1848 Original Hand colored lithograph of KA-TA-WA-BE-DA (KATAWABEDA), plate 44, A CHIPPEWAY CHIEF, from the octavo edition of McKenney & Hall’s History of the Indian Tribes of North America
McKenney & Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America,
KA-TA-WA-BE-DA (KATAWABEDA), A CHIPPEWAY CHIEF
Hand-Colored Octavo Lithograph after Charles Bird King, Plate N 44
Publ. Rice, Rutter & C. 1848-50
Paper size 10 1/4 x 6 5/8" (26.2 x 16.6 cm). Great condition and color.
This original, hand-colored lithograph comes from the octavo edition of McKenney & Hall’s History of the Indian Tribes of North America, published by Rice, Rutter & Co and the plate number of this lithograph is No 44.
An admirer and supporter of the American Indians, Thomas McKenney spent his tenure in office fighting for their cause and preserving their legacy through a gallery of paintings that were commissioned by various artists. Unfortunately, the original paintings burned in a fire, and all that is left to remember these Indians are the lithographs found in History which were modeled off the paintings.
This print is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction, from History of the Indian Tribes of North America. It is authentic. Due to its age, it may have slight imperfections such as foxing so, please, examine the octavo carefully to be satisfied, as photos tell better than words.
Katawabeda was an orator of no small repute. Expert and ready in debate, his speeches were marked by shrewdness, ingenuity, and subtlety of argument, and by a simple brevity and force of expression. Some of these displays of native eloquence were well worthy of preservation, but we are not aware that any of them have been recorded except in the memory of those who sat in the councils of that lonely region of lakes and forests, of which this remarkable. Indian was a native and a ruler.
He was the principal village chief the civil head, as distinguished from the war chief, or military leader of a band of the Chippeway nation, who reside at Sandy Lake, or Kometongogomog, among the head springs of the Mississippi, and was a sensible, prudent, politic man, who was revered by his own people, and looked up to as a safe counselor by the surrounding villages.