico). A prominent 19th century regional photographer, Wittick had his first studio in Moline, Illinois. He moved west working for the railroad and set up a series of studios in Santa Fe (1879 with a brief partnership with W.P. Bliss publishing as Wittick & Bliss, ), Albuquerque (1881 with F. W. Russell), Gallup (1890s) and Ft. Wingate (1886 - 1903). He was very successful in marketing as his photographs were more reminiscent of earlier delegation photographs and field views of the Geologic Survey photographers. Primarily he made scenic images of natural wonders of the Southwest, as well as Indian life among the Navajo, Hopi and Zuni. He became known as the first photographer to make images of the Hopi Snake Dance. When he died in 1903 while collecting rattlesnakes for the Hopi Snake Dance it was said that the words of the snake priest from years before predicting his death at the fangs of a snake had been fulfilled. Wittick's formats ranged from albumen print stereo cards to silver prints up to 11 x 14". He was friends of John Hillers and published Hillers images under his imprint

Good overall tones rich, minor wear, decorative mount is fragile and the top has broken off, photograph is intact, there is a crease in the mount and print across the entire width about 3 inches from top, mount verso shows long past insect damage not affecting print