A RARE OPPORTUNITY FOR PRIVATE COLLECTORS TO ACQUIRE THE MOST AUTHENTIC RECORD OF FRONTIER AMERICA.

BEFORE ANOTHER MUSEUM DOES.

In 1832 Prince Maximilian of Wied, a German nobleman, and Karl Bodmer, a Swiss artist, embarked on a voyage through the interior of North America.

It turned out to be the first and last scientific journey to record frontier America in pictures before the unspoiled West was to change irrevocably. Bodmer and Maximilian arrived just in time.

Bodmer's depiction of the extraordinary landscapes observed and his portraits of the Blackfeet, Crow, Cree, Mandan, Hidatsa and Sioux along the Upper Missouri have never been surpassed.

THE FINEST RECORD OF FRONTIER AMERICA.

'Bodmer's America' is acknowledged as perhaps the finest record of Native Americans ever published. Sadly, only 3 years after he painted them, many of the fierce braves who sat before him had disappeared forever. They believed his drawings would protect them in battle, but they weren't powerful enough to save them from diseases such as smallpox.

Yet as important a record as Bodmer's images are, for many years they were lost to Americans.

When their journey was completed, Bodmer and Maximilian returned to Europe with their work. In 1839, in Paris, they published a very limited edition of colored engravings. So for many years Europeans had a far truer picture of frontier America than Americans had themselves.

It was only in 1948 that the original" copper and steel plates were rediscovered by an anthropologist at Castle Wied and finally found their way into the Safekeeping of the Joslyn Art Museum.

Now for the first time since their rediscovery a numbered, limited edition of 125 complete sets is being pulled from each of the 81 original plates.

A UNIQUE HAND PRINTING FROM THE 81 ORIGINAL PLATES.

'Bodmer's America' is being published in London by Alecto Historical Editions, a firm renowned for its 19th century skills in copperplate printing and coloring, and the company that published the portfolios of John James Audubon's 'Birds of America' for the American Museum of Natural History, and Sir Joseph Banks' 'Florilegium] for the British Museum.

Each engraving is to be printed in color a la poupee with extensive hand coloring, heightened by gum arabic in the original 19th century manner.

After more than two years of preparation and extensive preliminary proofing, the first sets of the 81 prints have now been completed.

Many have, of course, been claimed by museums and institutions throughout the nation.

But a few complete sets are available to private collectors at the initial subscription price of $80.000.

The remainder of the edition will be completed over the next four years and will be offered by subscription during that time.

If you would like to arrange a viewing or to acquire a set please call Carol Barnes at 1-800-441-6207 or write to the Joslyn Art Museum, Room 16, 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, Nebraska, 68102.

Once the edition is completed the plates will be retired to the Joslyn Museum where they will remain until the middle of the next century.