Leeson Ben (1 results)

Album Leaf. Condition: Near Fine. Four circa 1910[?] photographs of Indigenous people in Quatsino Sound on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada - all by Ben Leeson. A single album leaf titled "West Coast Indian Scenes." with all four photos pasted down and captioned variously : "The Feast Dish" ; "A New-made Chief and his House." ; "Wedding Ceremonial. Fetching the Bride." and "West Coast Canoe" - which has Leeson's signature at the lower left corner in the negative, in reverse. The other three photos are uncredited, but are known to be by him as evidenced from the institutionally held collections located. Leaf w. minor wear, all four photos are in fine condition with two having very minor mirroring near a single edge each. Leaf measures 11 x 14-1/4 "wide ; two photos measure 5-1/8 x 4-7/8" wide, and two photos measure 3-1/2 x 5-3/8" wide. "Some time between 1891 and 1894 he [Leeson] moved to Quatsino Sound where he ran a store with his father (J.L. Leeson & Son) and engaged in a number of pursuits. He was especially noted for his portraits of brooding First Nations figures and was fascinated by the flat-headed Kwakiutl women of the area. He retired in 1939 and moved to Vancouver." Camera Workers, 1858-1950 (David Mattison).