Arthur C. Pillsbury Collection
See photographs of the Klondike Gold Rush, California, Oregon and Washington taken by Arthur C. Pillsbury (1870-1946) between about 1896 and 1900.
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Taku Glacier, Alaska, ca. 1899
The original Tlingit name for Foster Glacier was Taku Glacier. It was also known as Schulze Glacier in the 1880s and Foster Glacier in the 1890s before reverting to its first name.
Identifier: spl_ap_00062
Date: 1899?
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Chief Kyan totem pole in Ketchikan, Alaska, ca. 1899
Chief Kyan was a Tlingit chief who, in 1885, sold 160 acres to Mike Martin, one of the city of Ketchikan's founders. The totem pole shows the lineage of the Chief's family. The bear at the base of the pole represents Chief Kyan's family. The Thunderbird in the center represents his wife's family and the crane at the top represents his wife.
Identifier: spl_ap_00080
Date: 1899?
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Dance of the sticks at Klukwan Potlatch ceremony, Alaska, October 12, 1898
Identifier: spl_ap_00110
Date: 1898-10-12
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The white spot
Frank Asakichi Kunishige was born in Japan on June 5, 1878. He came to the United States via San Francisco in 1895. After graduating from the Illinois College of Photography, he opened a small photography studio in San Francisco. Kunishige moved to Seattle in 1917. In the same year, he married Gin Kunishige and began working in the studio of Edward S. Curtis where he became acquainted with Ella McBride who he worked for in later years. Kunishige was well known for his use of Pictorialism, a popular painterly style of photography. He developed his photographs on "textura tissue," a paper of his own creation, which allowed him to produce almost dreamlike prints. His work was featured nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications such as Photo-Era and Seattle's Town Crier. In 1924, Kunishige became one of the founding members of the Seattle Camera Club, a group of local photographers including Kyo Koike, Yukio Morinaga, Iwao Matsushita and Fred Y. Ogasawara who gathered to share techniques and ideas, as well as their deep love of the medium. Although the group was initially solely Japanese, they soon welcomed more members including Ella McBride, their first female member. When World War II struck and the country's Japanese internment policy was put in place, Kunishige and his wife were forced to leave Seattle for Idaho where they were interned at the Minidoka camp. After their release, Kunishige spent two years working at a photography studio in Twin Falls, Idaho but eventually returned to Seattle due to his poor health. Frank Kunishige passed away on April 9, 1960.
Identifier: spl_art_367924_05
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Boat in Taku Inlet between Wyndon and Taku Glaciers, ca. 1899
The original Tlingit name for Foster Glacier was Taku Glacier. It was also known as Schulze Glacier in the 1880s and Foster Glacier in the 1890s before reverting to its first name. No mention of the Wyndon Glacier was found in historical or current resources.
Identifier: spl_ap_00064
Date: 1899?
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Muir Glacier, Alaska, June 25, 1899
A steamboat can be seen at the far left of the photograph and the Muir Glacier can be seen at the right.
Identifier: spl_ap_00053
Date: 1899?
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Silver Bow Basin near Juneau, Alaska, ca. 1899
Silver Bow Basin runs along Gold Creek where gold was first discovered in 1880 by Richard Harris and Joe Juneau. The gold discovery led to the development of the nearby town of Juneau. Water jets and other mining equipment can be seen at the right of the photograph.
Identifier: spl_ap_00066
Date: 1899?
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12 Mile House on Fantail Trail, British Columbia, ca. 1899
The Fantail Trail was a route between Log Cabin and Atlin, British Columbia used primarily used in winter when prospectors were unable to travel via steamboat. A gold rush at Atlin began in August 1898 and lasted through 1900.
Identifier: spl_ap_00047
Date: 1899?
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Tenaya Canyon in Yosemite, ca. 1897-1900
No caption is provided for the photograph but it appears to show Tenaya Canyon in Yosemite. Half Dome appears at the right of the photograph. Pillsbury had a lifelong interest in the park and established his own photograph studio there in 1897.
Identifier: spl_ap_00164
Date: 1897?; 1900?
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