An early work from the American Museum of Natural History, Dixon provides plates illustrating over 160 exquisite baskets.
One of the earliest-noted and prime characteristics of the Indians of California is the great development among them of the art of basket-making. Not only did they excel in technique, in producing water-tight baskets of both the coiled and twined varieties, but also in the extent to which they developed the purely artistic side of basket-making in the elaboration of designs and methods of ornamentation. Carving and painting were, as far as we know, not numbered among the arts of this portion of the Pacific coast; pottery was unknown; and decoration in dress was, if we except the feather ornaments used at dances, as a rule, of the simplest sort in comparison with the elaborate and often profuse decoration found among many of the Indians of the plains. The California Indians were, therefore, practically confined, for the expression of their artistic sense, to basketry alone; and possibly this concentration of effort will afford a partial explanation, at least, of the great perfection to which the art was carried.
This 6-1/2" x 9-1/2", soft cover book contains 108 pages (32 pages of text and 37 full page plates of baskets and descriptions over 160 baskets in total).