History Bound, LLC

Founded in 1885, Kurz & Allison is well known for its production of commemorative prints of American historical scenes using the chromolithograph printing process. Drawn in a broad, graphic style that developed from Kurz’s background as a muralist, these prints have a striking appearance that makes them not only interesting historical images but also excellent decorative prints.

Battle of Tippecanoe

The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought on November 7, 1811, between United States forces led by Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and Native American warriors associated with the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa (commonly known as “The Prophet”) were leaders of a confederacy of Native Americans from various tribes that opposed U.S. expansion into Native territory. As tensions and violence increased, Governor Harrison marched with an army of about 1,000 men to disperse the confederacy’s headquarters at Prophetstown, near the confluence of the Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers.

Tecumseh

Tecumseh was away recruiting allies when Harrison’s army arrived. Tenskwatawa, a spiritual leader but not a military man, was in charge. Harrison camped near Prophetstown on November 6 and arranged to meet with Tenskwatawa the following day. Early the next morning, warriors from Prophetstown attacked Harrison’s army. Although the outnumbered attackers took Harrison’s army by surprise, Harrison and his men stood their ground for more than two hours. The Natives were ultimately repulsed when their ammunition ran low. After the battle, the Natives abandoned Prophetstown.

Harrison

Tenskwatawa

Battle

Harrison Begay (Haskay Yahne Yah, “Warrior Who Walked Up to His Enemy”) (November 15, 1914 – August 18, 2012) was a renowned Navajo painter, perhaps the most famous of his generation.

Harrison Begay was born as Bert Begay in White Cone, AZ on the Navajo reservation, to Black Rock and Zonnie Tachinie Begay. His mother belonged to the Zuni White Corn Clan, and his father was Walk Around Clan / Near Water Clan.

Harrison Begay at age 89

He was raised traditionally; speaking Navajo, living in a hogan, and herding his family’s sheep and goats. He would often draw while herding sheep. When he was about eight, Harrison left to attend a government boarding school. He changed his name to Harrison at this time. It was at school that Harrison learned to speak English.

In 1933, Harrison entered the Santa Fe Indian School to study art under Dorothy Dunn (1903–1990) in her new Studio School. He was one of Dunn’s star students. His classmates included Gerald Nailor, Quincy Tahoma, Geronima Montoya and Andrew Tsihnahjinnie.

"War Dance". Beautiful silk screen (serigraph)

Following art school, Harrison attended college and then enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II. Begay served in the US Army Signal Corps from 1942 to 1945.

During his service, Harrison was assigned to communications, and served in Normandy, Germany, France, and Iceland. He was wounded in France while setting up a communications line. After being shot, he fell from the telephone pole, and down a 300 ft. canyon cliff. A tree broke his fall and saved his life. Eight months later after recuperating from a broken back and bones in an English hospital, he was released from duty.

After returning from the service, Begay became one of the first Native American artists to support himself by painting full-time.

Harrison Begay at work

Begay specialized in watercolors and silkscreen prints. His most familiar subjects are Navajo people in ceremonial and daily life, horses and riders, and deer.

Deer

In recognition of his contributions to Native American art Begay was awarded the French government’s Palmes Académiques in 1954.

In the 1960s Begay met General Eisenhower, who he served under, at the annual Ceremonials in Gallup, New Mexico. At that time Harrison presented General Eisenhower with one of his paintings which is in a permanent collection in Washington, D.C.

"Hoop Dance" Beautiful silk screen (serigraph)

His work has been included in a vast number of public and private collections of Native American art, including the Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Northern Arizona, the Heard Museum, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, the Wheelwright Museum, the Southwest Museum, the Philbrook Museum, the Gilcrease Museum, and many more.

Begay won two grand awards at the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial and has been a consistent winner at state and tribal fairs. In 1995, he was awarded the Native American Masters Award by the Heard Museum. In 2003, he won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, the organizers of the annual Santa Fe Indian Market.

Original watercolor by Harrison Begay.

Close up of original watercolor by Harrison Begay.

