Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904), photographer. 754 - Shoshone Indians at Corinne. Outdoor group portrait. Albumen stereoview on publisher's mount. San Francisco: E. Muybridge, [1869-1870]. Series title, view title, Muybridge's imprint to mount recto. Muybridge's 12 Montgomery St. imprint with advertising to mount verso. 

An extraordinary field stereoview by Eadweard Muybridge capturing a group of six Shoshone men, women, and youths gathered alongside Central Pacific Railroad tracks and boxcars at the frontier rail hub of Corinne, Utah. The figures are attired in traditional blankets, hide robes with fur trim, multi-strand beaded or shell necklaces, and feathered hair adornments. The warrior standing in the center prominently cradles a traditional wooden bow and arrow set, illustrating the striking collision of Great Basin Indigenous culture with the burgeoning infrastructure of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Founded in March 1869 along the Bear River just prior to the driving of the Golden Spike at nearby Promontory Summit, Corinne quickly developed into the principal "Gentile Capital of Utah" and a massive freight depot connecting the Central Pacific Railroad to the mining camps of Idaho and Montana. The rapid expansion of rail lines through the Great Basin profoundly disrupted Shoshone lands and migratory corridors, leading Shoshone bands to frequent frontier railway settlements such as Corinne for trade, diplomacy, and sustenance.

Eadweard J. Muybridge (1830-1904) was commissioned by the Central Pacific Railroad to document the engineering feats, landscapes, and populations along the newly laid transcontinental line. Operating under his famous pseudonym "Helios" and outfitting a mobile horse-drawn darkroom termed the "Flying Studio," Muybridge produced a monumental series of views spanning California, Nevada, and Utah. His portraits of Indigenous peoples along the rail lines remain among the most culturally significant components of his early documentary work.

[Native Americans, Shoshone, Great Basin, Corinne Utah, Utah Territory, Transcontinental Railroad, Central Pacific Railroad, Bow and Arrows, Indigenous Dress, Boxcars, American West, Frontier Life] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Stereoviews, Stereographs, Albumen Prints, Eadweard Muybridge, Helios, Western Photographers, Railroad Photography]

Very good condition with warm, even tonality, sharp clarity, and strong contrast throughout the prints. The card mount is flat and structurally sound. Mount verso is exceptionally clean.