Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952). Photogravure on paper. Boston: John Andrew & Son, 1907. 22 x 17 inches. In 1900, Edward Curtis embarked on a monumental project to photograph and record information about every tribe in the American West still practicing traditional ways. Curtis' remarkable endeavor far eclipsed earlier attempts in scope and thoroughness, as he set out to chronicle both the material facts and the distinct spirit of Indian cultures and ways of life. He estimated that the task would take him about ten years, but by 1905 the project was far from complete and Curtis had depleted his personal resources. Forced to seek a patron, he convinced none other than J.P. Morgan to fund his endeavor. Curtis encountered every imaginable difficulty in the following years, but with Morgan's financial support he managed to take over 40,000 images and record rare ethnographic information from over eighty American Indian tribal groups, ranging from the Eskimo or Inuit people of the far north to the Hopi people of the Southwest.