UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, POSSIBLY NORTHWEST COAST*
Model Thunderbird Totem Pole (William Webber Scenery Shop Model Totem), c. 1930/40 or later
cedar and pigment, 7.5 x 6 x 1.75 in (19.1 x 15.2 x 4.4 cm) unsigned; with affixed typeset paper clipping, "THE / THUNDER BIRD / TOTEM / This totem is a copy / of the pole standing / in Stanley Park, Van- / couver, which origin- / ally belonged to the / Kwakiutl or Nimikish - Indian o Alert Bay,"; inscribed in graphite in an unknown hand, "[$] 2.00".

Provenance
With the Thunder Bird Shop, their label affixed to the underside;Private Collection, Calgary.

William Webber was an early Vancouver, BC, art dealer who owned The Thunderbird/Scenery Shop on Granville Street from 1923 to 1952, during which time he sold pieces by prominent First Nations artists such as Freddie Alexcee and Charlie James. Webber’s art collection and his archives are housed in the Museum of Vancouver, which includes dozens of model totem poles and a large quantity of paper ephemera. This model pole is a faithful rendering of the Thunderbird Totems of Stanley Park in Vancouver, originally by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Charlie James. There is a Scenery Shop/The Thunderbird sticker attached on the bottom of the base and an affixed paper clipping on the back of the pole that reads: "THE THUNDER BIRD TOTEM / This totem is a copy of the pole standing in Stanley Park, Vancouver, which originally belonged to the Kwakiutl or Nimikish Indian[s] o[f] Alert Bay."

*There is some debate as to the origin of these poles as some have speculated that they are local Coast Salish interpretations of the Kwakwaka’wakw poles, while others believe that may be early Japanese imports. Either way, the association with Webber and his historic curio shop make these poles desirable to collectors.

— Christopher W. Smith