Huntington Library, Photo Archives Collections

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

Summary

Title:
Photographs of Indians of the Southwest by E.A. Bonine
Dates:
1880-1883
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

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Michelle Sanchez.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-09-17 16:10:37 -0700 .

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

Contents

Photographs

Contents

Photographs 1-14

Contents

[Missing]

"Two squaws, one dressed in U.S. flag" [Possibly Yuma]

"Ell-moosh and Ael-yeck, two squaws" [Possibly Yuma]

"Two squaws with pottery"

[Missing]

"I-yell and She-cush, two squaws"

"Group of four squaws"

"Brother and sister" [Possibly Yuma]

"I-yell, squaw, half-figure"

"She-cush, squaw, Ye-gee-ney Indian"

"Pas-qual, Yuma Chief"

"He-pah and C-coup, two squaws"

"Variant view" [of (13)]

Photographs 15-50

Contents

[Missing]

[One Indian woman wearing pendant necklace standing, one Indian woman sitting. Possibly Pima]

[Two Pima women with blouses and skirts]

[Indian woman with necklace and face paint sitting. Possibly Yuma]

[Indian woman, man, and child. Possibly a family]

[Missing]

[Apache baby in papoose]

[Two Indian women in plaid skirts]

[Missing]

[Indian woman in grass skirt standing by chair]

[Two Indian men in Western clothes sitting and two Indian women standing behind them]

[Two Mohave men standing, one with top hat]

[Indian woman with cloak and doll]

[Four Indian women. Three of the women are touching each other reassuringly]

[Three Indian men sitting with bows and arrows]

[Missing]

[Indian man in Western dress sitting. Indian woman standing with a hand on the man's shoulder]

[Two Indian men sitting with a third Indian man resting his hands on their shoulders. Possibly Yuma]

[Papago (also known as Tohono O'Odham) man in Western dress]

[Missing]

[Indian man with bow, arrows, and knife, posing. Possibly Yuma]

[Indian man with bow, arrows, and knife, posing. Possibly Yuma. Variant of (39)]

[Indian man in Western dress sitting. Indian woman in cloak and necklace standing with a hand on man's shoulder]

[Indian man in Western dress and long braided hair. Noted to be Mohave, but researcher says Yuma]

[Indian man with bow and arrows with an arrow in his mouth]

[Indian woman with necklace and face paint sitting]

[Indian woman and man with bow and arrows, sitting]

[Two Indian boys]

[Indian woman holding a young boy]

[Missing]

[Mohave woman standing next to large pottery]

[Missing]

Photographs 51-102

Contents

[Missing]

[Two Cocopa men with bow and arrows and body paint]

[Two Indian women holding a basket]

[Mohave woman in Western dress]

[Two Indian women holding a basket]

[Indian woman balancing a basket on her head. Possibly Yuma or Pima]

[Missing]

[Five young Indian girls]

[Pima man with body paint on legs, sitting]

[Missing]

[Indian man, woman, and child. Possibly a family]

[Four young Indian girls with dolls]

[Missing]

[Two Indian women sitting with Indian man in Western shirt]

[Indian man standing next to chair]

[Missing]

[Indian woman in grass skirt and another in plaid skirt]

[Missing]

[Two Mohave girls with dolls]

[Two Pima women holding hands]

[Close-up portrait of Indian woman with necklaces and face paint sitting]

[Indian woman wearing necklaces and face paint standing by chair]

[Pima woman sitting in chair]

[Two Apache men sitting and one Apache man standing with bow and arrows] [2 copies]

[Three Indian girls with dolls and pottery]

[Indian girl in rope skirt sitting]

[Two Indian girls with pottery]

"…three bucks, shirts, and G strings". [Three Indian men in Western shirts]

[Pima woman sitting in chair]

[Missing]

[A Mohave chief sitting in chair]

[Pima chief and medicine man]

[Four Indian girls with face paint]

[Missing]

[Cocopa man in Western dress sitting]

[Indian woman sitting in boy in her lap. Possibly Yuma]

[Yuma boy covered in body paint]

[Two Cocopa men]

[Missing]

[Indian woman and man. Man is dressed in Western clothing]

[Old Indian woman sitting]

[Mohave woman and two boys]

[Two Pima women with baskets and pottery]

[Indian woman seated with pottery and basket]

[Missing]

[Indian man in Western clothing]