George Wharton James (American, 1858-1923). "Moki Girls and Women Learning to Sew, Mishongnovi / A Moki Sewing Bee at the Mission House, 2nd Mesa" n.d. & "Oraibi" 1902 gelatin silver print. Both have titles handwritten and "G. WHARTON JAMES COLLECTION" stamps on versos. A wonderful pair of black and white photographs documenting Hopi daily life of the late 19th and early 20th century by George Wharton James, a popular lecturer, photographer, journalist, and editor who explored and documented the American Southwest. "Moki Girls and Women…" presents a group of three women and four children sewing as they sit next to a building flanked by a pair of men. The second photograph presents a young girl draped in a woven garment and seated on the wall of a pueblo in Oraibi, Arizona. Size of photograph (both the same): 6" W x 8" H (15.2 cm x 20.3 cm) Size of largest matte ("Oraibi"): 15" W x 17.5" H (38.1 cm x 44.4 cm)

Originally born in Lincolnshire, England, George Wharton James emigrated to the United states with his wife in 1881. He was ordained as a Methodist minister and served in parishes in Nevada and southern California until he was divorced and defrocked in 1889 - though he was later reinstated. James's books included the well-received The Wonders of the Colorado Desert (1906), Through Ramona's Country (1909), In and Out of the Old Missions of California (1905), and The Lake of the Sky (1915). Characteristics of his writing included romanticism, an enthusiasm for natural environments, idealization of aboriginal lifeways, and promotion of health fads.

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#174432

Both photographs have handwritten titles and "G. WHARTON JAMES COLLECTION" stamps on versos. Miniscule wrinkle to upper left corner of "Oraibi" and both have a few very light nicks to surface, though neither obscure the image and all are only visible beneath raking light. Fit with custom mattes and protective film. Some minor smudges or imperfections to mattes and film, but both photographs are in otherwise very good condition with clear images.