Over the period of two years author has devoted the intervals between official duties to collecting and collating materials for the study of sign language. As the few publications on the general subject, possessing more than historic interest, are meager in details and vague in expression, original investigation has been necessary. The high development of communication by gesture among the tribes of North America, and its continued extensive use by many of them, naturally directed the first researches to that continent, with the result that a large body of facts procured from collaborators and by personal examination has now been gathered and classified.

Fascinating, wide-ranging study describes and illustrates signs used for specific words, phrases, sentences, and even dialogues. Scores of diagrams show precise movements of body and hands for signing.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, writers and anthropologists believed that the world’s primitive races were on the brink of extinction. They also believed that films, photographs, and phonographic recordings—modern media in their technological infancy—could capture lasting relics of primitive life before it vanished into obscurity. For many Americans, the promise of media and the problem of race were inextricably linked. While professional ethnologists tried out early recording machines to preserve the sounds of authentic indigenous cultures, photographers and filmmakers hauled newfangled equipment into remote corners of the globe to document rituals and scenes that seemed destined to vanish forever. In Savage Preservation, Brian Hochman shows how widespread interest in recording vanishing races and disappearing cultures influenced audiovisual innovation, experimentation, and use in the United States. Drawing extensively on seldom-seen archival sources—from phonetic alphabets and sign language drawings to wax cylinder recordings and early color photographs—Hochman uncovers the parallel histories of ethnography and technology in the turn-of-the-century period. While conventional wisdom suggests that media technologies work mostly to produce ideas about race, Savage Preservation reveals that the reverse has also been true. During this period, popular conceptions of race constructed the authority of new media technologies as reliable archives of the real. Brimming with nuanced critical insights and unexpected historical connections, Savage Preservation offers a new model for thinking about race and media in the American context—and a fresh take on a period of accelerated technological change that closely resembles our own.

In his groundbreaking work, 'Sign Language Among North American Indians', Garrick Mallery delves into the intricate system of communication used by various Native American tribes. This comprehensive study not only explores the different sign languages utilized by tribes such as the Plains Indians and the Pueblo people, but also examines the cultural and historical significance of these unique forms of communication. Mallery's meticulous research and detailed analysis provide readers with a fascinating look into the linguistic diversity and complexity of North American indigenous sign languages. The book's narrative style is engaging and informative, making it a valuable resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike. Mallery's work stands as a significant contribution to the field of linguistics and Native American studies, shedding light on an often overlooked aspect of indigenous cultures. 'Sign Language Among North American Indians' is a must-read for anyone interested in the rich tapestry of Native American languages and traditions, offering a deeper understanding of the complexities of communication in these diverse communities.

Annual report of the Bureau of ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution