Huntington Library, Photo Archives Collections

Bonine (E.A.) Photographs of Indians of the Southwest, 1880-1883

Photographs of Indians of the Southwest by E.A. Bonine, 1880-1883

Summary

Creators:
Bonine, Elias A., 1843-1916
Abstract:
This collection contains 73 studio portraits of Native Americans from southwestern Arizona, and were probably taken between 1880 and 1883 in E.A. Bonine's photography tent in Yuma, Arizona.
Extent:
0.81 Linear Feet (73 photographs in 1 box; photographs 17.5 x 11 cm. (7 x 4 in.))
Language:
English.
Preferred citation:

Photographs of Indians of the Southwest by E.A. Bonine. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains 73 studio portraits of Native Americans from southwestern Arizona, and were probably taken between 1880 and 1883 in E.A. Bonine's photography tent in Yuma, Arizona. The collection includes photographs of Chief Pasqual of the Yuma tribe, and posed portraits of members of the Yuma, Apache, Pima, Cocopa, Tohono O'Odham (also known as the Papago), and Mohave tribes. A few of the portraits have been identified with the names of people and tribes, but the majority of individuals remain unidentified.

Biographical / historical:

Elias A. Bonine (1843-1916) was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Not much is known about his early life, but at some point he became interested in photography for a career. In 1876, Bonine sold a sawmill he owned and moved to California along with his cameras. He traveled throughout California, operating a tent photography business as he went. His travels from 1880 to 1883 took him to Yuma, Arizona, where he photographed the Yuma, Mohave, and Cocopa Indians. The point of these photographs was not to archive the tribes' cultures, but to satisfy customers' desires to see a romanticized version of the Indians. Despite his popularity, Bonine left Yuma and moved back west to Pasadena, where he set up his home base. He travelled back to Arizona in later years, photographing the Silver King Mine area and the town of Pinal.

Acquisition information:
Gift of the Grace Nicholson Estate in 1963.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Apache Indians -- Photographs.
Cocopa Indians -- Photographs.
Indians of North America -- Arizona -- Photographs.
Mohave Indians -- Photographs.
Pima Indians -- Photographs.
Tohono O'Odham Indians -- Photographs.
Yuma Indians -- Photographs.
Portraits
Photographs

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

Photographs of Indians of the Southwest by E.A. Bonine. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
Website
Photographs
Containers:
Box 1
Other descriptive data:

The collection originally held 102 photographs, but 29 photographs are now missing, as noted below.

Titles for items 1-14 are transcribed from typed captions accompanying the photographs. Titles in brackets were supplied by cataloger.

Contents
Photographs 1-14
Containers:
Box 1, Folder 1
Contents
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 1-2
"Two squaws, one dressed in U.S. flag" [Possibly Yuma]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 3
"Ell-moosh and Ael-yeck, two squaws" [Possibly Yuma]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 4
"Two squaws with pottery"
Containers:
Box 1, Item 5
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 6
"I-yell and She-cush, two squaws"
Containers:
Box 1, Item 7
"Group of four squaws"
Containers:
Box 1, Item 8
"Brother and sister" [Possibly Yuma]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 9
"I-yell, squaw, half-figure"
Containers:
Box 1, Item 10
"She-cush, squaw, Ye-gee-ney Indian"
Containers:
Box 1, Item 11
"Pas-qual, Yuma Chief"
Containers:
Box 1, Item 12
"He-pah and C-coup, two squaws"
Containers:
Box 1, Item 13
"Variant view" [of (13)]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 14
Photographs 15-50
Containers:
Box 1, Folder 2
Contents
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 15
[One Indian woman wearing pendant necklace standing, one Indian woman sitting. Possibly Pima]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 16
[Two Pima women with blouses and skirts]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 17
[Indian woman with necklace and face paint sitting. Possibly Yuma]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 18
[Indian woman, man, and child. Possibly a family]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 19
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 20
[Apache baby in papoose]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 21
[Two Indian women in plaid skirts]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 22
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 23-25
[Indian woman in grass skirt standing by chair]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 26
[Two Indian men in Western clothes sitting and two Indian women standing behind them]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 27
[Two Mohave men standing, one with top hat]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 28
[Indian woman with cloak and doll]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 29
[Four Indian women. Three of the women are touching each other reassuringly]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 30
[Three Indian men sitting with bows and arrows]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 31
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 32
[Indian man in Western dress sitting. Indian woman standing with a hand on the man's shoulder]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 33
[Two Indian men sitting with a third Indian man resting his hands on their shoulders. Possibly Yuma]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 34
[Papago (also known as Tohono O'Odham) man in Western dress]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 35
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 36-37
[Indian man with bow, arrows, and knife, posing. Possibly Yuma]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 38
[Indian man with bow, arrows, and knife, posing. Possibly Yuma. Variant of (39)]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 39
[Indian man in Western dress sitting. Indian woman in cloak and necklace standing with a hand on man's shoulder]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 40
[Indian man in Western dress and long braided hair. Noted to be Mohave, but researcher says Yuma]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 41
[Indian man with bow and arrows with an arrow in his mouth]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 42
[Indian woman with necklace and face paint sitting]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 43
[Indian woman and man with bow and arrows, sitting]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 44
[Two Indian boys]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 45
[Indian woman holding a young boy]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 46
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 47-48
[Mohave woman standing next to large pottery]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 49
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 50
Photographs 51-102
Containers:
Box 1, Folder 3
Contents
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 51
[Two Cocopa men with bow and arrows and body paint]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 52
[Two Indian women holding a basket]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 53
[Mohave woman in Western dress]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 54
[Two Indian women holding a basket]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 55
[Indian woman balancing a basket on her head. Possibly Yuma or Pima]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 56
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 57
[Five young Indian girls]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 58
[Pima man with body paint on legs, sitting]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 59
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 60
[Indian man, woman, and child. Possibly a family]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 61
[Four young Indian girls with dolls]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 62
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 63
[Two Indian women sitting with Indian man in Western shirt]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 64
[Indian man standing next to chair]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 65
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 66-70
[Indian woman in grass skirt and another in plaid skirt]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 71
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 72-73
[Two Mohave girls with dolls]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 74
[Two Pima women holding hands]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 75
[Close-up portrait of Indian woman with necklaces and face paint sitting]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 76
[Indian woman wearing necklaces and face paint standing by chair]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 77
[Pima woman sitting in chair]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 78
[Two Apache men sitting and one Apache man standing with bow and arrows] [2 copies]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 79
[Three Indian girls with dolls and pottery]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 80
[Indian girl in rope skirt sitting]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 81
[Two Indian girls with pottery]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 82
"…three bucks, shirts, and G strings". [Three Indian men in Western shirts]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 83
[Pima woman sitting in chair]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 84
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 85
[A Mohave chief sitting in chair]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 86
[Pima chief and medicine man]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 87
[Four Indian girls with face paint]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 88
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 89-90
[Cocopa man in Western dress sitting]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 91
[Indian woman sitting in boy in her lap. Possibly Yuma]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 92
[Yuma boy covered in body paint]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 93
[Two Cocopa men]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 94
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 95
[Indian woman and man. Man is dressed in Western clothing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 96
[Old Indian woman sitting]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 97
[Mohave woman and two boys]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 98
[Two Pima women with baskets and pottery]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 99
[Indian woman seated with pottery and basket]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 100
[Missing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 101
[Indian man in Western clothing]
Containers:
Box 1, Item 102