See letters, photographs and other ephemera from two of Seattle's early families.
Unknown man in Minneapolis, Minnesota, ca. 1880
Photograph taken in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Identifier: spl_lj_035
Date: 1880?
View this itemWedding Invitation of Orion O. Denny and Narcissa Latimer, March 31, 1889
Narcissa Latimer married Orion Denny on March 31, 1889. Orion was the son of Arthur and Mary Denny and first white male born in Seattle. He served as president of the Denny Clay Company.
Identifier: spl_lj_071
Date: 1889-03-31
View this itemStetson and Post Mill, ca. 1896
Transcribed from back of photograph: "Stetson + Post's Mill, Seattle."
Identifier: spl_lj_062
Date: 1896?
View this item"Monterey" gunboat in Port Orchard dry dock, ca. 1896
The Port Orchard Dry Dock mentioned in the caption is likely the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
Identifier: spl_lj_067
Date: 1896?
View this itemOrion and Narcissa Denny home, ca. 1890
Orion was the son of Arthur and Mary Denny and first white male born in Seattle. He served as president of the Denny Clay Company. In the 1890 City Directory, Orion Denny is listed at 1108 Seneca on the NW corner of Boren and Seneca. When his wife, Narcissa, died in 1900 her obituary mentioned that the couple at lived at the 1108 Seneca address for several years. In 1905, Denny constructed a larger mansion designed by Bebb & Mendel on the same street corner (which then went by the address 1204 Boren). It's possible that the home shown here is the home where Denny lived from approximately 1890-1905 before the newer mansion was constructed. The Bebb and Mendel mansion was torn down in 1972.
Identifier: spl_lj_055
Date: 1890?
View this itemLetter from G. Folsom to Arthur Goodwin regarding count of foot traffic at Pike Place Market, April 20, 1927
Letter from G. Folsom, secretary of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Seattle, informing Goodwin of the upcoming spring count of foot traffic in the Pike Place Market area and asking him to provide the numbers for the sidewalks on First Avenue between Union and Pike.
Identifier: spl_sh_00070
Date: 1927-04-20
View this itemUnknown woman in Abington, Illinois, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by C.H. Smith in Abingdon, Illinois.
Identifier: spl_lj_023
Date: 1880?
View this itemIllustrations for lecture, Feb 26 1948 (5 of 7)
Mark Tobey was born in Centerville, WI in 1890. Beginning his career as an illustrator, Mark Tobey was a deeply religious man, converting to the universalist Baha'i faith in 1918, which would in some way influence all of his works. After extensive traveling, including a period of time at a Zen monastery in Japan, Tobey taught art and philosophy at Dartington Hall in England until 1937. He then developed his "white writing" technique, painting white cursive writing on dark canvas, a technique which he (and many other Northwest artists) would use extensively until his death. He was one of the four painters LIFE magazine described as "Northwest Mystics". The others were Guy Anderson, Morris Graves and Kenneth Callahan. He died in 1976 in Basel, Switzerland.
Identifier: spl_art_T552il5
Date: 1948
View this itemDr. and Dorothea Bickford, Joe and Ollie, Alice Fowler, Emma Reynolds, Lillian Fowler, Florence Wiltsie and husband, Marilyn Wiltsie, ca. 1930
Dr. Ernest L. Bickford was the brother of Arthur Bickford, husband of Clara Latimer Bickford. Clara Latimer Bickford was the daughter of Alexander and Sarah Latimer and sister of Alice Latimer Fowler and Emma Latimer Reynolds. Lillian Fowler was the daughter of Alice Latimer Fowler and her husband Charles Fowler. Ernest and his wife Dorothea Bickford lived in Seattle for 40 years before his death in 1936. Their home, likely where the photograph was taken, was located on Mercer Island for much of that time. Transcribed from back of photograph: ""Dr. Bickford + Wife Dorothea, Joe + Ollie, Aunt Alice Fowler, Aunt Emma Reynolds, Lillian Fowler, Florence Wiltsie + husband [Lee Wiltsie]. Little girl is Marilyn Wiltsie. Bickford Home.""
Identifier: spl_lj_054
Date: 1935?
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