Estate Item: Edward Sheriff Curtis Orotone Seattle Photographer

Courtesy of Crown City Estate Auctions:  Original Curtis Orotone

Check out this auction for a rare Edward Sheriff Curtis Orotone, a Seattle Photographer, that is also signed by Curtis dating back to 1909! In case you don't know, these specimens are extremely rare.  The process of making orotones comprised of many steps and Curtis used this process frequently.   First you had to print a "positive" on glass plate, but this was precoated with a special gelatin.  After that, banana oils and gold pigments were used in the exposure and development process.  The fact is, the photographs were ultimately printed and transferred onto glass making them extremely fragile.  Examples that survived all these years are few and far between.

Original provenance makes this even more of a collectible. Found: Crown City Estate Sales

To find an original signed, and in the original frame is unheard of.   Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952) did much work in Native American (first in 1895)  and old West photography and portraits.  His work went unappreciated until the revival in 1970. An original work of his may go for thousands of dollars. This one, originally done an illustration for a book called "The Flute of the Godsand", and this work is called "THE MAID OF DREAMS."

You can bid on it now. Crown City Estate Sales