H. Supai Indian, Havasu Canyon, Arizona
Vernon Bailey, photographer
June 22, 1929
[BANC PIC 1980.021:231--LAN]

Vernon Bailey
WILDLIFE, PLANTS, INDIANS, AND WESTERN SCENES FROM THE VERNON BAILEY COLLECTION, ca. 1896-ca. 1910.

This handcolored lantern slide shows an unidentified Indian dressed in common American clothes, standing next to a flowering plant. The plant and the Indian’s shirt are colored with a light green tinge, to enhance the image. His face and hands are lightly tinted with flesh tones.

Beginning in the late nineteenth century, lantern slides allowed audiences to view colorful images projected on a screen. This novelty soon became popular, and commercial photographers produced images of distant lands and historical sites for educational and entertainment purposes.