Native Californians Lassoing a Bear, Hand-Colored Americana Print, 1853

Ethnography · 19th century

Native Californians Lassoing a Bear, Hand-Colored Americana Print, 1853

€ 340

Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)

Date: 1853
Sheet size: 24.6 × 33.3 cm (9.7 × 13.1 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-14302-23

What the condition grades mean

Excellent: Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good: Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good: Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair: Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.

Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.

Condition

Condition consistent with age. General age toning, scattered foxing, and some staining visible in the margins. Minor handling wear and light creasing. The image remains clear and attractive with surviving original hand coloring.

About this sheet

Three mounted men confront a charging grizzly in an original hand-colored engraving titled "Native Californians Lassoing a Bear". The scene was drawn by F.O.C. Darley and engraved by Francis Hall, and the sheet was published in New York by D. Appleton & Co. in 1853, as the lettering beneath the image records.

The action is set in open woodland of bare, twisted trees. At the left a rider in a broad hat leans from a gray horse with a long weapon in hand. The bear rears toward the center with its mouth open while a second rider on a brown horse turns in the saddle toward it. At the right the third man, hat on his head, swings his lasso overhead. The coloring is soft, in greens, browns and gray, with a lighter ground behind the figures.

Darley was one of the leading American illustrators of the nineteenth century, and the California grizzly, later the state symbol, was a favorite subject of early images of the West.