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Chief Joseph (c. 1840-1904): photo by Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1962), 1903; orotone print by Jean-Anthony du Lac (1929-1982), 1980, 58.7 x 48 cm (National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution / Library of Congress Collection of American Indian Photography)
Then as sun comes up Sunday paper for the obits
wherein growing older you discover your familiars
today Jean du Lac master of the orotone (photo repro
on glass) born in France died in San Francisco ashes
scattered off Marin coast “The majority of his life
a mystery” he “left behind a single key
to a solitary padlock The location of the padlock
is unknown”
TC: from Zombie Dawn, 2002
"The 6½-by-8½-inch dry-plate camera seemed to suit [Edward S. Curtis] best. Time and again, ‘The Chief' . . . turned to the favored old Reversible-Back Premo. . . . No gadgets; just a camera, tripod, focusing cloth, and film." -~ Jean-Antony Du Lac, 1976 (Smithsonian Libraries)
The streets of Hunters Point in San Francisco during the September 1966 rebellion. After the police shot 16-year-old Matthew Johnson in the back and killed him, people rose up against the police and the whole repressive situation. The mayor called in police sharpshooters, and National Guard troops with tanks and machine guns were sent into the neighborhood, but the people rebelled for three days: photos by Jean Anthony Dulac, September 1966 (via Revolution, 8 October 2006; photos courtesy of San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library)
The Offering: San Ildefonso:Mohawk Mother and Child: Jean Anthony du Lac, 1977, unframed orotone print after a photograph by Edward S. Curtis, 24 " x 18" (Clars Gallery, Oakland)
Mohawk Mother and Child: Jean Anthony du Lac, 1976, unframed orotone print after a photograph by Edward S. Curtis, 24 " x 18" (Clars Gallery, Oakland)
Chief Joseph: framed orotone print by Jean-Anthony Du Lac, 1980, after a photograph by Edward S. Curtis, 28.5" x 22.5" (Clars Gallery, Oakland)
Raven Blanket: framed orotone print by Jean-Anthony Du Lac, 1980, after a photograph by Edward S. Curtis, 28.5" x 22.5" (Clars Gallery, Oakland))
Red Cloud: framed orotone print by Jean-Anthony Du Lac, 1980, after a photograph by Edward S. Curtis, 28.5" x 22.5" (Clars Gallery, Oakland)
du LAC, Jean-Antony -- 73, of San Francisco, CA, died January 15, of natural causes. Born in France and raised in New York City, he moved west to San Francisco in 1957. Jean was an accomplished photographer whose published credits include Life Magazine and the San Francisco Examiner. He spent many years reproducing Edward S. Curtis's images of North American Indians; and he mastered the process of creating orotones, which are photographic reproductions on glass. Jean's orotones appeared on the walls of the Smithsonian as well as the White House during the Carter and Reagan administrations. A preservationist, his reproduction of Eadward Muybridge's panorama of San Francisco still hangs in one prominent San Francisco hotel; and he was instrumental in organizing Proposition P in the early 1970s, which sought to preserve the old San Francisco skyline by limiting the height of all downtown skyscrapers. The majority of his life a mystery, Jean left behind no material possessions, save for a single key to a solitary padlock. The location of the padlock is unknown. Jean is survived by his three children: Christian du Lac of Palo Alto; Joshua du Lac of Sacramento; and Sascha du Lac of Del Mar; and one granddaughter, Ariella. A private Memorial Service was held on April 27 off the coast of Marin County. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: The Dakota Indian Foundation, 209 N. Main, P.O. Box 340, Chamberlain, SD 57325.
San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday 14 July 2002