1902 Indian Fairy Tales – Totem Tales of the Pacific Northwest by W. S. Phillips

Author: W. S. Phillips. Fully illustrated by the author.
Title: Indian Fairy Tales. Folklore – Legends – Myths. Totem Tales as Told by the Indians. Gathered in the Pacific Northwest.
Publisher: Chicago, Star Publishing Co., 1902 (copyright by Frank B. Davis). First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8.25" x 6".
Pages: xvii + 326 pages.
Binding: Attractive and near fine original publisher’s decorative yellow cloth with striking Native American design to the front cover in red, black, and green, with spine vignette of a totemic figure and title in black (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Near fine content (bright, tight and clean - as shown, the free rear endpaper shows a binding crease, causing its outer edge to sit slightly offset from the rest of the pages - as shown).
Illustrations: Profusely illustrated throughout by W. S. Phillips with full-page and in-text black-and-white drawings, as well as a frontispiece “The Story Teller” after the author’s carving. The illustrations vividly capture the totemic and natural imagery of Pacific Northwest folklore.

Estimate: (USD 200– 300).

The book: This important collection of Totem Tales preserves Native American folklore, legends, and myths as gathered by W. S. Phillips in the Pacific Northwest at the turn of the 20th century. With stories such as “The Talking Pine,” “Song of the Waters,” “The Crow Children,” and “The Birth of the Sun,” the work documents cultural traditions while reflecting the period’s fascination with Indigenous storytelling. It also includes a glossary of words, customs, and tribal histories, enhancing its ethnographic as well as literary value.

The author: W. S. Phillips (ca. 1859–1940), also known as “El Comancho,” was an American ethnographer, woodcarver, illustrator, and author who devoted much of his life to recording Native traditions of the Pacific Northwest. His work combined artistic skill with a collector’s zeal, making his books both rich in visual appeal and of significant historical interest.