Collection of 23 albumen print stereoviews on publisher's yellow card mounts, ca. 1870s. All taken by Henry Hamilton Bennett and published in Kilbourn City (now Wisconsin Dells), Wisconsin. Imprints to mount recto. Unless otherwise noted, most of these photographs are from the series, "Wanderings among the Wonders and Beauties of Wisconsin Scenery." 

An extraordinary grouping representing the technical genius and documentary breadth of H.H. Bennett, universally recognized as one of the 19th century’s most innovative landscape and studio photographers. The anchor of the collection centers on two rare, authentic ethnographic views from Bennett's groundbreaking "Among the Winnebago Indians" sub-series, documenting the Ho-Chunk people who maintained deep ancestral roots along the Wisconsin River. These include a compelling seated portrait of the prominent Ho-Chunk leader Big Bear (No. 1131) in traditional fringed regalia, headdress, and blanket, holding a bow and arrow, alongside an exceptional outdoor occupational view depicting a Ho-Chunk woman working an outstretched hide lashed to a timber tanning frame outside a traditional lodge (No. 1056).

The companion landscape and subterranean views display Bennett’s pioneering technical mastery, highlighted by early interior flash-powder exposures such as "Looking out of Boat Cave, a flash light picture", capturing boats and rowers within pitch-black subterranean grottoes. Other notable subjects include iconic geological formations such as Stand Rock, Cold Water Canyon, Castle Rock, and the towering Witches Gulch corridors, as well as instantaneous stop-motion moonlight effects across river ripples, elevated railroad trestles spanning the river gorge, and scenic bluffs along the Upper Mississippi.

Bennett's work stands at the pinnacle of 19th-century American stereography, combining technical photographic invention with rare, compassionate ethnographic portraiture of the Ho-Chunk Nation in their sacred ancestral homeland.

The images in this lot include: 

1. No. 1305. Northern Dome of Phantom Cathedral. Sub-series, "Curiosities of Adams and Juneau Counties." 

2. No. 1310. Port Hole at Coon Castle. Sub-series, "Curiosities of Adams and Juneau Counties." 

3. 1080. Looking down the River from Angel Rock. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River." 

4. 1121. Looking out from Black Hawk's Cave. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River." 

5. 1044. Northern entrance to Witches' Gulch. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River." 

6. No. 1500. Castle Rock, 40 feet high, near Farmington. Sub-series, "Among the Bluff Scenery of the Upper Mississippi." Series, "Wanderings Among the Wonders and Beauties of Western Scenery." 

7. 1034. Under Overhanging Rock at Black Hawk's Leap. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River." 

8. 1528 Down the river from the Bluff at Reed's Landing (Minn). Sub-series, "Among the Bluff Scenery of the Upper Mississippi." Series, "Wanderings Among the Wonders and Beauties of Western Scenery." 

9. No. 1214. Tipsy Tom, on Kirk's Mountain. Sub-series, "Devil's Lake and Vicinity." 

10. 1026 Cold Water Canon, towards the Jug from above. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin." 

11. No. 1511. C.M. & St. P.R.R. bridge across the Vermillion. Sub-series, "Among the Bluff Scenery of the Upper Mississippi." Series, "Wanderings Among the Wonders and Beauties of Western Scenery." 

12. 1517 High Bridge at Fort Snelling. Sub-series, "Among the Bluff Scenery of the Upper Mississippi." Series, "Wanderings Among the Wonders and Beauties of Western Scenery." 

13. 1085 Across at the Dam,—A Moonlight Effect. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin." 

14. No. 1306. Tower through the Window at Chi-coon-grah (Parted Bluff). Sub-series, "Curiosities of Adams and Juneau Counties." 

15. 1132. Looking out of Boat Cave, a flash light picture. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River." 

16. 1001 Eaton Grotto, at the head of Circle Bend. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin." 

17. 1543 Turkey River Bluff. Sub-series, "Among the Bluff Scenery of the Upper Mississippi." Series, "Wanderings Among the Wonders and Beauties of Western Scenery." 

18. 1095. Skylight Cave, in the Navy Yard. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River." 

19. 1056. Squaw tanning a Deerskin. Sub-series, "Among the Winnebago Indians." 

20. 1039. Coldwater Canon—above Whirlpool Chamber. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River." 

21. 1004. Stand Rock—showing top. Sub-series, "In and About the Dells of the Wisconsin River." 

22. 1131. Big Bear. Sub-series, "Among the Winnebago Indians." 

23. 1250 Ruins of an Old Mill at Pewitt's Nest on Skillet Creek. Sub-series, "Among the Bluffs of the Baraboo." 

[H.H. Bennett, Kilbourn City, Wisconsin Dells, Ho-Chunk, Winnebago, Big Bear, Native American Photography, Ethnographic, Flashlight Photography, Stand Rock, Witches Gulch, Stereoviews, Wisconsin History, 1870s, 1880s]

Very good to excellent condition. Prints exhibit rich tones, crisp focus, and balanced exposure. Yellow card mounts remain flat and sturdy with minor expected edge rubbing and faint handling wear consistent with age.