Calendars have been part of civilizations for thousands of years. Different calendars have been used at different times. One of the most common calendars used today is a solar calendar. Lunar calendars are used, but I am writing a blog and not a book so I am keeping this short. The solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun. This can be tricky; the solar year is not exactly 365 days long. It is closer to 365 solar days, 5 hours 49 minutes and some seconds.

The Gregorian calendar is considered the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, in 1582. The motivation for the Gregorian improvement was that the Julian calendar, named after Julius Caesar, was inaccurate and gained about three days every four centuries.

The improved calendar was adopted later that year by a handful of countries, with other countries adopting it over the following centuries.

OK, lesson over. At some point someone got the clever idea of adding illustrations to calendars. The calendar became art as well as functional. You can find a calendar theme on just about any subject you can imagine. Here is a look at some of the calendars we have found.

Original 1917 advertising calendar. Compliments of Mathew Hall - Lumber and Building Supplies. St. Cloud, Minnesota. Artwork is by Frank Stick - "Moose Call".

Original 1921 Advertising calendar. Compliments of: Mathew Hall - Lumber and Building Materials. Artwork is a great Philip R. Goodwin hunting scene.

Original 1918 advertising calendar. Compliments of Mathew Hall - Lumber and Building Materials. St. Cloud, Minnesota. Complete 1918 calendar.

Original WWI era calendar. January 1919 . Entitled: "The Battlefields". Poster shows Italian, American, German, French, Scottish and English soldiers all hailing the Maiden of the Battlefields. Complete 1919 calendar.

Original 1931 Boy Scouts of America Calendar. "Scout Memories". Painted by Norman Rockwell. In the scene Dan Beard is telling a story to a seated Scout. Complete monthly calendar plus a "Scout Record" of yearly activities is under the artwork.

Great 1962-1963 Hamm's Beer Sports calendar.

original 1919 advertising calendar. "Conquest of the Wilderness. Compliments of Mathew Hall - Lumber and building Materials. St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance company large advertising calendar.

Fine unused 1963 calendar advertising Jim's Standard Service

1954 Advertising calendar from Moore's Food Market and Variety

Shorty's Texaco 1952 Calendar. Candor N.Y.

This is just a sample of the many items we have on our website.

We hope you enjoy looking through them as you explore the ever changing treasures within.

Scrimshaw is an art form that dates back over 200 years to the whaling days of New England.

Walrus Tusk Whaling Scrimshaw 1866

The making of scrimshaw began on whaling ships around 1745 to 1759. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth of sperm whales, the baleen of other whales, and the tusks of walruses. It takes the form of elaborate engravings in the form of pictures and lettering on the surface of the bone or tooth. Originally, candle black, soot or tobacco juice would have been used to bring the etched design into view.

Under the scene is marked "Harpooner".

Original antique walrus tusk. Fine scrimshaw work. Carved by F.S. Redfield and dated 1866. Carved on the 1865-1866 whaling voyage of the Brig Manuella. Hailing Port - San Francisco, California. Measures Measures 16″ in length. Weight 1 lb., 10oz. Includes Large scene of the Brig itself. Also has a handsome scene of the brig with a sailor with his harpoon. Under the scene is marked “Harpooner”. The name of the ship, carver’s name and date are also scrimshawed. This remarkable piece of whaling history came from the estate of an advanced collector. The Master of the Brig Manuella was R.S. Redfield, brother of the sailor who carved this piece. Master Redfield took the Manuella on two whaling voyages - 1865 and 1866. The third and final voyage of the Manuella was in 1871 with Alonzo Herendeen as its Master. The Brig Manuella was lost in a storm in 1871 off the Baja Coast. There is an area on the West Coast of Baja Mexico called Laguna Manuela. This was named after the wreck of the Brig Manuella which sank near there. The data on this ship and her voyages is in the National Maritime Library. Unique, scarce, investment grade piece of whaling history.

