See letters, photographs and other ephemera from two of Seattle's early families.
Dance of the sticks at Klukwan Potlatch ceremony, Alaska, October 12, 1898
Identifier: spl_ap_00110
Date: 1898-10-12
View this itemBoat 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?
View this itemTownship Plats of King County, Washington Territory - Page 49, Township 26N, Range 9E
This atlas shows early land ownership for King County, Washington, providing names and property boundaries of original purchasers, grantees, claimants, etc.
Identifier: spl_map_218451_P49_T26N_R9E
Date: 1889
View this itemMadam Pavlova, ca. 1921
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_21
Date: 1921
View this itemMan riding on Chilkoot Pass tramway, ca. 1899
During the Klondike Gold Rush, several hoists and tramways were constructed to help prospectors transport heavy loads of supplies and cargo over the pass. Prior to the construction of the tramways, prospectors carried their supplies themselves or with packhorses. Peterson's Hoist was constructed in 1896 and relied on a pulley and sled system. In 1897, Archie Burns' Tramway, a horse-powered system, went into operation. In March 1898 the Dyea-Klondike Transportation company opened up their own tram, the first electric-powered version in the world. Later that year the company merged with the Alaska Railroad and Transportation Company and Chilkoot Railroad and Transport Company to expand tram operations. In June 1899, the tram was purchased by the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad and the tram system was torn down, soon to be replaced by a narrow-gauge railroad.
Identifier: spl_ap_00125
Date: 1899?
View this itemWhite Pass and Yukon Railway tracks and mountain view, ca. 1899
During the Klondike Gold Rush, the White Pass was one of the routes used by prospectors to travel from Skagway to the Yukon gold fields. In April 1898 the White Pass and Yukon Railroad Company was formed in an effort to establish an easier way through the pass. Construction on the railroad began the following month. Thousands of workers worked around the clock in treacherous conditions to complete the project. The railroad track was completed at White Pass on February 20, 1899 and reached Lake Bennett on July 6, 1899. The final spike on the railroad was placed on July 29, 1900 in Carcross, B.C.
Identifier: spl_ap_00143
Date: 1899?
View this itemTenaya 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?
View this itemTownship Plats of King County, Washington Territory - Page 05, Township 21N, Range 3E
This atlas shows early land ownership for King County, Washington, providing names and property boundaries of original purchasers, grantees, claimants, etc.
Identifier: spl_map_218451_P05_T21N_R3E
Date: 1889
View this itemThe 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
View this item70 Mile on the Yukon, ca. 1899
Signs for "70 Mile Road House" and "A.C. Co.""(Alaska Commercial Company) appear on buildings at the right of the photograph. Exact location is unclear. The most likely candidate is near the present Seventymile River which is located south of the Yukon River between Circle City and Eagle, Alaska. Gold was discovered on Seventymile River in 1895.
Identifier: spl_ap_00175
Date: 1899?
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