George Catlin papers, undated, 1821-1904

Letters to and from Catlin, including two written while traveling in the west in the 1830s. Also found are family letters and several letters of support from Henry Clay, John Adams Dix, Ralph Randolph Gurley, James Hall, William Henry Seward, Thomas Sully (illustrated), and Baron Friederich von Humbolt, among others. Most wish Catlin well and offer support in his endeavors to promote and sell his collection. Folder headings include all oversize material.

This series includes several handwritten notebooks by Catlin, as well as printed memorials and petitions written by Catlin. Also found is a handwritten French translation of Catlin's 1845 exhibition catalog and a partial handwritten manuscript "Travels in Europe." The subscription notebook was originally created circa 1825 to record subscription sales for a printed version of a portrait of the Hon. Tapping Reeve, a Connecticut judge painted by Catlin. The printing was never actually undertaken, however, and the book was later used in 1841 as a memo book during Catlin's stay in London. Of particular interest are the Notebooks numbered 6 and 7. Both contain notes about Catlin's paintings and exhibitions, as well as cultural information about the Indian tribes, such as name translations. One notebook describes a Mandan battle in gruesome detail.

This series includes bound and loose accounts, receipts, and invoices, primarily those of George Catlin for his travels in Europe associated with the exhibitions, as well as receipts for advertising and space rental for the exhibitions. One account book is marked on the cover "Clara B. Catlin Account Book", which actually documents book sales. Also found is one very small bound green daybook decorated with metal tabs and a cover label engraved, "Souvenir." It is unclear who is the author of the entries. Inside is a handwritten inscription dated 1827 on the title page, along with an illegible name. The book includes notes, addresses, account entries, and "doodles." Folder headings include all oversize material.

Printed catalogs and duplicates for the Indian Gallery exhibitions in the United States and Europe. The series is arranged chronologically by publication date. Duplicate copies are grouped together in folders. Folder headings include all oversize material.

This series consists of exhibition announcements, certifications of authenticity for Catlin's portraits and other paintings, miscellaneous broadsides, announcements, clippings, petitions in support of the proposed purchase of the Indian Gallery by Congress, obituaries for George Catlin, reviews of the exhibitions, photogravures of Catlin, and a handwritten journal belonging to Catlin's son, Theodore, and other miscellaneous handwritten documents and printed matter. Additional items of interest include a sheet music cover print used to advertise a music and dance performance by North American Indians who accompanied Catlin as part of his Indian Gallery exhibition in Paris and a handpainted mineral chart of previously unknown clay specimens gathered by Catlin during his travels among Indians in Minnesota, later named "Catlinite" in his honor. Folder headings include all oversize material.