The collection consists of thirteen (13) silhouettes produced by the Peale Museum.
Included are images of Shegagahega (Chaticks Si Chaticks/Pawnee); Pagesgatse (Chaticks Si Chaticks/Pawnee); Tahawarra (probably Missouria/Missouri); Macapaba (probably Missouria/Missouri); Waconsca (probably Kaw/Kansa); Sagessage ("The Wind"; Osage); Joseph Barron (spelled "Joseph Baume" on image), interpreter; and Paul Chouteau (Osage), interpreter. There are two items labeled number 10, one of which is possibly Mechenecka (Sac and Fox/Sauk & Fox).
The other silhouettes are undated. They include two labeled "Titian R. Peale" (Charles Willson Peale's son), and one labeled "Black Hawk's son."
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Historical Note:
In December 1805, Thomas Jefferson hosted a delegation of representatives of Native American tribes from Louisiana Territory in Washington D.C. In January 1806, several members of the delegation traveled to Philadelphia. There they visited Charles Willson Peale's Museum and had their silhouettes made.
Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827) was an American painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist who established one of the first museums in the United States, known as Peale's Philadelphia Museum. The silhouettes were made using a physiognotrace, a device developed by British inventor John Hawkins (1772-1855) which allowed the artist to produce multiple silhouettes simultaneously by impressing a traced image onto a folded piece of paper. The artist then cut away the center of the paper, leaving a "hollow cut" image. African American artist Moses Williams (1776-1883), an indentured servant of Peale, cut thousands of silhouettes for visitors to the museum and may be the artist responsible for the silhouettes in this collection.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 7129
OPPS NEG MHT 55,527-536
OPPS NEG 84-14405-407
Publication Note:
The silhouettes are described in Ewers, J. C. (1966). "Chiefs from the Missouri and the Mississippi" and Peale's Silhouettes of 1860. Smithsonian Journal of History, 1, 1-26.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Silhouettes
Works of art
Citation:
MS 7129 Silhouettes of members of a 1805-06 delegation to Washington, and others, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
