Several factors make this collection highly desirable and unique. First, the original owner of this collection, Col. Henry Harrison Sheets, a direct descendant of two U.S. presidents (Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Harrison) was a notable figure in his own right. The United States Library of Congress has a 17,000-plus item archive of material on Sheets and his life, including a number of pieces related to Curtis and The North American Indian project. Sheets was a key representative and salesperson for Curtis and The North American Indian, Inc. He also lectured, organized exhibitions, worked on public relations, and did high-level fundraising for the Curtis project. Sheets used the materials that comprises this collection to make personal, high-level presentations to prospective subscribers to Curtis’ magnum opus, The North American Indian. Because the subscriptions were the lifeblood of the twenty-five year publishing project, clearly Curtis and Sheets would have used great care in creating this particular presentation collection. The collection is also extremely unusual in that it has continuously been in the hands of the original owner, his widow, and one of his descendants. I know of no other extant collection similar in nature or history to this one. To find a vintage Curtis collection with twenty-eight individual photogravures and a large platinum print today is rare. To find such a collection with extraordinary provenance and historical importance that also contains Curtis portraits and related ephemera is, in my experience, unique. The quality of the images, the condition of the prints, the provenance, and the historical significance all make this a highly desirable collection.

-- Christopher G Cardozo
November 14, 2005