Real Photo Postcard Portrait of Acoma Author James Paytiamo.
Acomita, New Mexico: n.d., ca. 1930s. Real photo postcard measuring approximately 3 ½ x 5 ½ inches. Studio portrait of James Paytiamo in blanket and feather headdress before a painted landscape backdrop. AZO stamp box with squares in the corners, dating the card to ca. 1926–1940s; divided postcard back, unused, captioned in manuscript on verso “James Paytiamo / Acomita, N.M.” and “Author of ‘Flaming Arrow’s People by an Acoma Indian’ / 1932.”. Light wear and toning; near fine. Item #List3872 A real photo postcard portrait of James Paytiamo of Acoma Pueblo, identified on the verso as the author of Flaming Arrow’s People by an Acoma Indian. Paytiamo was born at Acoma Pueblo in 1892 and died in 1957. His Flaming Arrow’s People, published in 1932, drew on Acoma traditions and stories from tribal elders, and was part of a small body of early twentieth-century Native-authored writing presenting Pueblo history and culture to a broader reading public. Paytiamo was also connected to the collecting and sale of Acoma material culture; the National Museum of the American Indian records several Acoma objects collected or sold by him in the early 1930s. The portrait dates from the period in which Native writers, lecturers, artists, and cultural interpreters were often photographed for non-Native audiences in carefully staged studio images. The manuscript note on the verso identifies Paytiamo by name, place, and authorship, though we can not confirm that the handwriting is his.
Price: $300.00