| OCR Text |
Show representation away from documentation of the expedition as a whole, concentrating instead on the western segment of the journey. In the original portfolio approximately one half of the paintings and drawings depicted landscapes and natural history of the eastern segment of the expedition; less than forty percent of the entire portfolio pertained to Indian-related matters. Of the published aquatints, however, the greatest number of aquatints concerned Indians; only twenty or so of the over 150 landscapes of the original portfolio were reproduced, and these were mostly western scenes. None of the many natural history renderings were included in Travels. The reason for the change in emphasis was pragmatic. Although there existed a few scientific journals in which Maximilian could publish portions of his findings, only the travelbook format offered the means of widely publicizing his discoveries. In choosing to publish in this format, however, the tastes of readers outside Maximilian's scientific circles had to be taken into account. In Europe, interest in the American Indian was still high and by concentrating on this aspect of the expedition, Maximilian and Bodmer hoped to make Travels a success. The eighty-one aquatints produced for Travels fall roughly into four categories. The most important of these are the portraits of individual Indians, reproduced with great care by some of the best etchers Bodmer could find. Travels also included reproductions of landscapes and studies of geological formations. The third category consisted of composite scenes, for which Bodmer relied upon the numerous sketches, partially finished watercolors, and his memory of the various Indian activities and religious ceremonies he had witnessed, in order to reconstruct these events for publication. The |
