Frank Gallagher 5' CIGAR STORE INDIAN MAIDEN w Baby Papoose 5 ft RED SKIRT

We are pleased to offer the iconic Cigar Store Indian sculptures by the famous Gallagher family! The Gallaghers were the original carvers of the famous Cigar Store Indians that became a symbol of tobacco stores and trading posts in the Southwest.

This is a fabulous hand carved Cigar Store Indian Maiden and her Baby Papoose sculpture by famous Man-Dan Indian artisan Frank Gallagher Jr! This wonderful Maiden is a nod to the women and the corn, and the staple food the Native Americans taught the settlers to grow. Stands at about 5 foot tall. Signed by the Man-Dan Indian carver Frank Gallagher.

Cigar Store Indians are a form of American Folk Art dating back to the 1800s. They were commonly placed on the walk in front of tobacconist shops to direct illiterate customers to the shop. Since there were so many immigrants that couldn't read English, it was common to use visual trade signs such as a carving instead of written signs to bridge the language barrier. The Cigar Store Indian was said to be the most popular trade sign but other businesses used trade signs too. An Indian was chosen for a tobacco shop because it was Indians that introduced tobacco to early explorers of the Americas.

~ Frank Gallagher's ancestor, one of the first wooden Indian carvers, started carving his Indians in the 1840's. His great, great grandson Frank is known to be one of approximately 12 true full-blooded Man-Dan Indians still living. Unfortunately, the Man-Dan village was infected by small pox which practically wiped out the entire tribe. Frank's ancestor however, was away from the village at the time, working for a furniture maker. The furniture maker's name was Samuel Gallagher. Following the custom of Indian laborers of that era, Frank took his employer's last name as his own. One of the original Wooden Indians are on display in the Smithsonian Institute. The Gallaghers continue the art of carving as their ancestor would want it; the old way - the right way - by hand. A copy of Arizona Highways magazine with a two page story highlighting the Gallagher family will accompany each sculpture. ~

Thanks for looking and be sure to check out my store for more selections of authentic Native American cigar store Indians! If you like our products, please add me to your FAVORITES list or consider subscribing to our newsletter for updates on newly listed items, sales and special promotions! If you prefer, subscribe to our RSS feed for daily updates (found at the bottom of our store home page). We would be happy to consider reasonable offers.

 (Disclaimer: We sell new items as well as old pawn that were handmade by authentic Native American artisans. Most of our old pawn items are One-of-a-Kind and subject to availability. Some of our new items can be re-produced and therefore may have some slight variances from the pictures. We do sell on other venues as well as occasional trade shows and reserve the right to cancel this listing if sold prior to any bids or offers. We try to keep our listings up to date, but may occasionally miss one. We highly recommend that you email us to verify stock so as not to disappoint. If unavailable, we will email you and offer an alternate item or a refund if payment hand been made. In some cases, we can have one custom made with a two week lead time.)

(We try our best to present the item as accurately as possible, but due to the effects of photo lighting, camera settings or computer monitor settings, the actual color may vary slightly than pictured.)