North American Auction Company
Live Auction

Timeless Treasures: 19th C. Native, Western Photographs & French Elegance

Sat, Sep 13, 2025 11:00AM EDT
  2025-09-13 11:00:00 2025-09-13 11:00:00 America/New_York North American Auction Company North American Auction Company : Timeless Treasures: 19th C. Native, Western Photographs & French Elegance https://live.naabid.com/auctions/north-american-auction/timeless-treasures-19th-c-native-western-photographs-french-elegance-20467
Join us Saturday, September 13th at 9am MT in Bozeman, MT for Timeless Treasures: 19th C. Native, Western Photographs & French Elegance. This exceptional auction features a remarkable collection of 19th-century Native American artifacts, rare Western photography by Haynes, Huffman, and other Montana photographers, and an impressive selection of 18th-century French furniture. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to acquire historic and elegant treasures. Browse the full catalog at live.naabid.com
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Lot 301

Frank Purcell Bloody Knife Haunting Custer c. 1897

Estimate: $1,200 - $1,800
Starting Bid
$250

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
Featured in this lot is this photograph from Decoration Day at the Little Big Horn in 1897 showing a "haunting" double-exposure by Frank Purcell. Provenance: From an Ex-Museum collection out of Eastern Montana; Ex-Heritage Auction. The photograph features a wonderfully and professionally crafted Mammoth silver gelatin that shows a scene from Decoration day in 1897 at the cemetery a that site of the Battle of Little Big Horn. The photograph on verso, has a hand written inscription that reads as follows: Custer Battle Field - May 30, 1897 - Photo by F. Purcell Billings, Mont. - (Shadow on photo of "Bloody Knife). The photograph seems to have a haunted double-exposure of Bloody Knife doing a Crow War Dance. Purcell''s lengthy explanation attributes the juxtaposition to "some red prophet of the long ago invoking the great spirit''s vengeance for centuries of wrong." The condition of this of this ghostly photograph is preserved with some tears to the top corner of the photograph and a stain in the top left hand corner but otherwise shows a preserved condition. The measurements of this photograph is 11 3/8" x 11 1/2". The collective weight of this photograph is U4oz. There are sheets of copies of newspaper articles discussing the eerie double exposure that are included in this lot.

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