Scenes of 'Eskimo' life

The images of Inuit life painted by Operti were remarkably vivid, but the text supplied on the cards' reverse sides perpetuated numerous racist stereotypes of "Eskimo" life. The texts about Eskimo women and children are particularly offensive, but do tell us a great deal about the public misconceptions about Northern peoples in the earlier part of this century. It appears from the format of the texts on the obverse of each card that Operti wrote them himself, but I have not been able to confirm this independently.

from the collection of Russell A. Potter

"Eskimo Woman"

from the collection of Russell A. Potter

"Eskimo Child"

from the collection of Russell A. Potter

"Eskimo Puppies"

More images coming soon!