Biography:

William E. Irwin was born in Red Oak, Missouri in 1871. It is believed he learned photography in Indian Territory or Texas in the early 1890s. Irwin operated photography studios first in Chickasha, Indian Territory, and later in Silver City and Bisbee, Arizona, where he operated a studio from 1904 to 1922. In 1922 he opened a studio in Douglas, Arizona, which he operated until his death in 1935. He was a partner with a man named Mankins during part of his time in Chickasha and at various points while in Bisbee and Douglas he worked with his brothers John and Marvin.

Source
Mautz, Carl. Biographies of Western Photographers. Nevada City, Calif.: Carl Mautz Publishing, 1997.

Scope and Content:

The collection consists of a single series, Photographs.

Photographs (ca. 1899-ca. 2003) series is comprised of two parts, a circa 1899 screw post-bound photography album with 50 silver gelatin prints affixed to album pages that include Irwin’s hand-written captions and 15 contemporary images of Irwin cabinet card photographs that correspond to photographs in the album. The album has been left in its original order and accession numbers have been assigned based on that order. The contemporary photographs are designated by the addition of a letter to the accession number of the corresponding original image and are housed sequentially by accession number in a single folder. In addition to this finding aid, more detailed information about each photograph is available in the Research Center database. The overall condition of the photographs is very good and the album is good. The prints have some abrasions, indentations, and small areas with chipped emulsion. The album cover has areas of abrasion, especially at the corners and edges, and the pages have some soil, discoloration, and stray marks.

The primary focus of the collection is the American Indian tribes that lived in the areas around Anadarko, Indian Territory and Fort Sill, primarily the Chiricahua Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa, with a few Wichita images. Irwin labels some images with the generic term “Indian,” but it is probable that most of the pictured individuals are from one of the tribal groups noted above. In the container list, the first title given is Irwin’s original caption; in some cases an additional description in square brackets has been added to clarify the content. Where Irwin uses the words “squaw” and “papoose,” the words “woman” and “infant” have been substituted.

The bulk of the photographs are single and group portraits taken both outdoors and in the studio, but the collection also includes images of American Indian lifeways and material culture at the end of the 19th century. Among the named individuals pictured are Geronimo, Quanah Parker, Atote, Arko, Red Bird, White Wolf, Needle Parker, Lena Fisher, Lone Wolf, Poor Buffalo, and Appeahtone. The portraits include single individuals, couples, and larger groups with men, women, and children. Lifeways pictured include the disassembly of a tipi, butchering cattle, gaming, camp and village life, watering ponies, gathering wood, and drawing Indian Agency rations. Material culture items shown include excellent examples of elk tooth decorated dresses, headdresses, otter fur hair wraps, and other items of traditional dress; Kiowa cradleboards; cradleboard toys with doll babies; tipis; and Wichita grass homes. Other images include Fort Sill in 1899, American bison, grazing cattle, and a West Texas deer hunting camp.

Subject Terms:

Personal Names:

Appeahtone
Arko
Atote
Fisher, Lena
Geronimo, 1829-1909
Irwin, William E., 1871-1935
Lone Wolf
Parker, Needle
Parker, Quanah, 1845?-1911
Poor Buffalo
Red Bird
White Wolf

Subject Headings:

Apache Indians-Oklahoma
Chiricahua Indians-Oklahoma
Comanche Indians-Oklahoma
Cradleboards
Fort Sill (Okla.)
Group portraits
Hairstyles
Headgear
Indians of North America-Clothing
Indians of North America-Dwellings
Indians of North America-Gambling
Indians of North America-Oklahoma
Kiowa Indians-Oklahoma
Photographers-Oklahoma
Portrait photographs
Slaughtering and slaughter-houses
Tipis
Wichita Indians-Oklahoma

Processing Note:

The collection was purchased with funds provided by Martin C. Dickinson in May 2004 and processed by Jonathan Nelson in June 2004.

Ownership and Literary Rights:

The William E. Irwin Photographic Portfolio and Photographs is the property of the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Literary right, including copyright, belongs to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, with the exception of copyrighted artwork images and published literary works, which are the property of the respective copyright holders. It is the responsibility of the researcher, and his/her publisher, to obtain publishing permission from individuals pictured, relevant copyright holders, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Restrictions on Access:

The collection is open for research. It is advisable for researchers to discuss their proposed research with staff prior to visiting the Center.

Preferred Citation:

William E. Irwin Photographic Portfolio and Photographs, Accession ##, Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.