North American Auction Company
Live Auction

Fine Montana Collector Sale - April 2023

Sat, Apr 22, 2023 11:00AM EDT
Lot 48

Old Fitchburg RR Page with Sioux Indian Ledger Art

Estimate: $950 - $1,350

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$50,000 $2,500
The lot features an original old ledger page from the Fitchburg Railroad Company with original Northern Plains ledger art. Provenance: From the same collection as the 1890-1899 Statement of Blemmingham Ledger Book collection as well as other 1890-1919 Fitchburg Railroad Company ledger pages. The page shows a graphite and colored pencil ledger art from the Northern Plains, likely the Sioux showing a Warrior with coup lance spear being covered in feathers, having a feathered headdress on and war regalia; next to the warrior are two horses in yellow and orange with one having a lightning bolt or snake in blue, red hand and half moon sumbols; above are horse or buffalo bison trcks and a crescent white moon; on the left is a Native American tipi (tepee / teepee) in brown with four season symbol, half moon and lazy arrow; below the tipi is a Buffalo Bison skull with red eyes; above is a four-point morning star in blue and at the bottom is a snake, likely the signature from the artist as its seen on each of this collections pieces. The ledger page has nice foxing and discoloration around the edges from early age. The piece is from the Blemmingham Ledger book, the very same as the 1871 Example that sold in our September 2021 sale for $1,107 (shown with bp). The ledger page dates to the Fitchburg Railroad which was in operation from circa 1840-1919, the artwork appears to be of an older age but exact age is unknown. The ledger sheet measures 16 5/8” by 10 7/8”.