At the Sign of the Cart

We are frequently approached by collectors asking for assistance to identify hallmarks on Native American jewelry. Sometimes the maker is easy to identify, other times the attribution is more difficult to make. Many times the marks are unattributable as they were used by Native American or Anglo craftsmen who worked during the “boom” years of the 1970s and their identification marks were not recorded. But every so often we are challenged by an obviously old hallmark that has not previously been described or seen.

Such was the case for a hallmark shared with us recently by collector Gloria Dollar. Her tourist era pin in the shape of a deer, likely made by a Pueblo silversmith, has a hallmark on the back depicting a cart. The mark was at first a mystery, but vaguely familiar. Once the “aha” moment struck we began the required investigation to attribute this unusual hallmark. The cart hallmark reminded us of the two-wheeled ox cart, or carreta that has been the logo for a Santa Fe curio store for more than a century.

It all started with a merchant named Jake Gold. Jake left New York in 1862 and joined his father Louis Gold, along with his brothers Aaron and Abe, in Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory. The Golds became successful merchants in the city concentrating on groceries and general merchandise. However in 1880 Aaron Gold opened Gold’s Provision House on the corner of San Francisco Street and Burro Alley, it not only offered groceries and provisions, it was also the first place “in town where Rare Specimens of Indian Pottery, ancient and modern” were on display. By 1883 the store was managed by Aaron’s youngest brother Jake, who acquired the business from Aaron the same year and changed the name to Gold’s Free Museum which could be found at the “Sign of Indian Cart” on San Francisco Street. By 1893 Jake renamed the business the Old Curiosity Shop, established 1862, the year he came to Santa Fe.

*Circa 1890 photograph of Jake Gold’s Old Curiosity Shop at the corner of San Francisco Street and Burro Alley, note the two-wheeled ox cart, or* carreta on the roof.

Jake purchased the property in October 1890 and in 1893 set about improving his place of business by nearly doubling the capacity and enlarging the main sales room. Jake became the leading dealer in Santa Fe of Indian pottery and blankets, Chimayo weavings and Mexican curios, and was referred to as “The Curio Man” in the local newspaper, he had become an important component of the territorial economy. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported on July 1, 1893, he, “has at least thirty men and women constantly employed at Chimayo, in the Navajo country and elsewhere manufacturing his supply of Indian and Mexican blankets. Also he has a dozen or so men on the road traveling all over New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico, gathering all manner of curios for his stock.” He was, perhaps, the first in a long line of curio dealers, or Indian traders as we know them today, who wove tall tales in order to entice buyers with the rarity of their goods; in 1894 journalist Henry Russell Wray wrote that, “in this shop of Jake’s you can purchase the last pair of trousers worn by Columbus, the sword De Soto wore, the hat of Cabeza de Vaca or the breastplate of silver worn by Cortez.”

*1894 advertisement for Jake Gold’s Old Curiosity Shop.*

But it all came crashing down in 1896 when Jake was charged with violating the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act, and was additionally charged with abandonment for leaving his wife Lizzie. To avoid prosecution, he fled to El Paso, Texas losing his business in the process. He was eventually returned to Santa Fe where he pled guilty and for which he was sentenced to a year in the territorial penitentiary, a sentence which began in January 1901. After Jake abandoned his business the property and stock were purchased by his brother Abe who continued to run it as Gold’s Old Curiosity Shop.

While in prison Jake corresponded with his friend Candelario. J.S. (Jesus Sito) Candelario was born 1864 in New Mexico and first worked in Santa Fe as a clerk for Blain Brothers who were merchants, pawnbrokers and dealers in second-hand goods. But in 1891 he launched out on his own opening a second-hand shop and advertising himself as an auctioneer and pawnbroker who “buys, sells, rents and exchanges second hand goods on Lower San Francisco Street,” in the same vicinity as Jake’s former store. This business appears to have closed by 1902.

Jake and Candelario were laying the foundation for a partnership as curio dealers and Candelario began procuring Pueblo pottery, Navajo blankets and other goods. After Jake’s return to Santa Fe, the Old Curio Shop—Jake Gold, manager, J.S. Candelario, proprietor—opened in January 1902 on San Francisco Street, a few doors to the east of the Old Curiosity Shop now owned by Abe Gold. The new partnership didn’t last long, in June 1903 Jake Gold and Candelario parted ways amicably with Jake taking over management of his brother Abe’s store. Candelario continued in business under the name the Old Curio Store, and the roof, of course, was ornamented with an old carreta.

But the death of Abe Gold in August 1903, and subsequently the demise of Jake Gold, “the original old curio man,” in December 1905 left J.S. Candelario as the most prominent curio dealer in Santa Fe. Candelario quickly assumed the role of “The Curio Man” and renamed his shop the Original Old Curio Store, advertised as the biggest curio store in the west, at 301-303 San Francisco Street, “Look for the Old Mexican Cart.”

