Maffet Ledger Explained

Maffet Ledger
Artist:	Various; the ledger contains work by over 20 Cheyenne artists
Year:	1874–81
City:	New York City
Museum:	Metropolitan Museum of Art
Accession:	1978.412.207 (1–182)

The Maffet Ledger is a late 19th-century compilation of Cheyenne artwork. The ledger was compiled by newspaper owner George Maffet, and contains 105 drawings. The ledger is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Description

The Maffet Ledger contains 105 drawings attributed to around 22 different Cheyenne authors. Most of the drawings depict battle scenes between the Cheyenne, other plains tribes, and the United States Army.^[1] The compiler of the ledger, George West Maffet Sr., was an editor for The Cheyenne Transporter, a journal published in Oklahoma.^[2]

One notable contributor to the ledger was Howling Wolf.

See also

• Ledger art

Notes and References

1. Powell, Peter J., Candace S. Greene, and Janet C. Berlo. "'The Maffet Ledger' created by Southern and Northern Cheyenne Warrior Artists during their years together in Indian Territory." In The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky, edited by Gaylord Torrence. Paris and New York: Skira, 2014, pp. 204–213.
2. Web site: Maffet Ledger. Maffet Ledger. 2020-06-11. www.metmuseum.org.