Mah-Je-Gah-Bo. [He looks well Standing]. Bust-length studio portrait. Albumen stereoview on bright yellow publisher's mount. St. Paul, Minnesota: Charles A. Zimmerman, ca. 1870s. Photographer's imprint and view title to mount recto. Numbered in the negative "820" at lower right of the right image.

A striking, dignified portrait of the Ojibwe (Chippewa) leader Mah-Je-Gah-Bo, posed in a strong profile-facing studio sitting. He is attired in a heavy dark wool trade blanket accented with a broad fur collar, braided hair, and an elaborate feathered headdress or roach arrangement fanning behind his head. Across his lap rests an axe adorned with trade ribbon or cloth wrapping.

Charles A. Zimmerman was among the foremost photographic chroniclers of Native peoples and frontier life in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest during the post-Civil War era. Operating from his studio on Third Street in St. Paul, Zimmerman produced an extensive series of high-quality stereo portraits documenting Ojibwe and Dakota leaders and delegation members visiting the territorial and state capital, creating an indispensable visual and ethnographic record of the region.

[Native Americans, Ojibwe, Chippewa, Mah-Je-Gah-Bo, He Looks Well Standing, Minnesota, St. Paul, Upper Midwest, American Indian Leaders, Ethnographic Photography, Feathered Roach, Fur Collars] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Stereoviews, Stereographs, Albumen Prints, Charles A. Zimmerman, Minnesota Photographers]

Very good condition with pleasing, warm sepia tones, sharp definition in the facial features and headdress, and minimal surface wear. The bright yellow mount remains sturdy, crisp, and flat, exhibiting only faint peripheral rubbing at the corners.