*J.S. Candelario’s the Original Old Curio Store at 301-303 San Francisco Street with a two-wheeled ox cart, or carreta displayed* *on the roof.*

*Postcard published by J.S. Candelario around 1910.*

The Original Old Curio Store was photographed around 1910 during a snow storm in Santa Fe. Jake Gold’s original shop at the corner of San Francisco Street and Burro Alley can be seen a few doors to the left of Candelario’s.

He claimed to be the largest wholesale and retail dealer in genuine Indian and Mexican goods in the United States and maintained that he was the only native-born curio dealer in the Rocky Mountain district. Candelario’s shop became a must-see for visitors to Santa Fe, attracting the curious and the famous alike including Sinclair Lewis, William Jennings Bryan and President Theodore Roosevelt. Besides thousands of curios offered for sale, comprising Indian blankets, baskets, pottery, drawn work, and turquoise from his own mine near Cerrillos, he also publicized his collection of relics accumulated over the years that were emphatically not for sale. These included the oldest bell in America cast in 1330, a suit of clothes said to have been worn by a man when killed by lightning and a silver spur said to have been worn by Emperor Maximilian on his last horseback ride. His assertion that the business was established in 1603 was as large a fabrication as was the rarity of his relics.

*Postcard published by J.S. Candelario, looking towards Saint Francis Cathedral, the Original Old Curio Shop can be seen on the left, the north side of San Francisco Street.*

*Circa 1925 business card for J.S. Candelario.*

Upon Candelario’s death on July 30, 1938 the Santa Fe New Mexican proclaimed him, “one of the most prominent curio dealers and property owners in the entire Southwest.” The store had closed the year prior after J.S. suffered a heart attack. His grandson (and adopted son as well), and sole heir, John S. Candelario (1916-1993) inherited his grandfather’s estate and reopened the store in December 1938 telling the newspaper, “the policies will remain the same as those of my grandfather. Many items and famous collections will not be for sale, although we are glad to have our many friends and customers come in and view them.”

*December 1938 ad for the Original Old Curio Store.*

John was becoming a well-known photographer and left the day-to-day operations of the Original Old Curio Store in the hands of various managers. Shortly after the end of World War II a partial collapse of the roof necessitated extensive renovations, and the newspaper article announcing the reopening, dated April 4, 1946, also described additional business ventures that John was associated with:

Adjoining the store and offices is the workshop of Santa Fe Silversmiths, Inc., of which [William C.] Euler is president, John Candelario, vice president and Wiltz Harrison, secretary/treasurer in charge of design and production. At present eight Indian and several Spanish-Americans are employed. The Native boys are learning to work in copper since if work is defective then the metal can easily be reused. Two of these are veterans who were in the war, and will be able to learn the craft in cooperation with the rehabilitation service. Of the Indians there are three Navajos, two San Juans, a Domingo, an Isleta and a Cochiti woman. In concentrating on hand-made jewelry as against machined output Euler said the firm is using the initials “S.F.S.” as a hallmark. Candelario’s is also a member of the United Indian Traders Association which last month announced its code of standards for hand made Navajo and Pueblo jewelry as a protection to the public.
Santa Fe New Mexican, April 4, 1946

John must have grown weary of the curio business, on May 21, 1947 he sold the Original Old Curio Store to local merchants Dan Taichert and Al Thorwaldsen. The shop and property have passed through a number of hands since 1947, but continues in operation as the Original Trading Post, now displaying a metal carreta on the roof.

Now, considering the hallmark on the back of Gloria Dollar’s pin that started this entire investigation. It is obvious that the cart depicted in the hallmark is the one used for Candelario’s Original Old Curio Shop. However, Jonathan Batkin, who has thoroughly researched the business records of J. S. Candelario, said via personal communication, that he “never found evidence that ‘Indian style’ jewelry was made while he [Candelario] ran the shop.” The style of the pin is typical of late 1930s Native American silver jewelry made for the tourist trade. That leads us to believe the mark was used between 1939-1946 during John Candelario’s ownership of the business. But, as always, our attribution is open to more research.

Much of the history about Jake Gold and J.S. Candelario is derived from Jonathan Batkin’s research, especially from his 2008 publication The Native American Curio Trade in New Mexico, supplemented by personal communications and historic newspaper articles.

A Bracelet with a Story to Tell

We have often stated, and even wrote in our introduction to Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry, that sometimes more can be discerned from the back of a piece of antique American Indian jewelry than from the front.

*Silver ridge bracelet ca. 1938.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

This modest ridge bracelet, now in the collection of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, is the epitome of that statement. The underside reveals a fascinating aspect of the establishment of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) silver stamping program. For an overview of the program see our previous blog Indian Arts and Crafts Board Silver Stamping Program 1938-1943.

*The underside of the bracelet reveals a multitude of hallmark stamps that were tested by Ambrose Roanhorse and Kenneth Chapman for the IACB silver stamping program.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

Kenneth M. Chapman of the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe was appointed as special consultant to the IACB and assumed responsibility for the silver stamping program. He was assigned the task of developing the inspection and identification criteria for finished Native American jewelry pieces that, after thorough examination, would be hallmarked to certify that the piece was hand made to strict standards set down by the government. His biggest challenge was to find a way to apply marks to finished jewelry pieces. Identification marks, or hallmarks, are typically applied by Native silversmiths while the jewelry piece is under construction to avoid damaging the finished product.

