Indian Basketry and How to Make Indian and Other Baskets

Glorieta, New Mexico: The Rio Grande Press, Inc., 1970. First Printing Stated . Hard Back. Very Good/No Dust Jacket. 9" X 11 1/4. 136 Pages Indexed. Tight bright book with a small penciled price on the front endpaper and light scuffs on back board. . No other marks or stamps or other defects noted. Indian Basketry and How to Make Baskets is a practical book; the author relates the techniques of textile weaving without machinery in such explicit detail that anyone can weave a basket, In 1903, when this book was first published the art and handicraft of artifact weaving with grass and reed materials was a hobby enjoyed by thousands from coast to coast, But before the white man took it up as a hobby, the American Indians and their forebears wove these textile utensils as a matter of necessity, Long before the Anasazi developed clay vessels for water and cooking, these resourceful Americans were ingeniously, fabricating containers of grass and reeds of such excellence as to hold water and even provide certain cookware. As time passed, the plain utilitarian artifacts began to become less plain and more complex. The simple art of handweaving with grass and reeds became gradually more complex and colorful. By the time the American frontier ceased to exist (1890-1900), and the white man had the safety and the time to observe and develop his own version of the ancient art, the native skill had nearly died away. Still, between the Indians and their white cousins, the art and craft of basketry took new life and burgeoned into a flourishing industry as well as a hobby, One might call this period the classical period of basketry. Contents in 18 Chapters: Introduction, Basketry the Mother of Pottery, Basketry in Indian Legend, Basketry in Indian Ceremonial, Basket Making People, Materials Used in Indian Basketry, Weaves or Stitches of Indian Basketry, Basket Forms and Designs, Some Uses of Indian Baskets, Various Indian Baskets, Symbolism of Indian Basketry, The Poetry of Indian Basketry, Baskets to be Prized, The Decadence of the Art, how the Art may be Preserved, Hints to the Collector, and Bibliography of Indian Basketry.