Carl Moon Photographs of Indians of the Southwest and Oklahoma, 1904-1917

This collection of photographs by photographer Carl Moon documents Native Americans living in Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma between 1904 and 1917. In a letter to Henry Huntington, Feb. 12, 1923, Moon describes these photographs as "a complete collection of my Indian pictures made from the beginning of my work in 1904 to 1917. It includes … the pick of the Fred Harvey collection that I made for them during the period of my contract with them, 1907 to 1914, and my own collection made since the latter date."

Moon mostly traveled by himself, and spent time getting to know his subjects before photographing them. He seems to have made a series of shots of his subjects, sometimes with different attire or props, and sometimes assigning different titles to the photographs (see images 214, 225, 235, for example).

Besides the portraits, there are scenes of Indians in their daily activities, including baking bread in outdoor ovens, gathering water in pots, riding horses and tending livestock. There are also views of the Hopi Snake Dance, and the Corn Dance at Santo Domingo.

Almost all of the photographs are signed "Karl Moon" – his name until 1918, when he changed the spelling to Carl. Many of the prints are also stamped "copyright Fred Harvey" which indicates they were made while Moon was under contract there, 1907-1914. Moon also copyrighted many of his own works, and a dated copyright stamp is embossed in the prints. The copyright date does not always indicate the year the photograph was made – it could be several years later (see image 214, for example).

Other items in collection

Box 18:

- Typescript introduction and index to the photographs, titled "A Brief Account of the Making of this Collection of Indian Pictures," by Carl Moon, 1924, 54 pp.

- Newspaper clippings related to Moon, 1904-1936 (bulk 1911-1923).

- Exhibition brochure for artist Thomas Moran, mentioning "Karl Moon," 1916.