[COLLECTION OF TREATIES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND INDIAN TRIBES].
[Indian Treaties]:
[Washington. 1830s-1870]. Various paginations, most often 4pp. to 10pp. each. Folio. Original self-wrappers, often string- or ribbon- tied. On the whole, very good to near fine. In cloth chemises and half morocco and cloth slipcases, spines gilt. An outstanding collection of rare treaties between the United States of America and scores of Indian tribes, negotiated from the 1830s to the 1860s. Individually and collectively, the treaties document the history of relations between the United States and the Indians, as the American government sought through negotiations to acquire more and more land, and Indian tribes were pushed westward and onto progressively shrinking reservations. These treaties illustrate a developing progression in attitude by Washington toward the Indians, as they are treated first as sovereign nations, then as undeclared enemies, and eventually as subject peoples. The earliest treaty in the collection was proclaimed by Andrew Jackson in the 1830s, and the latest by Andrew Johnson in 1870. With the exception of the Northeast, they cover every part of the continental United States, from treaties with the Appalachicola tribe in Florida to the Nez Perce, Nisqually, and other tribes in the Northwest, and the Navajo, Apache, and others in the Southwest. A number of the treaties were concluded in Washington, but the majority were negotiated on reservations, in the territories, and in military forts. Many of the most prominent Indian leaders of the day took part in the negotiations, and the American government was represented by notables such as Henry Ellsworth, William Tecumseh Sherman, Kit Carson, James Gadsden, and Henry Schoolcraft, among others. The treaties cover all aspects of relations between the United States, its citizens and military, and the Indian tribes. In virtually all of the treaties tribes cede land in one area for a reservation elsewhere (usually further west), often with financial consideration involved. Boundaries of Indian lands are carefully described and delineated. Some of the treaties unite tribes, while others seek the cessation of hostilities between warring bands. Many provide the protection of the federal government, while other treaty articles make provisions for the construction of schools, or even offer citizenship to an entire tribe. Usually the United States government makes certain to secure the right to build military bases or roads through Indian lands. These treaties are all extremely rare, printed by the government in very small numbers for the use of negotiators and government officials. Attractively printed and presented, including one treaty printed in the Choctaw language, their survival is a marvel. Goodspeed's Book Shop in 1939 and Edward Eberstadt & Sons in 1940 issued catalogues of these Indian treaties. Due to their fundamental importance, many of the treaties are listed in Sabin, though their dates of issuance range beyond the limits set for that bibliography. In the foreword to their catalogue, the Eberstadts wrote: "In the field of Americana few aspects of the subject compare in interest and importance with that of the relationship between the whites and the Indians, and the treaties which were the written manifestation of that relationship. These treaties, often the result of the white man's greed for lands and gold are, in effect, the fundamental documents of our national domain. In no more revealing way can the local history of America be preserved in our historical libraries and collections than by the accession of various of these original treaties by which was acquired the basic claim to this land of ours." Since the Eberstadt catalogue, only the collection of Frank T. Siebert, offered at auction in 1999, matches the current grouping in size and scope. A fundamentally important collection of documents, tracing the history of American expansion in the 19th century and presenting the official record of relations between the United States and American Indians. A complete list describing each treaty is available upon request.
(Item ID: WRCAM33002) $75,000.00