The specifications for the stamps were set down on April 2, 1937 when Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes approved the “Regulations for Use of Government Mark on Navajo, Pueblo and Hopi Silver” which had been drafted by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board on March 10. Among the eight regulations were,

All dies used to mark silver will be provided by and owned by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.
Dies are marked with name of tribe. A Navajo stamp will be used where the maker is a Navajo Indian; similarily, for Zuni, Hopi and Rio Grande Pueblo.
All dies will be numbered, and each wholesaler or dealer will be held responsible for any violation of standards in silver that bears his mark.

With these specifications in mind Chapman labored to design the marking dies. According to Chapman biographers Janet Chapman and Karen Barrie, “He naturally thought about the mark as a design element.” He considered including Native symbolism to the marks and, “toyed with a mini-squash blossom and crescent” for the Navajo stamp, but none of that transpired.

In early December 1937 Chapman received a shipment of steel dies to test in preparation for the beginning of the program. He visited the workshop of Navajo silversmith Ambrose Roanhorse—teacher at Santa Fe Indian School who would be enlisted to help stamp the approved pieces—to have Roanhorse experiment with the marking dies. Some of the dies broke and on the whole Chapman found them inferior and useless. On top of it all, the bracelet dies were too large, and the U.S. NAVAJO die damaged the bracelet they used for testing.

*Damage, circled in red, to the front of the bracelet caused by the first U.S. NAVAJO die.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

The large US NAVAJO stamp that damaged the front of the bracelet is shown in the center with the number 10 and an eagle design. Among other stamps that can be seen are various sizes of the same dies plus STERLING, and GA 23. It is unknown what GA 23 may have stood for. Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

*Close up of the eagle stamp that was applied at the end of U.S. NAVAJO 10. This design resembles the eagle used for the National Recovery Act, it was never used on government approved silver.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

Examining the markings on the test bracelet it can be seen that many different dies were experimented with. But in early March 1938 Rene d’Harnoncourt, general manager of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, ordered a new set of four flat punch dies from William A. Force Company in New York. The set consisted of U.S. NAVAJO, U.S. R.G. PUEBLO, U.S. ZUNI and U.S. HOPI along with ten number dies, from 1 to 0. A few weeks later the completed dies were mailed to Kenneth Chapman in Santa Fe.

*The final versions of U.S. HOPI, U.S. ZUNI and U.S. NAVAJO stamps that were accepted for use on government approved Native American made silver. The stamp for Hopi was never used.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

*Close up of U.S. R.G. PUEBLO stamp that was never used during the duration of the program.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

These were smaller dies that were ultimately approved and used during the life of the program, from April 5, 1938 when Ambrose Roanhorse marked the first inspected pieces of silver until sometime in 1943 when interest in the program waned. Even though dies were made for Navajo, Zuni, Hopi and Rio Grande Pueblo, Chapman only recorded that the Navajo and Zuni dies were ever applied to any government approved jewelry.

The path this bracelet took from Kenneth Chapman’s hands to the Wheelwright will never fully be known. But it was rescued from obscurity by Thomas and Deborah Begner, owners of Turkey Mountain Traders in Scottsdale, when they purchased it on eBay and donated it to the Wheelwright. In the end this important piece of history is now back in Santa Fe where it originated.

We are grateful to Jonathan Batkin, retired director of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian for granting us permission to tell this story before his retirement. We also thank Karen Barrie for graciously sharing her research into Kenneth M. Chapman including documents she obtained from the National Archives.

All photographs are by the authors.

References

Jonathan Batkin, The Native American Curio Trade in New Mexico, Wheelright Museum of the American Indian, 2008.

Jonathan Batkin, personal communication March 4, 2020.

Janet Chapman and Karen Barrie, Kenneth Milton Chapman: A Life Dedicated to Indian Arts and Artists, University of New Mexico, 2008.

Karen Barrie, personal communication, May 2010.

United States Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Reports and Documents Concerning the Activities of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, December 1, 1943.

Our Exciting New Project

In April 2020 we were approached by the Patania family to write a history of the Thunderbird Shops located in Santa Fe and Tucson. Not only are we honored to have been asked, we’re excited to take this on as our next project.

Having delved into a bit of the history of the Thunderbird Shop, especially the hallmarks used there, in Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry, we are somewhat familiar with the story we are tasked to tell.

But having access to Frank Jr, Sam and the family archives means we can convey the legacy of three generations of Patania artisans to its fullest.

Please excuse us during this time for the lack of new content here, but every spare minute is being devoted to photography, research and writing in an effort to have the Patania book in collector’s hands as soon as possible.

The Use of the Swastika Symbol in American Indian Art

One of the most popular designs incorporated into American Indian art during the tourist era— approximately 1890 to 1940—was the swastika symbol, common to most indigenous peoples the world over and used throughout time.

