Lot 32: PAUL-EMILE MIOT (1827-1900)

Naturel de l'Amérique du Nord, 1859
albumen print
credited, captioned and dated 'Naturel de l'Amérique du Nord. (Tribu des Mics-macs) Photographié à Terre-Neuve en 1859, par M r Miot, lieutenant de vaisseau' in ink, dated again in later hand in pencil on mount
5 3/4 x 4 3/8in. (14.5 x 11cm.)

By the 16th century, prior to the first contact with European explorers, the aboriginal people of Nova Scotia the Mi'kmaq (Micmac) were living in the region now known as the Maritime provinces and the Gaspé peninsula. Increasing historical evidence reveals that by the 17th century, the Mi'kmaq were living in Newfoundland. When the French naval officer and photographer Paul-Emile Miot first arrived in the region in 1857, the Mi'kmaq families were still travelling back and forth between Cape Breton and Newfoundland.

The captivating portraits in this lot and the following were taken by Miot in 1859 during his second journey to Newfoundland (1858-60) aboard the French naval vessel "Sésostris".

Another print from the same negative in the National Archives of Canada is captioned "Portrait d'un Mi'kmaq à bord de l'aviso français Sésostris".

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis