This carte-de-visite of an unidentified Cheyenne woman is believed to have been made in the late 1860s or early 1870s by William S. Soule--either in Indian Territory or in western Kansas. Soule is well-known for the photographs he made of Southern Plains Indians during that time period. He arrived at Fort Dodge in 1867, moved briefly to Camp Supply a few years later, then relocated to Fort Sill where he remained until returning to Boston in late 1874 or early 1875. The carte-de-visite is one of at least fifty collected by Charles L. Wilson in the 1870s. Born in West Virginia, Wilson lived in Kansas most of his life, residing in St. George, Manhattan, Miltonvale and Topeka. Little is known about how and why he acquired the cartes-de-visite. Notations on many of them suggest they were procured in Indian Territory; some notations also indicate that Wilson was a member of Company L of the Kansas Eleventh Cavalry. Because that regiment disbanded several years before the images were made, his military service was probably unrelated to acquisition of the photos. The Wilson collection is characterized by the unique style in which each carte-de-visite is mounted. The mounts obscure whatever photographer's imprint may exist on the original cards. More than one photographer is represented in the collection; however, many of the images can either definitely be attributed to Will Soule or are deemed likely to be his work. This photo also appears in another carte-de-visite in the Wilson collection--a composite of ten photographs portraying Native American individuals and camp scenes (Item 227909).
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