*Copper bookends by Morris Robinson (Hopi). The swastika design indicates they were made before 1940.*

There is historical precedence of the use of swastika-like designs by North American native peoples, who usually viewed the symbol as a representation of the four directions; for instance the Navajo use a design often referred to as “whirling logs” in sandpaintings,

1930s postcard showing Navajos creating a Whirling Log sandpainting, the design is similar to the swastika design.

and the Hopi paint a four-armed pinwheel design on rattles symbolizing the migrations of the clans across the continent.

Hopi rattle with four-armed migration symbol. — *Hopi rattle with four-armed migration symbol*.

A great deal of interest was generated in the swastika symbol around the turn of the twentieth century and was fueled in part by an 1894 report of the U.S. National Museum written by Thomas Wilson entitled The Swastika: The Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migrations. The symbol became a very popular design element representing good luck and was prevalent in period architecture, advertising, jewelry, and on good luck tokens. The Arizona Highway Department even used it as part of their emblem. Because of its popularity, traders encouraged Indian artists to use it on their crafts made for sale to the tourist trade. The design often appeared on silverwork, textiles, pottery, and basketry.

*Zia pottery tile ca. 1930s with painted swastika design.*

Beginning in 1934 East Coast dealers of Indian goods urged reservation traders to discourage native craftspeople from using the swastika as a design element because of its adoption by the German Nazi Party. When the Fred Harvey Company, a major dealer in Indian arts, issued a mail order catalog in 1938 the symbol had been discontinued from their products.

Fred Harvey mail order catalog published 1938. — *Fred Harvey mail order catalog published 1938*.

Popularity of the design waned, eventually resulting in a proclamation signed on February 28, 1940, in Tucson by representatives from the Hopi, Navajo, Apache, and Tohono O’odham (formerly Papago) tribes, renouncing and banning the use of the swastika on their artwork. The text of this parchment document read:

Because the above ornament which has been a symbol of friendship among our forefathers for many centuries has been desecrated recently by another nation of peoples, Therefore it is resolved that henceforth from this date on and forever more our tribes renounce the use of the emblem commonly known today as the swastika or fylfot on our blankets, baskets, art objects, sandpaintings and clothing.

*Postcard showing Indians from various southwest tribes signing a declaration that they would not use the swastika symbol on their artwork after February 28, 1940.*

It is likely that the signing of the document by members of southwest tribes was a form of public relations arranged by area traders to distance Indian handicrafts from the atrocities occurring overseas. Nevertheless, the inclusion of this symbol on Indian artwork was discontinued at that time.

There was a small resurgence of the use of the symbol in the 1970s, especially by some Anglo silversmiths who made jewelry to look like historic, or pawn, Navajo jewelry. Presently, Native artists occasionally attempt to reintroduce the symbol into their artwork, but it has been met with resistance.

Six bracelets, c. 1925, marked SOLID SILVER HAND MADE AT THE "INDIAN" GARDEN OF THE GODS-COLO, most include a form of the swastika design. — Six bracelets, c. 1925, marked SOLID SILVER HAND MADE AT THE “INDIAN” GARDEN OF THE GODS-COLO, most include a form of the swastika design.

The foregoing was adapted from our books Hopi & Pueblo Tiles: An Illustrated History and Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry: Artists, Traders, Guilds, and the Government.

Originally posted on our Goodreads.com blog February 15, 2017.

Hopi Pottery Tiles sold by Fred Harvey Company

Since the opening in April 2016 of the excellent Heard Museum exhibit Over the Edge: Fred Harvey at the Grand Canyon and in the Great Southwest, curated by Kathleen Howard and Diana Pardue…

Diana Pardue and Kathleen Howard. — *Co-Curators Diana Pardue and Kathleen Howard*.

We have been thinking again about the Hopi tiles sold by the Fred Harvey Company in the early twentieth century.

Rectangular Hopi tile, ca 1890-1910, with kachina mask design. — *Rectangular Hopi tile, ca 1890-1910, with kachina mask design*.

The Fred Harvey Company established the Indian Department in 1902, headquartered in the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque, as a museum and showroom, with the intent of promoting and selling Indian handmade goods in its chain of lodges, shops, and restaurants at locations throughout the West.

Outside the Indian Building of the Alvarado Hotel, Pueblo potters sold their wares to guests and train passengers. — *Outside the Indian Building of the Alvarado Hotel, Pueblo potters sold their wares to guests and train passengers*.

The Indian Department also wholesaled Indian-made crafts to dealers and curio shops in the east. By the first decade of the twentieth century the Fred Harvey Company had become the largest distributor of high-quality Indian arts in the United States.

*Rectangular Hopi tile, ca 1890s with full-bodied kachina design. The streaky yellow color is the result of a coat of varnish applied by a previous owner.*

From the 1900s to the 1930s the Harvey Company was also the biggest outlet for Hopi tiles. In a 1963 Plateau article titled “The Fred Harvey Collection 1899-1963”, Byron Harvey III, great-grandson of founder Fred Harvey, referred to the Harvey Company’s inventory when he wrote, “C.L. Owen obtained Hopi pottery from his residence in Toreva in 1913 and included tiles and flower pots. A letter, written in 1921, estimated that the company still had over 2,700 of these Hopi tiles.”

