Black Elk, Oto Chief
date: label: date made
content: 1851-1852
name: label: photographer
content: Fitzgibbon, John
label: depicted
content: Black Elk
label: maker
content: Fitzgibbon, John
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: The daguerreotype portrait of Native American man in Indian dress with a lap blanket is identified as "Black Elk, Oto Chief". The photograph is one of a series a of portrait daguerreotypes made of Native American chiefs while they crossed the country to meet with US Government officials in Washington, DC. When passing through St. Louis, Missouri, in 1851-52 these chiefs were photographed by photographers Thomas Easterly and John Fitzgibbons. Each portrait was a unique image. Daguerreotypes had no negatives; each photograph was exposed on a silver-nitrate covered copper plate. Daguerreotypes remained a popular method of capturing portraits from 1840 to 1860 when it was replaced with easier and less hazardous methods of negative-positive based photography like wet-plate collodion and albumen. The image is not matted, but framed.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Missouri, Saint Louis
label: p
content: United States: Missouri, St. Louis
topic: label: Subject
content: Men
label: Subject
content: Portraits
label: Subject
content: Native Americans
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Photographic History
label: See more items in
content: Photography
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PG.003974.29
label: accession number
content: 121824
label: catalog number
content: 3974.29
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Daguerreotype
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal, copper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 22 cm x 17 cm x .5 cm; 8 21/32 in x 6 11/16 in x 3/16 in