EIGHT 1873 "MODOC WARS" STEREOVIEWS BY MUYBRIDGE

A significant visual archive of eight (8) outdoor stereoviews by pioneer photographer Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904), documenting the 1872–1873 Modoc War in Northern California and southern Oregon, under government and military auspices. 

Each mounted on publisher's cardstock mounts (comprising 4 yellow/orange mounts and 4 purple/lavender mounts) with view title, series title ("The Modoc War"), Muybridge's photographer imprint,  Bradley & Rufolson's publisher imprints, and copyright statements. Mount versos printed with publisher's series headings (Photographic Illustrations of the Pacific Coast / Modoc War and Lava Beds), and studio credit lines. Versos retain period and collector pencil inventory markings.

1. 1625 - One-Eyed Dixie and Modoc Squaws. Bradley & Rufolson's stamped imprint to verso.

A striking view of four Modoc women; the woman on the left is identified as "One-eyed Dixie." The other three women are unknown, wearing basketry hats and posed in front of a teepee. 

2. 1629 - Warm Springs Indian Scouts in the Field. Outdoor albumen stereoview.

A company of ten armed Warm Springs Apache/Wasco scouts kneeling and standing in formation with long guns.

3. 1610 - Shonschis Rock; Lava Beds in the distance. Bradley & Rufolson's stamped imprint to verso.

Dramatic field landscape of the Modoc stronghold terrain overlooking Tule Lake.

4. 1621 - Generals Jeff C. Davis, Hardie, and Gillem; Officers of the Modoc Campaign. 

Large group portrait of U.S. Army officers and commanders assembled during field operations. Jefferson C. Davis (1828-1879, not to be confused with the future Confederate president) and Alvan Cullem Gillem (1830-1875) were veterans of the Civil War, both commanding troops in the Western Theater.  

5. 1630 - Warm Springs Indian Scouts on Picket Duty.

Four scouts positioned with rifles behind a defensive volcanic rock breastwork.

6. 1623 - Donald Mc Ky, the celebrated Warm Spring Indian Scout and his chief men.

Posed field study of the celebrated frontier scout Donald McKay (ca 1836-1899) standing and seated with armed Warm Springs scouts.

7. 1607 - Panorama of Lava Beds from Signal Station at Tule Lake, Camp South.

High-angle perspective documenting the rugged topography of the Lava Beds battleground.

8. The Peace Commission Tent.

The canvas wall tent site where Major General Edward R. S. Canby and Reverend Eleazar Thomas were killed during peace negotiations with Captain Jack.

The Modoc War (1872–1873) was among the most fiercely contested and costly military engagements of the Western Indian Wars, fought across the treacherous, maze-like volcanic terrain of the Lava Beds south of Tule Lake. Following the killing of General Canby in April 1873, Muybridge traveled directly to the front lines with his mobile darkroom equipment, producing the definitive photographic record of the campaign, its battle sites, U.S. officers, and Indigenous participants.

Commissioned directly by the U.S. Army and San Francisco publishers Bradley & Rulofson, Eadweard Muybridge’s Modoc War series stands among the most celebrated and consequential bodies of combat photojournalism produced in the 19th-century American West. Working under grueling field conditions with a mobile darkroom wagon, Muybridge documented the unforgiving topography and fortified redoubts of the Lava Beds that allowed a small band of Modoc fighters to hold off overwhelming federal forces for months. Significant groupings from this series rarely appear on the market, with this eight-card run representing a remarkably well-preserved cornerstone archive of Western military and photographic history. This lot represents a top-shelf collection of his work. 

[Modoc War, Modoc Nation, Lava Beds, Tule Lake, Northern California, Captain Jack, Kintpuash, General Canby, Warm Springs Scouts, Donald McKay, Indian Wars, US Army, Western Expansion, American West] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Stereoviews, Stereographs, Albumen Prints, Eadweard Muybridge, Bradley & Rulofson, Frontier Photographers, Military Photography]

Very good condition throughout the lot, with rich tones, excellent clarity, and sharp focus. Mounts remain flat and structurally sound with only light edge rubbing and minor corner softening consistent with age.