Lu Jacobson Collection of Latimer and Denny Family Material
See letters, photographs and other ephemera from two of Seattle's early families.
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Winter dance time
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_J989Wi
Date: 1946
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Unidentified islands, ca. 1899
Islands are presumed to be in Alaska but exact location is unknown.
Identifier: spl_ap_00118
Date: 1899?
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Man 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?
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Unknown man in Waterloo, Iowa, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by H.S. & J.W. Hoot in Waterloo, Iowa.
Identifier: spl_lj_024
Date: 1880?
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Indigenous women in Nome, Alaska, ca. 1899
The same photograph was published on page 279 of the ""Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen's Magazine,"" Volume 29. An illustration based on the photograph appeared in the June 1900 issue of "McClure's Magazine." Gold was discovered near Nome in the summer of 1898. Prospectors rushed to stake claims and Nome's population quickly ballooned to 10,000 people. In 1899, more gold was discovered on beaches near the town and spurred an even greater rush of visitors. By 1900, an estimated 1000 people a day were arriving in Nome. Pillsbury took some of the first available photographs of the city. Following his departure, the winter conditions made it too difficult for others to reach the area.
Identifier: spl_ap_00177
Date: 1899?
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Narcissa Latimer letter to Alexander and Sarah Latimer, November 17, 1884
Narcissa Leonora (Nora) Latimer Denny was the daughter of Alexander and Sarah Latimer. She had four sisters: Eliza Alice Latimer Fowler (1856-1934), Harriet Ellen Latimer Stephens (1859-1938), Clara Latimer Bickford (1861-1934), and Emma Chesney Latimer Reynolds (1864-1946). Narcissa married Orion Denny on April 1, 1889. The letter is addressed to Alexander and Sarah Latimer and is written from Seattle. It discusses Seattle's climate, her duties as a teacher, women's suffrage, the recent presidential election and Denny family matters including the birth of Roland Denny's third daughter (Edith Denny). Narcissa writes that one of Roland's daughters' was upset that the baby was a girl and notes that ""Cousin Arthur"" (Arthur Denny) consoled the child by telling her that a girl is worth as much as a boy because ""She can vote."" (Washington Territory women were granted the right to vote in 1883 but the right was repealed in August 1888 when a court ruled that the territorial government did not have the authority to enfranchise women voters. Washington became a state in 1889 but women did not regain the vote in Washington until 1910.)
Identifier: spl_lj_004
Date: 1884-11-17
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Iris
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_02
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Marion St. east from 2nd Ave., February 5, 1982
Photograph shows remnants of the Olympic National Life Building after demolition on the northeast corner, as well as the YMCA building and the former Union Bank of California Building (later rebranded as 901 Fifth Avenue) on the corners of 4th Ave. and Marion St.
Identifier: spl_dor_00029
Date: 1982-02-05
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Juneau, Alaska harbor and the Gastineau Channel looking NW, ca. 1899
In 1880, gold was discovered at Silver Bow Basin by Richard Harris and Joe Juneau. The gold discovery led to the development of the nearby town of Juneau.
Identifier: spl_ap_00068
Date: 1899?
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