Dated 1866

The Brig Manuella. The name of the ship

Carved by F.S. Redfield

Detail

Botanical artist and royal flower painter Pierre-Joseph Redoute (1759-1840) gained international recognition for his precise renderings of plants. Redoute, contributed over 2100 published plates depicting over 1800 different species, many never rendered before.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Joseph_Redout%C3%A9

P.J. Redoute "Olea Fragrans" print.

Populus Graeaca - Peuplier d'Athenes.

"Celtis Occidentalis "

Louis Kurz was known early in his career as a portraitist and landscape artist. Mr. Kurz emigrated, from Austria, and settled on Wisconsin in 1849. Over time Kurz’s art transitioned from making photograph-like renderings of people and street scenes to creating highly dramatized and imaginative representations of battles of the Civil War. Mr. Kurz was friends with President Lincoln.

Wonderful Kurz & Allison chromolithograph. Superb colors. Produced 1889.

His 1880 partnership with Alexander Allison launched the lithography firm of Kurz & Allison of Chicago to national prominence with the production of thirty-six chromolithographs of significant Civil War battles.

Perry's Victory on Lake Erie. Beautiful colors. Elaborate workmanship.

The compositions were highly stylized with brilliant colors that make the images highly decorative.

Fall of Petersburg. Remarkable colors.

These original chromolithographs are highly sought after my collectors.

Thomas Rowlandson (1756 -1827) was an English artist and caricaturist.

He was born in the City of London, the son of a successful businessman. Thomas learned to draw before he could write and by the time he was ten he was spending all his free time drawing. After attending Eton he became a student at the Royal Academy. At sixteen he left for France where he spent two years at a drawing school in Paris.

Clerkenwell Cavalry, by Thomas Rowlandson. Rowlandson Delin. London Pub. Nov. 1, 1798, at Ackermann's Gallery, 101 Strand.

In 1777 Rowlandson opened a studio in Wardour Street where he established himself as a portrait painter. Rowlandson also traveled a great deal in Europe where he drew pictures of his experiences. Rowlandson became friends with James Gillray, the leading caricaturist in London. Rowlandson was a heavy gambler and after losing the money he inherited from a rich aunt, he paid his debts with drawings of popular and low-life subjects. He produced a body of erotic prints and woodcuts, many of which would be considered pornographic today.

Lambeth Cavalry, by Thomas Rowlandson. Rowlandson Delin. London Pub. Nov. 1, 1798, at Ackermann's Gallery, 101 Strand.

In the 1780s Rowlandson painted fewer portraits and tended to concentrate on drawing. Rowlandson had his work published in journals such as the English Review and The Poetical Magazine. Rowlandson also illustrated books, including those written by Henry Fielding, Oliver Goldsmith and Laurence Sterne. Rowlandson also worked with Tobias George Smollett, whose radical books resulted in him being sent to prison for libel. Some of Rowlandson’s political cartoons also got him in trouble and he was accused by his critics of being “coarse and indelicate”.

Loyal Islington Volunteer Cavalry, attributed to Thomas Rowlandson. London Pub. July. 24, 1799, at Ackermann's Gallery, 101 Strand.

In 1808 Rowlandson began working with Rudolph Ackermann, a talented lithographer, who had started publishing a series of attractive colour-plate books. This included The Microcosm of London, a book published in three volumes between 1808 and 1811. The text of the first two volumes was written by William Pyne and the third volume by William Combe. The Microcosm of London was illustrated with 104 hand-coloured aquatint plates. Whereas Augustus Pugin supplied the drawings of the buildings, it was Rowlandson’s task to paint the people in the pictures.

In the 1930s the Great Northern Railroad began an aggressive advertising campaign to promote their hotels at Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Many of their advertising pieces had Blackfoot Indian scenes. These were included on calendars, brochures, railroad menus etc. The artwork was so popular that it is highly collected today. Some people collect just the menus. Others prefer the various calendars. We have shown several of the various original framed prints recently acquired from an estate in Minnesota.

The Sign Talkers Great Northern Railroad Print

Bull Head Blackfeet Medicine Man 1938 Print

Blackfoot Indians of Glacier National Park Prints