FROM CARD: "23365-8. 23368 TO ANNECY MUS." Note: as of 2009 there are two bags in the collections numbered 23368.A list in Smithsonian Institution Archives Record Unit 186, Box 11, Distribution 5103, indicates one bag with this number was sent as part of an exchange to the Annecy Museum, Haute-Savoie, France, March 1887.

From card: "Introduced by Makah 70 years ago. [i.e. about 70 years prior to 1917.] Well made of rush cedar bark and white and dark green seaweed; design flying birds."

Attributed to U.S. Exploring Expedition/Wilkes collection on the catalogue card, however Jane Walsh doubts that attribution.

NO NUMBER; NORTHWEST COAST-ROPE.

FROM CARD: "COMMENTS BY SPECIALISTS IN THE FIELD OF NORTHWEST COAST ART, JAN. 13, 1970: 'MY GUESS WOULD STILL BE PORT SIMPSON, WITH THE IDENTITY OF THE ARTIST MAYBE HAIDA.' - WILSON DUFF, UNIV. OF B.C.. SEE: FORREST, ROBERT D.; FALL 1982, 'REDISCOVERING A MASTERPIECE', HERITAGE WEST; 6:15-20. SEE NEG. #84-13566, RECENT NEG. MADE OF OLD PHOTOGRAPH, WHICH SHOWS EXHIBITS AT S.I. BUILDING (CASTLE), INCLUDING THIS HOUSE FRONT. SEE FIG. 5, P. 230 OF GEORGE F. MACDONALD, 'COSMIC EQUATIONS IN NORTHWEST COAST INDIAN ART,' IN THE WORLD IS AS SHARP AS A KNIFE; BRITISH COLUMBIA PROVINCIAL MUSEUM, VICTORIA; 1981. OBJECT IS DESCRIBED THERE AS TSIMSHIAN HOUSEFRONT DEPICTING NAQUANAKS, THE TSIMSHIAN 'CHIEF OF THE SEAS' FLANKED BY TWO WHALES, IN A CLASSIC POSE OF 'CHIEF OF THE ANIMALS.' ILLUS.: HANDBK. N. AMER. IND., VOL. 7, NORTHWEST COAST, FIG. 6, PG. 273." "LOANED TO ARCO CENTER FOR VISUAL ART 10-18-1983, RETURNED 1-11-1984."SEE PROCESSING LAB ACCESSION FILE FOR INFORMATION ON CHILKAT BLANKET, #VII-A-132 IN THE COLLECTIONS OF THE CANADIAN MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION, WHICH MAY RELATE TO THIS HOUSEFRONT.Neg. #MNH2241 is black and white composite view of entire house front. Neg. #83-11069 is a color slide view of almost the entire house front (tail fins of whales are cut off). Neg. #83-11067 is a color slide view of the entire left side and center with door (opening). Neg. #83-11068 is a color slide view similar to 83-11069, except about half of each whale is cut off. Color digital neg. #s NHB2016-00217 to NHB2016-00238 = photos of front of panels; Color digital neg. #s NHB2016-00239 to NHB2016-00260 = photos of back of panels. Color digital neg. # NHB2016-00415 is composite image of front of house front. Color digital neg. # NHB2016-00418 is composite image of back of house front. Color digital neg. # NHB2016-00413 is a composite image of front of left side of house front. Color digital neg. # NHB2016-00416 is composite image of back of left side of house front. Color digital neg. # NHB2016-00414 is composite image of front of right side of house front. Color digital neg. # NHB2016-00417 is composite image of back of right side of house front. This object is illustrated in Figures 5.1 - 5.4, pp. 168-169, and Plate 10, p. 235, of Malin, Edward; 1999; Northwest coast Indian painting house fronts and interior screens; Portland, Ore: Timber Press. Object is described and discussed on pp. 42-43 of same publication. Note that this object appears to be described in the accession papers for accession 4730 and for accession 5260.Illus. Fig. 9, p. 57 in Brown, Steven C., 2005, "A Tale of Two Carvers: The Rain Wall Screen of the Whale House, Klukwan, Alaska," American Indian Art Magazine, 30(4): 48-59. Identified on p. 57: "... the house [front] painting is said to represent the story of Nagunak, an emblem of the Tsimshian Gisbutwaada clan (McLennan and Duffek 2000:119)." Full citation for McLennan and Duffek 2000: McLennan, Bill, and Karen Duffek. 2000. The transforming image: painted arts of Northwest Coast First Nations. Vancouver/Toronto: UBC Press.P. 69 of Smithsonian Annual Report for 1875 lists some of the artifacts that James Swan has collected for the Centennial Exhibition of 1876. Among them is noted "... materials for a complete dwelling, 100 feet long by 20 wide ...", which may be a reference to this house front?A photo of the house front outside the building at 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia is in the Free Library of Philadelphia collections and is available online: Centennial Photographic Co.. Indian curiosities from Puget Sound [sic]. Stereoviews. Free Library of Philadelphia: Philadelphia, PA. https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/1949. (accessed Feb 25, 2018).House front on display at National Museum of Natural History exhibit "Objects of Wonder", 2017 - 2024.

From card: "Old Kasaan, east coast, Prince of Wales Id., s.e. Alaska. Stood in front of "furthest forward house," K!atE-nE (K!at-nes, " front house") owner, Nesteu or Nastao, erected c. 1877. Totems from top down: two cloud-hatted watchers of high rank; head of bearded man, Nenki'lslas "Great One in the Sea"; eagle; killerwhale woman, with labret, tail turns up in front of pole; killerwhale, the face between his ears said to be his fin (informant Fannie Jones called this a shark "k!at, not the killerwhale). Literature: M. Barbeau: "Totem Poles, vol. II, p. 575. A.P. Niblack "The Coast Indians ... Rept. U.S.N.M., 1888. 6/12/68 - Many additional views of this specimen in the field are available in the SOA Archives [National Anthropological Archives]. GP"Catalogue card lists a number of (old) black and white photo negative numbers for this artifact, however as of 2019 Smithsonian Institution Archives Photo Services could not locate any of these negatives in their files, and the Department of Anthropology does not have any prints made from these negatives in their files.