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Walter McClintock Papers

 Collection
Call Number: WA MSS S-1175
Scope and Contents

The papers and photographs in this collection document the history and customs of the Piegan Indians (also known as the Blackfeet Indians) in Montana, and their contact with Europeans and Anglo Americans. The collection provides detailed information about McClintock's photographic practice, as well as his public presentations about the Piegan Indians. A significant part of the collection records the development and production of Poia, an opera based on Piegan Indian legends, composed by Arthur Finley Nevin, with a libretto by Randolph Hartley (1870-1931).

The photographic material in the collection provides rich visual documentation of the activities of Piegan Indians in the early twentieth century, as well as views of the landscape in western Montana and southern Alberta. McClintock used these images for lantern slides to accompany his lectures, to create prints for his photographic exhibitions, and to illustrate his publications.

Photograph albums in the collection document the activities of McClintock as student at Yale College from 1887 to 1891, as well as his participation in the Princeton University Expedition in Utah and Yellowstone National Park in 1895 and a tour by the National Forest Commission in the western United States in 1896. Many albums also detail the activities of the Piegan Indians. Scrapbooks document Poia, his lecture series, photographic exhibitions, and books.

The collection includes contemporary archival reproductions of most of the original negatives created by McClintock, as well as a set of contemporary photographic prints made from the reproduced negatives. The contemporary prints represent the most complete set of prints of McClintock’s work in the collection. A microfilm of these prints provides an alternate way to browse the collection.

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Walter McClintock Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights to material created by Walter McClintock in the Walter McClintock Papers, including copyright, belong to Yale University and are administered by the the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The Walter McClintock Papers may include the work of other writers, artists, photographers, and people for whom the Beinecke does not own copyright. In such cases, scholars must contact the appropriate copyright holder for permission to publish. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Walter McClintock (Yale 1891, 1911 MAH), 1927-1949.

Arrangement

Organized into ten series: Series I. Papers, 1874-1949. Series II. Scrapbooks, 1899-1925. Series III. Photograph Albums, 1888-1910. Series IV. Exhibition Photographic Prints, 1918-1946. Series V. Vintage Photographic Prints, 1898-1915. Series VI. Lantern Slides, 1905-1941. Series VII. Glass Transparencies, 1898-1909. Series VIII. Photographic Negatives, 1896-1915. Series IX. Collected Photographs, circa 1888-circa 1940. Series X. Archival Copy Photographs, circa 1981-1982.

Associated Materials

Walter McClintock Manuscript Collection. Braun Research Library, Autry National Center.

McClintock -- Blackfoot Recordings. Sound Archives, Braun Research Library, Autry National Center.

Scrapbook of Yale memorabilia, compiled by Walter McClintock, of the class of 1891, Yale College. Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.

Dates
1874 - 1949
Majority of material found within 1888 - 1949
Extent
87.5 Linear Feet ((207 boxes) + 9 broadsides)
Related Names
McClintock, Walter, 1870-1949
Language of Materials
English