McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - ITCHO-TUSTINNUGGEE, from History of the Indian Tribes of North America - ca. 1843 - T-Shirt

This hand-coloured lithograph shows Itcho-Tustinnuggee, a Seminole leader, in a dignified bust-length portrait set against a plain cream ground.

Visual Elements & Composition

Cream dominates the print, with the sitter framed in a vertical portrait rectangle. He wears a red turban topped with a black plume and a blue coat with a white ruffled collar and cuffs. A beaded zigzag sash crosses his chest, and his right hand is raised in a pointing gesture that draws the eye across the page. Navy blue, brick red, tan skin tones and a touch of black complete the palette. The lettering beneath reads "ITCHO-TUSTINNUGGEE" and "PUBLISHED BY DANIEL RICE & JAMES G. CLARK, PHILA."

Meaning & Symbolism

The portrait comes from Thomas McKenney and James Hall's multi-volume History of the Indian Tribes of North America, published in the mid-nineteenth century. The project set out to record the likenesses and leadership of prominent Native figures during the Indian Removal era, when westward expansion was reshaping Indigenous life. The original paintings were commissioned largely from Charles Bird King, who painted delegations visiting Washington, D.C. The turban, sash and pointing hand present the sitter with authority and individual presence rather than as a generic type, and the print stands as a record of his standing as a leader.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A tee is worn close to the body and seen from the front at a conversation's distance, so the vertical portrait sits naturally across the chest. The print keeps its full cream field and the sitter's pointing gesture reads clearly at that scale, letting the wearer carry a faithful reproduction of a nineteenth-century record into everyday wear.