University of Washington Libraries, Special CollectionsPH1035Photographs of Louis
Choris' Illustrated Plates from Voyage Pittoresque Autour
du Monde approximately 1816-18171 folder (22 photographs)Collection materials are in
English and
French.Photographic
copies of illustrations by Louis Choris published in
Voyage Pittoresque Autour du Monde, a work of seven
parts published between 1821 and 1823Louis Choris (1795-1828) was a German-Russian painter and explorer. He
was appointed the official painter on a three-year scientific expedition led by
Russian explorer Otto von Kotzebue in 1815. Although he did not live a long
life, dying near Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1828. He is remembered for his vibrant
and lively ethnographic illustrations of native peoples from the Americas and
Pacific Islands.
In 1815, Russian naval officer Otto von Kotzebue embarked on a mission
to explore and chart Oceania on behalf of the Russian Empire. Following his
work in the region, he and his crew, including one Louis Choris, an
illustrator, proceeded up the North American coast, charting the Alaskan
coastline and documenting its inhabitants as they went. The expedition was
unable to sail back to Russia through the Arctic Circle but did manage to
discover and name Kotzebue Sound in northwestern Alaska. Louis Choris went on
to publish his illustrations of Alaskan peoples, in addition to Hawaiians,
Polynesians, American Indians of Chile and the American Southwest, and related
flora and fauna, in the volume Voyage Pittoresque Autour
du Monde ("A Picturesque Trip Around the World"), along with
descriptions of those regions, in 1822. The book is primarily composed of a
number of highly detailed lithographs based on Choris’s original watercolor
paintings along with text written by J.B. Eyries.
This collection is arranged according to the order the images were
presented in the Voyage Pittoresque Autour du
Monde , from which they were taken. The images span two separate sections
of the volume, one concerning Kamchatka, Kotzebue Sound, and the land of the
Chukchi people, and the other concerning the Aleutian Islands
This collection is composed of photographs taken of lithograph plates
from Voyage Pittoresque Autour du Monde ,
specifically those illustrating Alaskan peoples, as well as related landscapes
and fauna from the region. The illustrations themselves were likely made in
1816 or 1817, on the voyage commanded by Otto von Kotzebue, and were later
published in Voyage Pittoresque Autour du Monde in
1822. These photographic copies were made in the late twentieth century. Some
plates are not included in this collection as it currently stands, primarily
those of Alaskan birds and geological formations.
View the digital version of
the collection
Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections
website. Permission is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections
for more information.
Request at
UW
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication.
Contact Special Collections at University of Washington Libraries for
details.
Processed by Michael Lowry Lamble, November, 2018.
Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)Choris, Louis, 1795-1828LiteratureAlaskaPhotographsVoyage Pittoresque Autour du Monde
11Copy photograph of lithograph of Inupiats
of Kotzbue SoundBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 2 in the Kamchatka section.
12Copy photograph of lithograph of Inupiat utensils and arms
from the Bering StraitBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 3 in the Kamchatka section.
Scanned from copy negative.
13Copy photograph of lithograph of Inupiat ivory carvings
from Kotzebue SoundBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 4 in the Kamchatka section.
Scanned from copy negative.
14Copy photograph of lithograph of Inupiat carvings and
sculptures for Kotzebue SoundBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 5 in the Kamchatka section.
Scanned from copy negative.
15-6Copy photographs of lithographs of the skull of an Inupiat
woman from Kotzebue SoundBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plates 6 and 7 in the Kamchatka section.
Scanned from copy negatives.
17Copy photograph of lithograph of a Chukchi family and
Chukchi homesBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 10 in the Kamchatka section.
18Copy photograph of lithograph of three AleutsBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 3 in the Aleutian Islands section.
19Copy photograph of lithograph of an Aleut man and
womanBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Although marked in the book as Plate 5, this is the fourth plate
in the Aleutian Islands section. The following plate is also marked as Plate 5,
suggesting a printing error in the original.
Scanned from copy negative.
110Copy photograph of lithograph of Aleut hatBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 5 in the Aleutian Islands section.
Scanned from copy negative.
111Copy photograph of lithograph of Aleut skullsBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 6 in the Aleutian Islands section.
Scanned from copy negative.
112Copy photograph of lithograph of Oululuk (Unalaska), the
principal settlement on the island of UnalaskaBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 7 in the Aleutian Islands section.
113Copy photograph of lithograph of an Aleut kayak and
frameBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 8 in the Aleutian Islands section.
Scanned from copy negative.
114Copy photograph of lithograph of an Aleut man and woman
dressed in distinctive Aleut clothesBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 9 in the Aleutian Islands section.
115Copy photograph of lithograph of Aleut baskets and
weavingBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 10 in the Aleutian Islands section.
Scanned from copy negative.
116Copy photograph of lithograph of the port of
UnalaskaBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 11 in the Aleutian Islands section.
Scanned from copy negative.
117Copy photograph of lithograph of sea lions at St. George
IslandBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 14 in the Aleutian Islands section.
Scanned from copy negative.
118Copy photograph of lithograph of sea lions on St. Paul
IslandBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 15 in the Aleutian Islands section.
Scanned from copy negative.
119Copy photograph of lithograph showing three Yupik men with
facial tattoos, tonsured hair and beaded ornaments from St. Lawrence
IslandBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 16 in the Aleutian Islands section.
120Two Yupik men, one playing a drum and the other with
tonsured hair, inside a dwelling on Saint Lawrence Island, AlaskaBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 17 in the Aleutian Islands section.
121Copy photograph of lithograph of Yupik boat and frame from
St. Lawrence IslandBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 18 in the Aleutian Islands section.
Scanned from copy negative.
122Copy photograph of lithograph of Yupik arms from the
Bering StraitBetween 1816 and 1817Louis Choris Plate 19 in the Aleutian Islands section.
Scanned from copy negative.