Hexagonal Hopi tiles, ca 1890. — *Hexagonal Hopi tiles, ca 1890, may have been made by only a handful of Hopi potters*.

The tiles sold through the Harvey Company came in only three shapes: square, rectangle and hexagon. They exhibit signs of being nearly mass-produced, many showing hurried manufacture resulting in poor quality, and they were marketed primarily to tourists. Thousands of tiles were made between 1895 and 1930, and nearly every institution with an inventory of Hopi pottery—such as the Heard Museum, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Denver Art Museum and the Brooklyn Museum—has one or more tiles with the ubiquitous Harvey Company sticker, FROM THE HOPI VILLAGES, attached to the back.

Though the Harvey Company sold the majority of these tiles (hence they are commonly termed “Fred Harvey tiles”), it is important to note that the company was not permitted to purchase directly from the Hopi until 1910, when Herman Schweizer, head of the Indian Department, was given permission by the government superintendent of the reservation. Until that time Harvey Company had obtained all Hopi crafts through reservation traders, especially Thomas Keam, although these traders did not sell solely to Fred Harvey.

Square Hopi tiles with kachina mask designs, measuring 3-3/8” square, ca 1890-1910. — *Square Hopi tiles with kachina mask designs, measuring 3-3/8” square, ca 1890-1910*.

The most common of these tiles are square in shape with the painted design of kachina masks. These tiles were made continuously for about thirty years, and vary minimally in size-typically 3-3/8” inches in height and width-this uniformity may indicate that molds were used in their production.

The painted designs were formulaic: most often two thin lines outline a single kachina mask. Perhaps ninety percent of Harvey tiles are decorated with kachina masks, as kachinas lent an exotic air while portraying tradition and authenticity to potential buyers, who were mostly tourists from the east unfamiliar with Indian pottery.

Most of the kachina masks are unidentifiable and fall into a category of fanciful depictions that are either conglomerations of various kachinas or otherwise altered masks. When actual masks are portrayed they are most often of Palhik Mana (Butterfly Maiden), Wakas (cow), Kipok (warrior), Koshare (Hano clown) or Qoqoqle (often referred to as the “Santa Claus” kachina). The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe has eighteen of these tiles in their collection, nine of which were originally shipped by trader Charles L. Owen from Toreva, Arizona to the Fred Harvey Company in 1913.

Hopi tiles were very popular, reaching their heyday in the first years of the twentieth century and peaking in the 1920s.

The Harvey Label

Back of Hopi tile with Fred Harvey label, ca 1890-1900. — *Back of Hopi tile with Fred Harvey label, ca 1890-1900*.

Byron Harvey III also discussed the “Fred Harvey label,” used by the Harvey Company in his 1963 article for Plateau. He reported that it was still in use at that time, and that the labels were intended as price stickers, as well as identifiers of origin, and cost codes were also recorded on them. The original label was rectangular with clipped edges, had a black border and measured approximately one inch by three-quarters of an inch in size.

*Typical label used by Fred Harvey Company on Hopi pottery.*

The typeface changed, presumably in the 1920s, to a sleeker Art Deco style, and a white outer border was added at the same time.

Less commonly seen variation of the Harvey label, ca 1920s. — *Less commonly seen variation of the Harvey label, ca 1920s*.

The most common label used was FROM THE HOPI VILLAGES, and it appeared on most Hopi pottery plus some kachina dolls sold through company stores. There were labels for other tribal affiliations-for example, “From the Pueblo of Santa Clara”. The stickers were used primarily from the 1900s to the 1930s and are less commonly seen on articles dating from the 1940s to the 1960s, perhaps reflecting the diminishing quantity of Indian crafts sold through the company after the 1930s.

The foregoing was derived from our book Hopi & Pueblo Tiles: An Illustrated History.

Originally published May 29, 2016 on our Goodreads.com blog.

In Defense of Barton Wright

There has been a tendency on the internet, specifically in FaceBook group pages, of American Indian art dealers and collectors referring to the late author and anthropologist Barton Wright as “Barton Wrong.” We can only assume this in reference to mistakes in his publications that have surfaced over the decades. Ironically, Barton would have been the first to admit there were errors in his books; even frankly acknowledging them in the introduction to Hallmarks of the Southwest:

Foremost among the points that must be kept in mind is the fact that this is not an exhaustive work but one, it is hoped, to which additional information may be added. Secondly the fact that there are errors in the data is fully recognized. However the impossibility of removing such errata is apparent when it may require a year to check out a single mark. The elimination of these mistakes requires the cooperation of craftsmen and those who work with them.

He not only understood, but recognized, that the research he conducted in the 1970s and 1980s would be built upon and corrected in the future. Yet, he continues to be criticized for those very errors.

