BAPTISTE DEVION Interpreter For Oto 1869

A ZENO SHINDLER. 488. PAH-HO-CHA-INGA. Little Iowa Baptiste Devion, 1869. 5.3x4" oval albumen print on 7.2x5.3" albumen paper mounted on 14x11" beige board. Inscribed in negative: 488. Inscribed in pencil mount recto below print Baptiste Devion - Interpreter.

488. PAH-HO-CHA-INGA. Little Iowa Baptiste Devion. "Generally known by his more proper name of Baptiste Devion, is a son of John Devion, who is half French and half Missouria Indian. His mother is half Omaha, one-quarter French, and one-quarter Iowa Indian. He was partially educated at the Pawnee Mission, at Belleview, Nebr. He married into the Otoe tribe and has been employed at the Otoe agency in the several positions of teamster, farmer, interpreter, and miller, under former agents. In 1869, he was employed as an interpreter for the tribe, and has continued in the office until the present. In height he is 5 feet 9 3/4 inches, head measurement 23 1/2 inches, chest 44 inches, and weighs 220 pounds. He is about 40 years of age, and quite corpulent."

Jackson wrote about the tribe: "The Otoes, calling themselves Watoohtahtah, were known to the French as early as 1673, under the name of Otontanta; were originally part of the Missourias, and, with the Iowas, claim to have migrated to the Missouri with the Winnebagoes. They have long resided on the south side of the Platte River, in mud lodges, confederated with the Missourias, who formed one village with them. The two tribes now number 457 souls. Under the care of the Friends, many are laying aside their Indian dress and habits, and learning to labor. In common with many other tribes, their annuities are payable only in return for labor per formed, which exercises a most beneficial effect." Credit: W.H. Jackson Descriptive Catalog of the North American Indian 1877.

Antonio Zeno Shindler (1823-1899) was a photographer and artist for the Smithsonian Institution and benefactor of William Blackmore during the second half of the 20th century. Though the facts of his young life are highly speculative, he was probably born Antonio (or Antonion) Zeno in Bulgaria or Romania. He adopted the name Shindler from a patron in Geneva, Switzerland, with whom he moved to and lived with in Paris, where he studied art. While it is uncertain exactly when Shindler first arrived in the United States, he is listed in an 1852 directory for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as working as a drawing instructor.

From then until 1863, he exhibited his artwork in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1867, Shindler moved with his family and his brother-in-law's family to Washington, DC. In Washington, Shindler took propriotorship of the Addis Photographic Gallery, where he worked under the name Shindler and Company with his brother-in-law. Shindler was commissioned by English philanthropist William Henry Blackmore and the Smithsonian to make copies of Blackmore's collection of photographs, create a catalog for their exhibition, and photograph delegations of American Indians visiting Washington. The Blackmore project was completed circa 1872 and Shindler continued to work for the Smithsonian as an artist until his death in July 1899. Credit https://artvee.com/artist/antonion-zeno-shindler/
Condition Report: Good to very Good. Mild abrasions scuffs 1/4x1/4" emulsion loss lower right of oval print. Minor foxing on print and mount.