Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

Winter Photographic History Auction 2026

Sat, Jan 31, 2026 01:00PM EST
Lot 267

Henry Wilson, Mojave Apache — Frank A. Rinehart, 1898

Estimate: $400 - $600

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Large-format gelatin silver print measuring 10" x 8", copyright 1898 by F. A. Rinehart, Omaha, titled in the negative “Henry Wilson – Mojave Apache” and numbered No. 756.

A strong studio portrait from Frank A. Rinehart’s celebrated series documenting Native delegates at the 1898 Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition. The sitter, Henry Wilson of the Mojave Apache, is shown in a simple shirt and neck scarf, his hair wrapped in a cloth headband. Rinehart’s restrained backdrop and controlled lighting emphasize the sitter’s expression and presence rather than ethnographic staging, illustrating why this series remains among the most respected photographic records of Native leaders at the turn of the century.

Rinehart’s 1898 Indian Congress portraits survive in several formats, but large mounted prints with fully readable titling and copyright marks are increasingly scarce. The present example carries the photographer’s imprint “Copyright 1898 / F. A. Rinehart / Omaha” at lower left, with the negative number and title inscribed across the lower margin in Rinehart’s characteristic white ink.

Clean tones, excellent detail in the sitter’s features and clothing, and only minimal age toning to the mount. A fine and well-preserved example from one of the foundational photographic projects of the late 19th century.

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