Southwestern Spirits

These unusual and beautiful limited edition lithographs depict traditional Hope Kachina dancers.  The Hopi people believe that Kachinas are personifications of the natural and spiritual worlds. A Kachina can represent plants such as beans or corn, living creatures, natural phenomena such as rain or wind, heavenly bodies, revered ancestors, or other physical or spiritual concepts. They are the links between mortal people and the spiritual world and must be treated with veneration. In return, the Kachinas can aid humans, such as bringing rain for the crops or ensuring a bountiful harvest. In ceremonial observances, men dress as Kachinas; each Kachina can be identified by its signature mask and costume. Kachina dolls or figurines were originally carved by Hopi artisans and during the ceremonial dances given to children to teach them about the different Kachinas, although many are now created for collectors and the tourist trade.

In 1904, artist and sculptor Joseph J. Mora (1876-1947) lived among the Hopi and Navajo tribes in Arizona and New Mexico, learning their languages and using his artistic skills to document their rituals. This included a series of detailed watercolors depicting Hopi men dressed as Kachina dancers.  In the mid-1990s, John Wilson purchased 40 of Mora's watercolors and planned to issue limited edition lithographs of the paintings. However, due to financial constraints, only eight lithographs were issued in limited editions of 650 each.

These are two of the lithographs issued by Wilson, both marked in pencil "126/650." This one represents She-Eu-Heu-Mish, also known as Sio Hemis, identified by his colorful tableta or headdress decorated with stylized dragonflies and sunflower. This Kachina takes part in the Niman Ceremony. It is also known as the Home or Going Home Dance and signals the end of the Kachina season. He is considered an important rain spirit. 

This lithograph depicts another Kachina who appears in the Niman Ceremony, Heu-Mish-Kachina-Mana, or the Hemis Maiden. Her hairstyle is that worn by unmarried Hopi women. She is a music maker, using a notched stick and hollow gourd to provide rhythmic accompaniment to the dancers.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

4061-522

4061-523

Band of Brothers

This scarce and unusual poster is a piece of Texas history in several ways. First, it features the Callahan Brothers. Although born in Laurel, North Carolina, (Walter in 1910, and Homer in 1912), they gained famed as cowboy music and western musicians in Texas. They first began performing in the bluegrass and hillbilly genres in the 1920s. In 1941, the brothers moved to Dallas, Texas. Influenced by "singing cowboys" such as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, the brothers not only adopted a more western sound, but new names as well, Walter becoming Joe and Homer rechristening himself as Bill. They gained fame on Big D Jamboree, a Dallas-based barn dance radio program, and recorded with Decca and Columbia Records. In 1945, the brothers went to Hollywood to record songs as part of the soundtrack for the movie "Springtime in Texas" However, by 1951, they stopped recording together and Walter returned to North Carolina. Homer remained in Dallas and became a photographer.

The poster further commemorates KWFT, the radio station featuring the brothers.  KWFT signed on in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1939 on 620 kilocycles. It was the first radio station to continuously operate in the city. In 1953 it also entered the new medium of television as  KWFT-TV Channel 6, but sold the television station in 1956. KWFT's last broadcast was on December 24, 1994.

Finally, the poster is also a memento of  Texas manufacturing as well as music history. The sponsor was the brothers' radio show was "the makers of Wichita Overalls." Wichita Brand Overalls were manufactured by the Great Western Garment Company in Wichita Falls. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was a movement to establish factories in the south to process raw cotton and manufacture cotton fabric closer to the source. Garment manufacturers in Wichita Falls included Tuf-Nut Manufacturing Company, which was established in 1928, and Levi-Strauss. However, many of these American fabric mills would later close or move their factories overseas.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

10380-1122