Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Hubbell, John Lorenzo print view role Collector Dealer/Gallery dates 1853-1930 city Ganado state AZ sex M historical notes John Lorenzo Hubbell was born in New Mexico Territory to an American father and a Mexican mother. After clerking in an Albuquerque post office and a Mormon trading post in Utah, he made his way to Arizona in the summer of 1873. By 1876 he owned his own trading post, and in 1878 he acquired a second trading post, Ganado, that ultimately became his homestead. In the late 1870s and early 1880s, Hubbell greatly expanded his trading empire by establishing posts throughout the Navajo lands. In 1882, he was elected sheriff of Apache County. He later served as a member of the first Arizona state legislature, ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate, and published his memoirs, entitled Fifty Years an Indian Trader. Hubbell's success as a trader was due in part to his knowledge and respect for Navajo culture, his cordial relationships with various Navajo authorities, and his sense of responsibility to the Navajo community. He was a collector as well: an obituary described Ganado as the “one museum of Navajo art extant” and reported that Hubbell “had oil paintings made of the old Navajo sand paintings, probably the only form in which they are preserved today.” Late in his life, the Navajo called him "Naakaii Saani" (" Old Mexican") out of respect for his long relationship with them, and he was ultimately buried alongside the great Navajo Chief Many Horses. decades of activity 1870-1880 1880-1890 1890-1900 1900-1910 1910-1920 1920-1930 updated 03/22/2024 12:09:31 bibliographic search Search Frick Art Reference Library Catalog Search Photoarchive Search Worldcat Search Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) Search Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) Search Wikidata Entry Archives/Repository Collection Title Collection Details Arizona Archives Online Lorenzo Hubbell collection, 1902-1914 see details... Internet Archive American Libraries Hubbell, John Lorenzo, June 19, 1902 (Indian Trader, Dealer in Navajo Blankets, Old Style Weapons, Etc., Ganado, Arizona) [ANS Chapman brothers business correspondence] see details... Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site Park Archives Park Archives see details... Arizona Archives Online Lorenzo Hubbell Collection, 1933-1957 see details... University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections University of Arizona Hubbell Trading Post records, 1882-1968 (bulk 1905-1950) see details... «  back