Edward S. Curtis – The Whaler, Gourd/Bladder Cons

Updated August 7, 2026

20th century, circa 1900–1920s) of an Indigenous person—probably a woman or man from a cold-climate or western North American group—carrying two large spherical vessels (gourds, calabashes, or more likely animal-skin/bladder water bags or containers) suspended from a long wooden pole over the shoulder.The subject wears a heavy, shaggy fur cloak or robe (consistent with rabbit-skin, bear, or similar pelts common among Great Basin, California, Plateau, or northern groups) with a matching fur head covering or hood, long dark hair, and is barefoot on what appears to be snow, sand, or bare ground. The vessels are secured with rope/cordage, and the pose is a classic documentary-style full- or three-quarter-length view emphasizing traditional material culture and daily labor (water or supply transport).It has the characteristic look of period ethnographic work—sepia/toned print with soft focus and documentary framing—similar in style and subject to images by photographers documenting Native American or Indigenous life (Edward S. Curtis circle, regional ethnographic surveys, or comparable field photographers). It is not one of the well-known Curtis “Mohave Water Carrier”

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• “Nootka Method of Spearing,” 1915
• Edward S. Curtis – Elder Large-Format Portrait
• Northwest Coast Woman (Kwakiutl), ca. 1914
• Edward S. Curtis Native American Woman
• “Digging Skunk-cabbage Roots,” 1912
• Edward S. Curtis Close-Up Portrait of an Elder
• “The Wood Gatherer – Sioux,” 1908
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