See letters, photographs and other ephemera from two of Seattle's early families.
Navarez in the strait
Parker McAllister, born in 1903 in Massachusetts, was a Seattle Times artist from 1924 to 1965. McAllister started his career as an illustrator at 14 for a Spokane publication; he joined the art staff at the Seattle Times in 1920. His first Sunday magazine cover was a poster-type illustration celebrating the University of Washington crew races in spring 1924. During McAllister's career, he created illustrations depicting “local color” events and situations now routinely handled by photographers. As the technology improved, he expanded his repertoire - he illustrated articles, drew covers for special sections and the weekly Seattle Sunday Times Magazine, and drew diagrams, comics, cartoons, and portraits for the Times’ editorial page. In 1956, an exhibition of his watercolor and oil paintings of Pacific Northwest scenes and historical incidents - including some paintings from the “Discovery of the Pacific Northwest” series - were exhibited at the Washington State Historical Society Museum in Tacoma. He was also a member of the Puget Sound Group of Men Painters. McAllister retired from the Seattle Times in 1965; he passed away in Arizona in 1970.
Identifier: spl_art_291985_16.150
Date: 1955
View this itemEnvelope to Mrs. A. [Sarah] Latimer, December 8, 1891
Empty envelope addressed to Sarah Latimer. Sarah was the wife of Alexander Latimer and mother to five daughters: Narcissa Leonora Latimer Denny (1851-1900), Eliza Alice Latimer Fowler (1856-1934), Harriet Ellen Latimer Stephens (1859-1938), Clara Latimer Bickford (1861-1934), and Emma Chesney Latimer Reynolds (1864-1946). The letter was postmarked from Minnesota. The town is difficult to read but is likely Winnebago City where Sarah Latimer was living at the time.
Identifier: spl_lj_010
Date: 1891-12-08
View this itemSpanish explorers becalmed off Patos Island
Parker McAllister, born in 1903 in Massachusetts, was a Seattle Times artist from 1924 to 1965. McAllister started his career as an illustrator at 14 for a Spokane publication; he joined the art staff at the Seattle Times in 1920. His first Sunday magazine cover was a poster-type illustration celebrating the University of Washington crew races in spring 1924. During McAllister's career, he created illustrations depicting “local color” events and situations now routinely handled by photographers. As the technology improved, he expanded his repertoire - he illustrated articles, drew covers for special sections and the weekly Seattle Sunday Times Magazine, and drew diagrams, comics, cartoons, and portraits for the Times’ editorial page. In 1956, an exhibition of his watercolor and oil paintings of Pacific Northwest scenes and historical incidents - including some paintings from the “Discovery of the Pacific Northwest” series - were exhibited at the Washington State Historical Society Museum in Tacoma. He was also a member of the Puget Sound Group of Men Painters. McAllister retired from the Seattle Times in 1965; he passed away in Arizona in 1970.
Identifier: spl_art_291985_16.153
Date: 1955
View this itemRalph Anderson Interview, May 25, 1987
Ralph Anderson (1924-2010) was a Seattle architect known for his work with historic preservation efforts in Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square. Anderson attended Queen Anne High School and graduated with his architecture degree from the University of Washington in 1951. He worked as a draftsman for Paul Hayden Kirk from 1951 to 1954 before forming his own firm. During the 1960s and 1970s, he led helped restore several buildings in Pioneer Square including the Union Trust Building, the Pioneer Building and the Grand Central Hotel. His restoration efforts extended to Pike Place Market in the 1970s, focusing on the Smith Block, Butterworth Building and Alaska Trade Building.
Identifier: spl_ds_randerson_01_01
Date: 1987-05-25
View this itemMammalia mirror
Helmi Juvonen was born in Butte, Montana on January 17, 1903. She worked in many media including printmaking, painting and paper-craft. She attended Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle where she met artist Mark Tobey with whom she was famously obsessed. Although she was diagnosed as a manic-depressive in 1930, she gained wide appreciation in the Northwest for her linocut prints depicting Northwest Indian people and tribal ceremonies. She worked with a number of artists on the Public Works of Art Project including Fay Chong and Morris Graves. Over the years, her mental health deteriorated and in 1960 she was declared a ward of the state and was committed to Oakhurst Convalescent Center. She was much beloved and had many friends and benefactors (including Wes Wehr) and was able to have exhibitions despite the confinement. She died in 1985.
Identifier: spl_art_J989Ma
Date: n.d.
View this itemUnknown man in Hamburg, Illinois, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by Rifenburg & Co. studio in Hamburg, Iowa.
Identifier: spl_lj_021
Date: 1880?
View this itemJames Smith Latimer [?], ca. 1840
A note attached to original photograph identifies the child as James Smith Latimer. James Smith Latimer (1836-1893) was the son of Alexander Latimer and his first wife, Eunice Jane Guthrie. Given that James was born in 1836, a photo showing him at this age would have been taken around 1840. The photograph, however, appears to come from a later period, making it unclear if he is actually the child in the photograph.
Identifier: spl_lj_052
Date: 1840?
View this itemBarkley at Nootka Bay
Parker McAllister, born in 1903 in Massachusetts, was a Seattle Times artist from 1924 to 1965. McAllister started his career as an illustrator at 14 for a Spokane publication; he joined the art staff at the Seattle Times in 1920. His first Sunday magazine cover was a poster-type illustration celebrating the University of Washington crew races in spring 1924. During McAllister's career, he created illustrations depicting “local color” events and situations now routinely handled by photographers. As the technology improved, he expanded his repertoire - he illustrated articles, drew covers for special sections and the weekly Seattle Sunday Times Magazine, and drew diagrams, comics, cartoons, and portraits for the Times’ editorial page. In 1956, an exhibition of his watercolor and oil paintings of Pacific Northwest scenes and historical incidents - including some paintings from the “Discovery of the Pacific Northwest” series - were exhibited at the Washington State Historical Society Museum in Tacoma. He was also a member of the Puget Sound Group of Men Painters. McAllister retired from the Seattle Times in 1965; he passed away in Arizona in 1970.
Identifier: spl_art_291985_15.142
Date: 1955
View this itemVancouver's sloop on reef in Queen Charlotte's Sound
Parker McAllister, born in 1903 in Massachusetts, was a Seattle Times artist from 1924 to 1965. McAllister started his career as an illustrator at 14 for a Spokane publication; he joined the art staff at the Seattle Times in 1920. His first Sunday magazine cover was a poster-type illustration celebrating the University of Washington crew races in spring 1924. During McAllister's career, he created illustrations depicting “local color” events and situations now routinely handled by photographers. As the technology improved, he expanded his repertoire - he illustrated articles, drew covers for special sections and the weekly Seattle Sunday Times Magazine, and drew diagrams, comics, cartoons, and portraits for the Times’ editorial page. In 1956, an exhibition of his watercolor and oil paintings of Pacific Northwest scenes and historical incidents - including some paintings from the “Discovery of the Pacific Northwest” series - were exhibited at the Washington State Historical Society Museum in Tacoma. He was also a member of the Puget Sound Group of Men Painters. McAllister retired from the Seattle Times in 1965; he passed away in Arizona in 1970.
Identifier: spl_art_291985_17.165
Date: 1956
View this itemUnknown man in Burlington, Iowa, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by S.T. Bryan in Burlington, Iowa.
Identifier: spl_lj_022
Date: 1880?
View this item