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Native Roots & Western Trails: A Historic Heritage Auction: June 21st, 2025

Sat, Jun 21, 2025 11:00AM EDT
  2025-06-21 11:00:00 2025-06-21 11:00:00 America/New_York North American Auction Company North American Auction Company : Native Roots & Western Trails: A Historic Heritage Auction: June 21st, 2025 https://live.naabid.com/auctions/north-american-auction/native-roots-western-trails-a-historic-heritage-auction-june-21st-2025-19773
Join us for "Native Roots & Western Trails: A Historic Heritage Auction" on June 21st, 2025, featuring nearly 800 curated lots of early Native American artifacts, masterful beadwork, rare 19th-century Navajo textiles, frontier collectibles, and select Western and antique treasures spanning centuries of American history.
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Lot 136

Rare The Indians' Book by Natalie Curtis 1935 Ed.

Estimate: $500 - $1,000
Starting Bid
$150

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
For your consideration is a Rare 1935 Revised Edition of "The Indians' Book" by Natalie Curtis Burlin, Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York and London. The Indians' Book: An offering by the American Indians of Indian lore, musical and narrative, to form a record of the songs and legends of their race. Recorded and Edited by Natalie Curtis, Illustrations from Photographs and from Original Drawings by Indians." Curtis Burlin was in the process of updating "The Indians' Book" when she died after a traffic accident in Paris. This 1935 edition is the culmination of her research as described in the Preface. Natalie Curtis Burlin (1875-1921) was an American ethnomusicologist whose interest in Native American and African-American music extended not only to archiving but to vigorous cultural advocacy for those musical traditions. In 1900, while on a trip to Arizona, she was so struck by the customs and lore and especially the music of the Native Americans of the region that she gave up her planned concert career. With phonograph and later simply with pencil and paper, she visited the villages and camps of the Zuni, Hopi, and other groups, recording their songs, poetry, and tales. By appealing to President Teddy Roosevelt, who was a family friend, she won removal of a ban that had been placed on the performance of Native American music. Her major publication in the field was The Indians’ Book (1907), which enjoyed two later editions and remains a vital source book for students and scholars of the subject. The lore and music in the book were drawn from 18 tribes, mainly those of the Southwest but also some groups from as far away as Maine and British Columbia, Canada. The last page displays the Indian Whirling Logs Symbol (meaning good luck). The book has the original excellent geometric traditional Indian style design in bright colors adorning the cream colored cloth bound hardcover, foxing and scuffing noted on cover edges. The rare book is in good overall condition for its age (see pictures for condition), intact deckled pages exhibit age tanning and foxing. Measures 7.5"W x 10"L x 1.75" D. Weight is 3lb 6oz.*

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