The limitations in the scope and methodology of study available to Barton at the time of his research should be taken into consideration when judging the accuracy of his publications. Barton, and Margaret Wright in her own jewelry book Hopi Silver: The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing, did their research the hard way, before computers, the Internet or digital cameras. The work was long and painstaking back then.

It’s difficult for contemporary readers to comprehend the enormous task of constructing the original hallmark database in a pre-digital age. It’s also hard to think back to the time before the publication of any book containing hallmarks of Indian jewelry—as more than forty years have passed since the first printing of Hopi Silver—and how it would be nearly impossible today to reconstruct that data if it had not been recorded when it was. Where would the knowledge of southwestern Indian jewelry be now if it weren’t for the record of hallmarks that Barton compiled and published more than twenty-five years ago in Hallmarks of the Southwest? His work laid a foundation for further research and started dialogs that we all—collectors, dealers and academics—continue to this day.

It’s easy for people to criticize publications when they haven’t been through the rigors and sacrifices required to publish a book. We often think of a note that Barton sent us shortly before the publication of Hopi & Pueblo Tiles, where he stated, “I’m so pleased you are nearing your goal of a published book. I still think people who write books are masochists! And I suspect you will agree.” We are only now gaining a full appreciation for his use of the term masochist as we feel the occasional jab of criticism and controversy over our own hallmark book.

And it’s just not in the jewelry groups where people tend to disrespect Barton, it’s in the kachina groups as well. Why do kachina collectors feel the need to criticize his books? He only spent a lifetime studying, writing about and befriending the Hopi people. Some Hopis, such as Ross Josyesva, Jimmy Kewanwytewa’s stepson, believe that, “Barton knew more about Kachinas than most Hopis.” Barton’s Hopi Kachinas: The Complete Guide to Collecting Kachina Dolls, published in 1977, was the first book to focus on identifying and collecting kachina carvings. What reference would collectors and dealers use if it weren’t for this book and the others that Barton published in his lifetime?

It is not merely disrespectful, but arrogant and rude to refer to a scholar who was considered the foremost authority on Hopi culture and kachinas in his lifetime as “Barton Wrong,” especially now that he isn’t here to defend his work.

A Tribute

Barton Allen Wright was born in Bisbee, Arizona in 1920 to Roy and Anna Wright; Roy was a miner and the family moved often while Barton was young. They eventually settled in Mohave County where he graduated from Kingman High School. Barton acquired a vast knowledge of northwestern Arizona, and held a pilot’s license for the Colorado River; from 1940 to 1942 he and a friend ran the ferry at the site that would become Davis Dam.

During World War II Barton served in the Army, seeing combat on New Guinea and in the Philippines. After returning home he married Margaret Nickelson and they raised two children. Also after the war, he graduated from the University of Arizona, trained in archaeology and anthropology. His Masters Thesis was on Catclaw Cave on the Colorado River, a site he dug in 1949 with his new wife Margaret and two friends. He then began his career as an artist for Arizona State Museum.

In the early 1950s Barton worked as the archaeologist at Town Creek Indian Mound State Park in Mt. Gilead, North Carolina, and later for the Amerind Foundation at an excavation near Tumacacori. The Wrights moved to Flagstaff in 1955 when Barton became curator of the Museum of Northern Arizona. In 1977 the Museum of Man, in San Diego’s Balboa Park, recruited him as the Director of Scientific Research. Retirement beckoned and six years later Barton and Margaret moved to Phoenix where he continued to research and write about the southwest.

Among his many accomplishments was a body of published work of over twenty books and numerous articles that he wrote or contributed to, as well as serving on the Editorial Advisory Board of American Indian Art magazine from it’s inception in 1974 until his death in 2011.

Barton was a long time student of southwestern Indian history, especially interested in the Hopi people and their religion. He was a talented painter and graphic artist who illustrated many of his own publications as well as those of other authors. He was a patient and kind mentor, never once doubting that Pat and I would contribute to the field of American Indian art, lack of academic degrees notwithstanding.

*Thanks to Alan Ferg for much of the biographical info above, some of which was published in Catclaw Cave.

See previous blog post for a listing of published works by Barton Wright.

Charcoal sketch of pueblo water carrier by Barton Wright. — *Charcoal sketch of pueblo water carrier by Barton Wright*.

Oil painting, "The Quiet Plaza" by Barton Wright. — *Oil painting, “The Quiet Plaza” by Barton Wright*.

Drawing of Patusunqola, one of the four chiefs of direction, by Barton Wright. — *Drawing of Patusunqola, one of the four chiefs of direction, by Barton Wright (signed “Tizhme” as a private joke)*.

Scratchboard by Barton Wright. — *Scratchboard by Barton Wright*.

Originally published on our Goodreads.com blog December 27, 2015.

Published Works of Barton Wright

(Compiled to the best of our ability, and likely incomplete)

Books

1962 – This is a Hopi Kachina, with Evelyn Roat. Flagstaff: Museum of Northern Arizona.

1973 – Kachinas: A Hopi Artist’s Documentary, illustrated by Cliff Bahnimptewa. Flagstaff: Northland Press, and Phoenix: Heard Museum.

1974 – Nampeyo, Hopi Potter: Her Artistry and Her Legacy, exhibition catalog. Fullerton: Muckenthaler Cultural Center.

1975 – Kachinas: The Barry Goldwater Collection at the Heard Museum, with Barry Goldwater and photographs by Jerry Jacka. Phoenix: W. A. Krueger Company and Heard Museum.

1975 – The Unchanging Hopi: An Artist’s Interpretation In Scratchboard Drawings And Text. Flagstaff: Northland Press.

1976 – Pueblo Shields from the Fred Harvey Fine Arts Collection. Flagstaff: Northland Press.

1977 – Hopi Kachinas: The Complete Guide to Collecting Kachina Dolls. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing.

1979 – Hopi Material Culture: Artifacts Gathered by H. R. Voth in the Fred Harvey Collection. Flagstaff: Northland Press and Phoenix: Heard Museum.

1982 – Year of the Hopi: Paintings and Photographs By Joseph Mora, 1904-1906, with Tyrone Stewart, Frederick Dockstader. New York: Rizzoli International Publications.

1986 – The Hopi Photographs: Kate Cory, 1905-1912, with Marnie Gaede & Marc Gaede. La Canada: Chaco Press.

1986 – Kachinas of the Zuni. Flagstaff: Northland Press.

1988 – Patterns and Sources of Zuni Kachinas, with Bill Harmsen and Clara Lee Tanner, illustrated by Reese Koontz. Denver: The Harmsen Publishing Company.

1988 – The Mythic World Of The Zuni, Frank Hamilton Cushing, edited and illustrated by Barton Wright. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

1989 – Hallmarks of the Southwest, in cooperation with the Indian Arts and Crafts Association. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

1991 – Kachinas: A Hopi Artist’s Documentary, illustrated by Cliff Bahnimptewa. Flagstaff, Northland Publishing, reprint of first published in 1973.

1994 – Kachina: poupees rituelles des Indiens Hopi et Zuni, exhibition catalog, 30 juin-2 octobre 1994, with Marie-Elizabeth Laniel-Le François, and others. Marseille: Musées de Marseille.

1994 – Clowns of the Hopi: Tradition Keepers and Delight Makers, photographs by Jerry Jacka. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing.

1994 – Enduring Traditions: Art of the Navajo, with Lois Essary Jacka and illustrated by Jerry Jacka. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing.

1997 – Pueblo Cultures, Iconography of Religions. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers.

2000 – Hallmarks of the Southwest, Revised & Expanded 2nd Edition. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

2003 – Esprit Kachina: Poupees, Mythes et Ceremonies Chez les Indiens Hope et Zuni. (Kachina Spirit: Dolls, Myths and Ceremonies of the Hopi and Zuni Indians). with Pierre Amrouche, Nathalie Rheims, Francine Ndiaye, Paris: Galerie Flak.

2006 – Classic Hopi and Zuni Kachina Figures, photographs by Andrea Portago, includes “Pueblo Cultures, An Essay” by the author. Albuquerque: Museum of New Mexico Press.

2007 – Hopi & Pueblo Tiles: An Illustrated History, Kim Messier and Pat Messier, Foreword by Barton Wright. Tucson: Rio Nuevo Publishers.

2008 – Catclaw Cave, Lower Colorado River, Arizona, edited by Alan Ferg. Tucson: Arizona Archaeological Society; The Arizona Archaeologist No 37.

2014 – Kachinas: A Hopi Artist’s Documentary, paintings by Clifford Bahnimptewa, foreword by Ann Marshall. Albuquerque: Museum of New Mexico Press, reprint of first published in 1973.

Articles

1950 – “The Zanardelli Site, Arizona BB:13:12”, in The Kiva Vol 16, No 3, with Rex E. Gerald, The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society.

1956 – “A New Pleistocene Bighorn Sheep From Arizona”, with Claude W. Hibbard, in Journal of Mammalogy, Vol 37, No 1.

1975 – “Hopi Kachina – Feather Controversy” in Ray Manley’s Southwestern Indian Arts and Crafts, Tucson: Ray Manley Photography.

1976 – “Anasazi Murals”, American Indian Art, Vol 1, No 2

1976 – “Kachinas” in Arizona Highways Indian Arts and Crafts, Clara Lee Tanner, ed. Phoenix: Arizona Highways

1976 – “Tabletas, A Pueblo Art”, American Indian Art, Vol 1, No 3.

1977 – “Hopi Tiles”, American Indian Art, Vol 2, No 4.

1979 – Book review of Hopi Painting: The World of the Hopis by Patricia Janis Broder, American Indian Art, Vol 4, no 4.

1980 – “Museum Collection: San Diego Museum of Man”, American Indian Art, Vol 5, No 4.

1982 – Book review of Southwestern Indian Ritual Drama, edited by Charlotte J. Frisbie, American Indian Art, Vol 7, No 2.

1984 – “Kachina Carvings”, American Indian Art, Vol 9, No 2.

