Newspaper Clipping of Indigenous Women Trading - L990.P.081.001
Champney, James W. "Scene at Niagara Falls - Buying Momentos." Harper's Weekly, 9 June 1877. 41cm in height by 33cm in width. Has browned with age.
In the Edwardian and Victorian Eras, buying beaded souvenirs became synonymous with a trip to Niagara. Seneca and Tuscarora women would offer beaded purses, pillows, wall hangings, and boxes as well as dolls, moccasins, and children's bows and arrows. This composite illustration was inspired by a series of photographs taken of the beadwork sellers in the 1870s. The tradition, that started after the War of 1812 as tourism increased, continues to this very day.