INDIAN CHILD LIFE

This auction is for an original 1899 1ST EDITION! of "INDIAN CHILD LIFE" written by Therese O. Deming.  YOU'LL LOVE THIS BOOK!!!  It is beautifully ILLUSTRATED BY EDWIN WILLARD DEMING!!!  A multi-faceted artist best known for his depictions of Native Americans, Deming had a long-standing relationship with Native Americans.  As a child he played with Sac, Fox, and Winnebago Indian children in western Illinois and later lived among Indians for thirty-one years. During Deming's first trip to the American West in 1887, he visited the Apache and Pueblo Indians in the Southwest, and the Umatillas in Oregon.  In 1893, Deming spent time among the Sioux and Crow Indians to write and illustrate about life among these people for "Outing" magazine. On one of his infrequent trips to New York City, Deming married Therese Osterheld, who was also an artist. He and his bride spent their honeymoon camping among the Navaho, Zuni, and Hopi tribes of the South West.  This inspired his wife to write eleven books on Indian life and lore. They raised their six children out West where the Blackfeet Indians adopted the family and gave Deming the name "Eight Bears."  Later, the family moved back to New York City where their home in Greenwich Village was called "The Lodge of the Eight Bears."  Deming was committed to depicting the unspoiled Indian, a mission he perceived as trying to make amends for corrupting their culture.  His murals of Indian life are in the American Museum of Natural History and in the Museum of the American Indian.  This book is filled with 50+ pages of tales and short stories about the lives of Indian children.  It is beautifully illustrated with lots of FULL PAGE COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS! 

The subject of Indian child life has been but very lightly treated by ethnologist. Both parents alike were entirely devoted to their children, and bestowed upon them the fullest expression of affection and solicitude. The relation of parent to child brings out all the highest traits of Indian character.

Children of both sexes have toys and games, the girls inclining to dolls and "playing house," while the boys turn to bows, riding, and marksmanship. Girls are their mothers' companions and are initiated at an early period into all the arts of home life-sewing, cooking, weaving, and whatever else may pertain to their later duties. The boys as naturally pattern frown their fathers in hunting, riding, or boating. Boys and girls alike are carefully instructed by their elders, not only in household arts and hunting methods, but also in the code of ethics, the traditions, and the religious ideas pertaining to the tribe.  The Demings demonstrate this through these delightful stories accompanied by numerous full page color plates after painting in water color, coupled with black and white illustrations.

Published in 1899, this book is in FAIRLY GOOD CONDITION! for its age and especially to be 110 YEARS OLD!!! All pages are present. The interior is overall neat and clean. The pages are firmly bound. There is mild foxing and very light finger soil/blemishes in the margin areas on a couple of pages. While there are no major tears, there are slight rips on the bottom of a few pages, not interfering with text or illustrations. An example of this can be found below pictured in the Title page. The hinges do have wear on them, yet the remain bound and attached.  There is a scribbled name on the back end page. The exterior covers have a clear, permanent laminated protection cover. Despite these small issues, this book and its story content, accompanied by illustrations, are just as charming as they can be. It is a RARE!!! book that a search of a major internet book site reveals this to be ONE OF ONLY EIGHT AVAILABLE!!! at the time of this listing so...GET IT WHILE YOU CAN!!!