Very rare and important, original, 1880’s Photograph of Native American Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux Chief Gall taken by D. F. Barry and hand signed and inscribed by Barry to the famous Indian Fighter and U. S. Army General Charles King. This fantastic, original, Photograph of this giant (both in stature and in prowess) of a Sioux Chief was likely taken at the Standing Rock Agency sometime in the 1880's. The Photograph carries the impressed mark of the famous Dakota Territory photographer David F. Barry as well as a hand ink stamp copyright notice and the hand written inscription which reads "To Gen. King / Compliments of D. F. Barry".

The photograph depicts the proud Sioux Chief (a top lieutenant of Sitting Bull at the Battle of the Little Big Horn) unadorned in any way and with his chest bared and his eyes staring intently into the distance. This original, Vignette, Albumen Photograph is mounted on its original, photographer's card mount and has been trimmed to an oval shape measuring approx. 4 3/4" x 6 3/4. The Image has been beautifully matted and framed for display (overall size of framed display is approx. 15" x 18").

This is Barry's most recognizable image and has been hand signed and inscribed by the photographer to General Charles King, a veteran of the 1876 Great Sioux War. King also saw service in the Civil War, Crook's 1874 Tonto Apache Campaign, and the Spanish-American War. In the Great Sioux War, King was a first lieutenant in the Fifth Cavalry and served as regimental adjutant on Crook's Bighorn and Yellowstone Expedition. Through his service and prolific authorship (Campaigning With Crook, Custer's Last Battle, etc.), King's name became synonymous with the 1876 Great Sioux War and its protagonists.

Of this photograph of Chief Gall, General King wrote: "The photograph of Chief Gall, with his head and body unadorned by savage finery of any kind with the buffalo robes thrown back, baring his magnificent Torso, is one of the most striking of all Indian pictures, and it is a speaking likeness too, looking just as if he had stepped forth to address his people". Barry used King's comments on the printed promotional materials for this Portrait of Gall, adding, "Gall was the Master Mind and the leader of the Indians in the Custer fight". Barry seemed to believe what he proclaimed, but in reality it was hyperbole, though it was persuasive and undoubtedly beneficial to his sales. In later years Barry wrote "Gall's face has been a money maker for me", thereby acknowledging that promoting Gall and the stories of his great deeds had been Barry's financial enabler.

This Portrait of Gall is among the most important of Barry's Images and Barry's inscription transforms the Photograph into a wonderfully historic association piece linking three key figures of the Indian Wars era - Chief Gall the great Sioux Warrior, General Charles King, the storied Indian Fighter and D. F. Barry, who Photographed many of the great figures (on both sides) of the Indian Wars period .

This very rare and historically important, Signed and Inscribed, D. F. Barry Native American Indian Photograph is in very good condition. The Photograph exhibits sharp focus, strong contrast and rich tonality. There is some light, scattered foxing to the Image and some light soiling as well as a light scratch extending from Gall's right cheek to upper margin of the Image. Overall this important photograph displays well as framed and is deserving of a place at the center of even the most advanced Native American Indian Photograph or Indian Wars Collection!!

The Signature of D. F. Barry and his inscription to General Charles King are unconditionally guaranteed authentic, original and in the hand of David Frances Barry. The Signature, Inscription and Photograph are backed by our “no questions asked” return policy and lifetime guarantee of authenticity. The Signature, Inscription and Photograph are unconditionally guaranteed to be deemed authentic by any third party authentication service and the Portrait will be accompanied by our own Letter of Authenticity with a statement of our unconditional return policy and lifetime guarantee of authenticity.

A very rare and important Native American Indian Photograph of the Great Sioux Chief Gall by D. F. Barry - signed and inscribed by Barry to U.S. Army General Charles King - and a fantastic addition to any collection!!!

Be sure to check out this seller’s other auctions for another, Important D. F. Barry Native American Indian Photograph being offered for sale this week on eBay!!

David Frances Barry was born near Rochester, New York on March 6, 1854. His family moved west in 1861 to Wisconsin. Around 1870 Barry worked carrying water for an itinerant photographer named O.S. Goff, a relationship that was to be reestablished a few years later. Not much is known of Barry's life from 1870 until Goff hired him in 1878 to help him in his gallery in Bismarck, D.T. Here, Barry learned the finer points of photography and became Goff's apprentice, business partner, and employee.

Between 1878 and 1883, Barry traveled to Fort Buford, Fort Yates, and other forts in the Dakota Territory. He went as far north as Fort Assinnaboine in Montana. For these trips he used a portable photographic studio in which he took most of his portraits. He photographed famous Native American chiefs, warriors, scouts, and women including Sitting Bull, Rain in the Face, Gall, Red Cloud, Fire Cloud, and Shooting Star. Barry also photographed some of the most important forts and battlefields of the Plains Wars, military officers including General George A. Crook, soldiers, trappers, and pioneers. In 1883 Barry returned to Bismarck where he operated a studio and gallery. He established a friendship with Buffalo Bill Cody and photographed members of his Wild West Show.

Sioux Leader Chief Gall: A giant of a man weighing nearly 300 pounds, he was a war chief of the Hunkpapa Lakota who played a leading part in the Lakota's long war against the United States. He encouraged his people to accept assimilation once they were confined on reservations. Gall was said to have gained his unusual name when, as a famished orphan, he ate the gall of an animal killed by a neighbor. He rose to prominence among the Lakota as a warrior in Red Cloud's campaigns, but he was unhappy with the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty that brought an end to those hostilities and he allied himself with Sitting Bull and others who refused to remain within the territory set aside for them. Gall eventually became Sitting Bull's military chief (and his adopted brother), and led attacks on army troops along the Yellowstone River in 1872 and 1873. At the battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, he led the Hunkpapa warriors who first drove Major Marcos Reno from the Lakota's encampment and then swept north to join Crazy Horse and his forces in the attack on Custer. Chief Gall's wife and two children were killed during Major Reno's initial assault on the Indian camp. After the battle, his group joined Sitting Bull in taking refuge in Canada, but Gall became disillusioned with Sitting Bull and brought his band back into the United States in 1880, finally surrendering the following year. He lived out his life at Standing Rock Reservation. It was doubtless at Standing Rock that he was photographed by Barry. When "Buffalo Bill" successfully launched his first show, he made every effort to secure both Sitting Bull and Gall for his leading attractions. The military was in complete accord with him in this, for they still had grave suspicions of these two leaders. While Sitting Bull reluctantly agreed, Gall said: "I am not an animal to be exhibited before the crowd," and retired to his teepee. Gall died on December 5, 1894 at his home on Oak Creek in South Dakota.