St. Louis Mercantile Library

M-58: Little Shield Sketchbook

 

HISTORY: One of the earliest extant examples of Plains Indian ledger art, this series of sketches was created by Little Shield, an Arapaho Chieftain, who recorded his own exploits in a pictorial journal sometime in the 1860s. The ledger was donated to the Mercantile Library in 1890

SCOPE: This series of sketches, a visual autobiography of "Little Shield, Chief of the Arrapohas," shows his exploits of valor and historical enemies in pictographic form. Little Shield's figure is riding a horse into battle in each sketch.

HOLDINGS: Large unbound volume of 23 pencil sketches, colored on lined tablet paper, mounted for exhibition. 14pp.

ACCESS: Due to rarity and condition, access to the physical collection is limited. However, a digital version is available in adobe .pdf format. For further assistance please contact the staff member listed below.