[Western Photographica]. Christensen, Nels

[Album Containing Twenty-Nine Large-Format Images of Early 20th-Century Pierre and the South Dakota Plains]

[Pierre, S.D. ca. 1895-1905]. [12] leaves, illustrated with twenty-nine photographs between 4.5 x 6.5 inches and 7.75 x 9.5 inches, with some small format panoramas measuring 3.75 x 9.75 inches. Oblong folio. Contemporary black pebbled cloth, gilt titles reading, "Photo Views" on front cover. Minor wear to covers. Text block detached, minor wear, light staining to edges of some leaves, otherwise clean internally. Very good. Item #4623

An early-20th century collection of mostly large-format photographs featuring scenes in Pierre, South Dakota as well as the surrounding plains. Most of the photographs measure around 7 x 9 inches, and feature the train depot in Pierre, the Hughes County Courthouse, a bridge over the Missouri River (likely a Chicago and Northwest Railroad bridge), and a spectacular image of a pair of Sioux / Crow Indians. Other photographs picture steamboats (loaded with passengers), ranching, farming, rock formations (one with a lone horseman posed in front), fishing, a mill, some family group images, herds of cattle, and a few shots of buffalo roaming on the open prairie. One of the latter photographs of a distant herd of buffalo on the plains is titled in the negative, "The last one of the kind," and captioned at bottom right, "Photo by Christensen." None of the remaining photographs are captioned with identifying information regarding the photographer, but they are nonetheless well composed and professionally developed. The photographs are unusually large and more informative than most western photograph albums we have seen.

Price: $1,750.00