Ludwig Winternitz photograph collection

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sova.nmai.ac.169

Provenance: Gifts of Ludwig Winternitz received in multiple lots between 1926 and 1931.

Culture: Seminole; Payómkawichum (Luiseño); Odawa (Ottawa); Michigan Chippewa

Summary: This collection contains photographic prints and copy negatives taken and collected by Ludwig Winternitz between 1920-1930. The photographs taken by Ludwig Winternitz depict various indigenous communities within the United States, including Seminole communities in Florida taken circa 1920, Chippewa communities in Michigan taken in August 1927, Payómkawichum (Luiseño) communities in California taken in 1930, and Odawa (Ottawa) communities in Michigan taken in 1926. P09759-P09764 were taken by an unknown photographer circa 1930.

Biographical / Historical: Ludwig Winternitz, who later anglicized his name to "Louis," was a professional photographer born in Prague in 1854. In 1884, he emigrated to the United States and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he married Clara Kadish in 1885. Between 1920 and 1930, Winternitz traveled across the United States and photographed Native American communities in Florida, California, Michigan, and Oklahoma. Some of his photography work, such as the photographs of Seminole communities taken in Florida, was carried out for individual contractors. In 1924, Winternitz gifted his photograph collections to the Chicago Field Museum, parts of which subsequently went to the National Anthropological Archives and the National Museum of the American Indian. He died in San Diego, California in 1933 at age 79.

Type: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Photographic prints; Copy negatives

Citation: Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Ludwig Winternitz photograph collection, image #, NMAI.AC.169; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Processing Information: Collection record written by Mikaela Hamilton, Archives Center Intern in 2021.

Rights: Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.

Scope and Contents: This collection contains 69 photographic prints and 31 copy negatives taken and collected by Ludwig Winternitz between 1920-1930. Copy negatives include N36225-N36248; N36342-N36345; N36475; N36482-N36483. Photographic prints include P08224-P08269; P08374-P08384; P08983-P08987; P09412; P09745; P09759-P09764. The collection depicts various indigenous communities within the United States, including Seminole communities in Florida taken circa 1920, Michigan Chippewa communities taken in Charlevoix, Michigan in August 1927, Payómkawichum (Luiseño) communities in California taken in 1930, Odawa (Ottawa) communities in Michigan taken in 1926, and unidentified individuals in Oklahoma taken circa 1930. The photographs depict candid photographs, posed outdoor portraits, and indoor portraits. Identified individuals include Jose Bill (Seminole), Sam Huff (Seminole), Cypress Charlie (Seminole), Chief Frank Greenleaf (Odawa), Chief Shomin (Odawa), George Pontiac (Odawa), James Walker (Odawa), and Charlie Tommie, also known as Shirttail Charlie (Seminole). Identified non-Native individuals include Reverend. F. Ignatius of Pala Mission, California (non-Native). Also included are several portraits (P09759-P09764) taken circa 1930 by an unknown photographer depicting a man identified only as "Redwing," likely Oklahoma Cherokee, in an unknown location.

Restrictions: P08241 is restricted due to cultural sensitivity. Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Related Materials: Negatives related to the photographs taken in Fort Myers, Florida can be found in Photo Lot 89-8, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. Additional related negatives can be found in the Field Museum of Natural History, Photography Department, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605-2496. Prints corresponding to 61 of the copy negatives within this collection are held in the William C. Sturtevant papers, 1952-2007, NAA.2008-24.

NMAI.AC.169

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv496e92fd4-5a3d-4901-b0e2-38340ba3c68b

NMAI.AC.169

NMAIA