Sender: Rare book and manuscripts <EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU>
Hamill Foundation Contributes Rare Volume
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The Cushing Memorial Library and Archives at Texas A&M has acquired a major
volume of early American illustration and ethnography, James Otto Lewis's *The
Aboriginal Portfolio* (1835-36). This important addition to the rare and
special collections of Cushing Library was funded through the generous
support of The Hamill Foundation of Houston.
"We are very grateful to The Hamill Foundation for this stunning acquisition
and for their role as partners in collection building. *The Aboriginal
Portfolio* represents the first attempt at a collection of portraits of
North American Indians. It complements other works recently acquired in
this genre, including works by George Catlin and McKenney and Hall,"
explained Steven E. Smith, associate dean and director of Cushing Memorial
Library and Archives. Last year The Hamill Foundation, long time supporters
of the University Libraries, contributed another icon of Western Americana,
a first edition of the official account of Lewis and Clark's expedition.
*The Aboriginal Portfolio *contains the work of James Otto Lewis, a painter
and engraver, who depicted notable figures and events during treaty
expeditions to native American tribes in the Great Lakes region in 1825.
Recognized as one of the earliest large projects in American color printing,
the volume is also one of the rarest American nineteenth-century color plate
books.