C.J. Van Schaick, Wisconsin Death Trip Photographer

"Wisconsin Death Trip" (1973) is a book by author Michael Lesy featuring photographs by Black River Falls, WI, photographer C.J. Van Schaick taken from 1890-1910. The cabinet cards of C.J. Van Schaick are mingled with news reports from the same period that chronicle contemporaneous events, many of them unusual. Reports of bizarre crimes-- a woman who smashed windows throughout the state until finally getting caught. Reports of murder, suicide, mental illness, disease, and depression. The harsh rural landscape of the Victorian Midwest becomes a character in and of itself.

Having read "Wisconsin Death Trip," I began to seek out photographs by C.J. Van Schaick. They come up occasionally in the market and surprisingly, don't sell for a whole lot. They are fairly uncommon, though. I was only able to track down the photograph of the Winnebago delegation and this photograph of a group of women playing instruments. The women playing instruments look pretty happy, at least in comparison to the sad tales of "Wisconsin Death Trip."

In 1999, filmmaker James Marsh adapted the book into an excellent film by the same name. I wholeheartedly recommend the film and the book.

Black River Falls Winnebago Delegation

This photo is one of several in our collection featuring Native Americans. Having taken all of the Indian Law classics available at our law school and having become very close friends with the handful of Natives at our law school, we started taking a special interest in collecting these photos. They really came alive after we began to learn extensively about the laws governing Native Americans and their historical context. Sovereignty. The discovery doctrine. Countless illuminating legal cases. I could go on and on, but I won't, as this isn't the place for it.

This particular photo features a group of Natives from the Black River Falls area of Wisconsin. Their tribal affiliation is Winnebago, and they were part of a delegation in support of the Spanish-American war. This photo was taken by C.J. Van Schaick, the notable Black River Falls photographer whose work is featured in both the movie and book "Wisconsin Death Trip." If you don't know about the book/movie, please check it out. Google it. Do whatever you can to get a copy of each. I will write more about C.J. Van Schaick and "Wisconsin Death Trip" in a future post.