"The 6½-by-8½-inch dry-plate camera seemed to suit [Curtis] best. Time and again, ‘The Chief' . . . turned to the favored old Reversible-Back Premo. . . . No gadgets; just a camera, tripod, focusing cloth, and film."
~ Jean-Antony Du Lac, 1976
Edward S. Curtis in a canoe
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~ Edward S. Curtis in a speech, title and date unknown
Edward S. Curtis driving
a team of horses
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On one occasion, the burro that was carrying Curtis' photographic equipment fell down a canyon, shattering the precious camera. Curtis spent hours painstakingly piecing the camera back together. For the rest of the field season, he used the broken camera lashed together with a rope.
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"When the Navajo does not know the answer, he says, ‘Whoola.' . . . This I do know. That for six years more the work will be driven to the limits of endurance. After that there will be a little more leisure."
~ Edward S. Curtis in a lecture at the University of Washington, 1907
Despite the optimism of his forecasts, Curtis devoted 30 years to the North American Indian Project.
The North American Indian, Vol. V, 1909
Portfolio plate 170 "Horse Capture-Atsina"
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The North American Indian, Vol. V, 1909, Portfolio plate 172 "Atsina Chiefs"
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The North American Indian, Vol. V, 1909,
Portfolio plate 175 "Atsina Camp"
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The North American Indian
Vol. V, 1909,
Portfolio plate 176 "The Scout-Atsina"
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