Fred R. Meyer (1874-1939) was from Buffalo, New York. A butcher by trade, he was also known as an amateur photographer who traveled throughout the West between 1890 and 1915. According to the guide to the Fred R. Meyer photograph collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, "it has...been suggested that he was associated in some way (perhaps as a clerk) with the Indian agencies that served the Apsáalooke, Pikuni, and Numakiki reservations. He apparently also photographed in Pine Ridge in 1907 and collected objects in Wyoming and Montana."
This collection contains 86 glass plate negatives. The collection was apparently left by Fred Meyer with J. L. Sherburne or at the Sherburne Mercantile in Browning, Montana, possibly in 1908-1909 (though some images have later dates written on their envelopes). Although the collection is attributed to Fred Meyer, it is evident that some of the plates are copies of other photographs, and it is probable that some images were taken by other photographers. A small number of images have identification or dates written on the original negative sleeve, including identification of the subjects as Crow or Blackfoot, but it is not known who identified the images; the donor of the collection indicates the identifications may be inaccurate.
Images 894.001 through 894.028 are 5x7 plates. Images 894.029 through 894.045 are 8x10 negatives. Images 894.046 through 894.086 are smaller (usually 4x5) and many of these are or appear to be copies.
The collection was sorted by negative size and then the negatives were numbered.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to the University of Montana.
Fred R. Meyer Photographs, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection is believed to have been in the custody of the Sherburne Family until it was transferred to William E. Farr.
The collection was given by William E. Farr to the University of Montana Archives and Special Collections in December 2016, along with a collection from the Sherburne Family.
Glass plate negatives were rehoused in four flap envelopes during processing. Original envelopes with descriptive text were retained, although the author(s) of those descriptions is not known. Descriptive information was provided for some images by the archives in a notes field. Duplicate images were removed during processing.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West each hold a collection of photographs by Fred R. Meyer.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
horse, tipi, man with headdress
woman in beaded dress
young male
man with robe
man with fringed sleeve
man with war bonnet
man sitting in chair
man with war bonnet
burial platform
man with feathered headdress
child with headdress
man in Hudson Bay coat
man carrying feathered fan
woman with shell earring
calvary horses with flag
people with horses
woman in jacket with painted nails
man with interesting headdress
family scene with tipi and cart
faded, man with headdress
picture faded
men on horseback
man with hat and hand drum
men in field with two tipis
Blackfoot camp
portrait of woman with robe
portrait of man with medalian
man on horse
portrait of man with painted dots on face
portrait
portrait
portrait of man with big headdress
portrait of man
portrait of man with headdress
landscape with village, numerous painted tipis on prairie
portrait of man
portrait of young woman
portrait
man with hand drum
braided hair?
studio portrait of people (copy of photo)
portrait of man with breastplate
portrait of man
portrait of young man
line of people in the distance on the prairie
oration by chief?
portrait
totem pole? (clearly a copy negative)
circle of men with their backs to camera. some wear western hats
line of riders on prairie. Some in headdresses
line of riders on prairie. Some in headdresses
man seated near structure
line of riders
line of riders. Negative envelope is dated 1913.
reproduction of cartes de visite from Spenser studio in Chicago
chief orating (?)
group of men and women in a circle
sky and a cross (?)
man sitting in front of a picket fence. buildings in background
two men in front of picket fence
three white men standing on prairie. Tipis in background
in front of tipi
line of riders. Tipis in background
person seated
looks like a big meeting in a shelter
group of tipis with horses in front
People sitting on ground. In far background are tents. In very far background is a butte.
large group of riders
people in a line. Tipis and wagons in background. Looks like a ceremony
young woman, seated, in elk tooth dress
line of tipis, tents and wagons
line of people walking. Mountains in background
man with feathered headdress
looks like a big meeting in a shelter (same as image 894.072)