Tal-A-Mas-Mico, Or, King of the Forest. Christened, John D. Bemo. Half-length albumen CDV studio portrait. Philad[elphia, Pennsylvania]: Hilliard. Photographer's imprint and title printed to verso. 

John Douglas Bemo (c. 1824?-1890) was originally from Florida, a member of the Seminole Nation. At the outbreak of the Second Seminole War (1835-1842), he was captured and impressed into service as a sailor in the United States Navy. In 1842, he met Rev. Orson Douglas in Philadelphia, who convinced Bemo to convert to Christianity. During this time, Bemo became a well-known public speaker, delivering lectures about his experience as a Seminole and subsequent conversion to Christianity. In 1843, Bemo established a school for the Seminole who had been removed from Florida to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). He settled there permanently, where he taught, preached, and proselytized. 

Here, Bemo wears a traditional Seminole turban made of wool shawls and a jacket featuring decorative tasseled trim. Another portrait of Bemo wearing Anglo-American clothes was sold in these rooms previously (14 May 2024, Lot 68).

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