E. Hattorf (Hamburg)
1885Studio portrait of a Nuxalk man, Tom Henry; he wears a fur hat, face paint, and a chilkat blanket with fur trim; Hamburg, Germany. (Bella Coola Indianer)
Carte de visite
British MuseumMuseum number: Am,B59.2
Curator's comments (Accessed: 17 March 2019)
Context: The man in this image took part in live performances while on 'exhibition' in zoos across Germany. These performances were the idea of Carl Hagenbeck, who provided zoos with wild animals, and in 1876 put on exhibitions at Zoos with both Inuit and Sudanese people. These exhibitions may have been the source of inspiration for Geoffroy de Saint-Hilaire's similar exhibitions in the Jardin d'acclimatation in Paris. The tour of the Nuxalk performers, including Tom Henry, took place in 1885,when the Norwegian entrepreneur Phillip Jacobson brought nine Nuxalk men to perform at Carl Hagenbeck's Zoo in Hamburg, Germany. They later toured to 22 other German cities. A recent Canadian documentary by Barbara Hager, From Bella Coola to Berlin, explores the effects that Jacobson's performers had upon their audiences and their contribution to the preservation of Nuxalt culture.
LL/89813