The American Aboriginal Portfolio

Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co, 1853. Hardcover. Good. S[eth] Eastman (Mary's husband). engraved 2nd title-page. 84p. plus a total of 26 plates (full-page illustrations) printed one side (rectos). Bound in original leather with gilt decoration and lettering. 32 cm. Front cover, edges and corners scuffed (with some loss of color). Backstrip chipped at top and worn at bottom. Mostly light to moderate foxing on contents. Gift inscription on front free endpaper (Pauline Adeline Fowle from Uncle William Cazenove Dec. 25th 1853"). Some of her husband's illustrations in this book also appear in Volume II ( and perhaps elsewhere) in Schoolcraft's (truncated) "Information, Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States." Mary Eastman also wrote other works on American Indians and was generally critical of white treatment of Native Americans. Eastman is also remembered for "Aunt Phillis's Cabin," a popular novel published a year before this book as a pro-slavery response to Stowe's depiction of the evils of slavery in "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Eastman later changed her views on slavery. Eastman's husband and sons fought on the Union side in the Civil War. Online research indicates that Pauline, the inscribee, from the front free endpaper married her cousin Henry Fowle Durant on May 23, 1854. Henry was a very successful Boston lawyer. Adeline and Henry were the co-founders of Wellesley College. (Inventory #: 93899)