Included in this lot we have a Native American Indian woman original signed silver gelatin photograph by John Riggs originating from the late 1800's. The photo depicts a young Indian woman sitting wearing a dress imprinted with a crescent moon and flower design, a woven plaid trade shawl or blanket over her left shoulder. She is shown with numerous trade bead necklaces and earrings, her two-braided hair tied with leather thongs and is wearing an adorned rope belt around her waist. The gelatin silver process was introduced by Richard Leach Maddox in 1871 with subsequent considerable improvements in sensitivity obtained by Charles Harper Bennett in 1878. Gelatin silver print paper was made as early as 1874 on a commercial basis, but it was poor quality because the dry-plate emulsion was coated onto the paper only as an afterthought. Coating machines for the production of continuous rolls of sensitized paper were in use by the mid-1880s, though widespread adoption of gelatin silver print materials did not occur until the 1890s.
The photograph is in good condition considering its age, no fading or foxing noted, no damage noted. Measures 13.75"L x 8.75"W