See letters, photographs and other ephemera from two of Seattle's early families.
Unknown man in Minneapolis, Minnesota, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by M.M. Durnam in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Identifier: spl_lj_036
Date: 1880?
View this itemUnknown girl, ca. 1865
Tintype portrait of unidentified girl.
Identifier: spl_lj_017
Date: 1865?
View this itemR.H. letter to "Friend Latimer," October 8, 1874
Letter written to Alexander Latimer, from a friend who recently moved away from Minnesota (where Latimer also lived) to Eldridge, Kansas. The friend describes his health, the weather and agricultural matters along with his disappointment in the low church attendance of his community.
Identifier: spl_lj_005
Date: 1874-02-08
View this itemWaterfront at foot of Union St., ca. 1896
Transcribed from photograph: "Waterfront at Foot of Spring Street, Seattle." Location appears to be closer to the base of Union St. Vulcan Iron Works (located between University and Union Streets) appears at the left with the Arlington Hotel (located at 1215 1st Ave.) behind it. The Arlington Dock and Golden Rule Bazaar appear at the right.
Identifier: spl_lj_064
Date: 1896?
View this itemHamadryad, ca. 1924
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_20
Date: 1924
View this itemAerial photograph of Pike Place Market looking north
Aerial photograph of Pike Place Market facing north. The viaduct and waterfront piers can be seen on the left side of the photo.
Identifier: spl_sh_00011
View this itemFlorence Wiltsie, Alice Fowler and Anita at Money Creek Park, 1920
Transcribed from photograph: "1920. Florence Wiltsie, Alice Fowler and Anita at Money Creek Park on Miller River, near Seattle." Eliza Alice Latimer Fowler was the sister of Narcissa Latimer Denny. Her daughter, Alice Anita Fowler, was born in 1890. The identity of the child in the photograph is unknown.
Identifier: spl_lj_066
Date: 1920
View this itemArthur A. Denny, ca. 1880
Portrait of one of Seattle's founders, Arthur Denny. Photograph taken by Peterson & Bro. in Seattle, Washington Territory.
Identifier: spl_lj_045
Date: 1880?
View this itemChildren of Sarah Jane Latimer Dawdy, ca. 1920
Sarah Jane Latimer Dawdy (1847-1915) was the daughter of Alexander Latimer and his second wife, Julia Ann Hart (1819-1850). She married John W. Dowdy on March 25, 1868 in Knox, Illinois. They had three children, Drennan Latimer Dawdy, Norval Dawdy and Daisy E. Dawdy. Location and exact date of the photograph are unknown.
Identifier: spl_lj_070
Date: 1920?
View this itemUnknown man in Shenandoah, Iowa, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by W.H. Brewer in Shenandoah, Iowa.
Identifier: spl_lj_032
Date: 1880?
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