1991 – “Initials, Symbols and Secret Codes”, Inter-Tribal America, Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial.

1992 – “Pueblo Shields”, American Indian Art, Vol 17, No 2.

1995 – “Clifford Bahnimptewa”, American Indian Art, Vol 21, No 1.

1995 – “Muriel Navasie,” American Indian Art, Vol 21, No 1.

2008 – “Hopi Kachinas: A Life Force” in Hopi Nation: Essays on Indigenous Art, Culture, History and Law, edited by Edna Glenn, John R. Wunder, Willard Hughes Rollings, and C. L. Martin. Lincoln: UNL Digital Commons.

As Illustrator

1959 – Master of the Moving Sea: The Life of Captain Peter John Riber Mathieson, from his Anecdotes, Manuscripts, Notes, Stories and Detailed Records, Gladys M. O. Gowlland. Flagstaff: J. F. Colton & Co.

1960 – Throw Stone, The First American Boy 25,000 Years Ago, E.B. Sayles and Mary Ellen Stevens. Chicago: Reilly & Lee Co.

1960 – Column South: With the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Suzanne Colton Wilson. Flagstaff: J.F. Colton & Co.

1962 – Little Cloud and the Great Plains Hunters 15,000 Years Ago, Mary Ellen Stevens and E.B. Sayles. Chicago: Reilly & Lee Books.

1962 – Seed Plants of Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments with Keys for the Identification of Species, W. B. McDougall, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin No 37. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona Society of Science and Art.

1964 – Grand Canyon Wild Flowers, W.B. McDougall., Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin No 43. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona Society of Science and Art.

1968 – The Age Of Dinosaurs In Northern Arizona, William J. Breed. Flagstaff: Museum of Northern Arizona.

1974 – Hopi Silver: The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing, Margaret Wright. Flagstaff: Northland Press.

1980 – Rivers of Remembrance, Diego Pérez de Luxán, Marilyn Francis. Quality Publications.

Discussed in:

1995 – Town Creek Indian Mound: A Native American Legacy, Joffre Lanning Coe. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Originally published on our Goodreads.com blog December 27, 2015.

The End of an Era

(This is Kim’s homage to the seminal magazine of Native American art research, which sadly ceased publication in 2015.)

In November 1975, when the inaugural issue of American Indian Art magazine was released, I was 14 years old, and Native American art was the furthest thing from my thoughts.

First cover of American Indian Art magazine.

Nine years later I made my first serious purchase of antique Indian art, a Hopi wedding basket from the 1920s, at an antique fair in Glendale, California (for $50, a bargain even back then, and a basket which is still in the collection, by the way). As Indian art grew from an interest, into a full-blown obsession, I became aware of the magazine. It was full of ads from prominent dealers and fascinating articles on things I could only dream of owning; I was enthralled well before I came to realize the significance of the articles and their authors. Pat and I subscribed and then searched for the back issues we did not have. I looked forward to every issue, it became an accomplice of my addiction, like the spoon that held the heroin.

Cover of the last issue of American Indian Art magazine.

Now American Indian Art magazine has announced it’s final issue will be published in August, after 40 years of quarterly publications, 160 issues in all. I will miss it with every fiber of my being.

For me, whose particular passion is historic southwestern art and the tourist era 1880-1940, there was always something to read and discuss in each issue, whether it was legal (NAGPRA) updates, book reviews or even the dealer’s ads. I also liked how professional it was, how it artfully walked the line between academia and popular writing; how, like no other periodical, it focused on antique Indian art (but not exclusively).

It could be said that American Indian Art introduced us to Barton and Margaret Wright, literally. If we had not devoured Barton’s article “Hopi Tiles”, especially the bibliography, in the Autumn 1977 issue then Pat would not have contacted Barton to ask where we could obtain Suzanne Love’s master’s thesis “Hopi Tiles”. In his gracious manner, Barton invited us to their home and allowed us to have a copy made of his personal copy of the thesis; this was the beginning of perhaps the most influential friendship in our lives, and one that would lead us to our own publishing adventures.

Hopi Tiles article by Barton Wright. — *We never did figure out why a Zia tile was the leading image of the article…*

It was one of my great desires to be published in American Indian Art. We actually had a brilliant idea, one that likely would have passed the prestigious editorial advisory board, but the timing was bad so we declined to move forward for professional and personal reasons. Now that dream has come to an end.

After August 1, 2015 there will be no more articles about historic Pueblo pottery, or Navajo weavings, katsina dolls, southwestern jewelry, Navajo horse trappings, Apache playing cards, Plains beadwork, California basketry, or hundreds of other aspects of American Indian art. Will these articles find a new venue or be relegated to obscure anthropology journals?

Publisher Mary Hamilton and staff (shout out to editor Tobi Lopez Taylor), should be congratulated for forty years of publishing success. But I’m too heartbroken to extend any other accolades. I have never known a time during my collecting/researching/publishing avocation that did not include American Indian Art magazine. Will there ever be another periodical to fill the very large void being left behind?

Originally published on our Goodreads.com blog July 10, 2015.