See letters, photographs and other ephemera from two of Seattle's early families.
Unknown young woman, ca. 1880
Exact date and location of the photograph are unknown.
Identifier: spl_lj_047
Date: 1880?
View this itemClara Latimer Bickford letter to Alexander Latimer, May 21, 1893
Clara Latimer Bickford was the daughter of Alexander and Sarah Latimer and sister of Narcissa Leonora Latimer Denny. She married Arthur Farrington Bickford in 1888 in Minnesota. They lived in Seattle from roughly 1892-1900 before moving to Oregon. In the letter, Clara discusses the health of her mother, Sarah, and the activities of her daughter, Ethel.
Identifier: spl_lj_003
Date: 1893-05-21
View this itemUnknown woman in Galesburg, Illinois, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by Thomas Harrison in Galesburg, Illinois.
Identifier: spl_lj_048
Date: 1880?
View this itemView of regrade from Washington Hotel looking south, ca. 1906
Photograph appears to be taken from near the former site of the old Washington Hotel at 3rd Ave. and Stewart St. The New Washington Hotel can be seen under construction on the right side of the photo. Although the regrade started in 1903, James Moore, the owner of the Washington Hotel, refused to clear the property until 1906 when regrading of Second and Third Avenues were well underway.
Identifier: spl_dr_042
Date: 1906
View this itemClara, Alice and Emma Latimer, ca. 1880
Clara Latimer Bickford (1861-1934), Eliza Alice Latimer Fowler (1856-1934), Emma Chesney Latimer Reynolds (1864-1946) were the daughters of Alexander and Sarah Latimer. Their sisters, Narcissa Latimer Denny and Harriet Ellen Latimer Stephens are not pictured. Photograph taken by H.S. & J.W. Hoot in Waterloo, Iowa.
Identifier: spl_lj_042
Date: 1880?
View this itemEnvelope addressed to Sarah Latimer, September 23, 1892
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 envelope was postmarked from Seattle.
Identifier: spl_lj_011
Date: 1892-09-23
View this itemUnknown man in Seattle, ca. 1885
Photograph taken by Dorsaz & Schwerin in Seattle, Washington Territory.
Identifier: spl_lj_039
Date: 1885?
View this itemNude
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_12
View this itemUnknown woman in New York, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by C. Hayden in New York City.
Identifier: spl_lj_026
Date: 1880?
View this itemUnknown woman in Clarinda, Iowa, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by E.B. Hinman in Clarinda, Iowa.
Identifier: spl_lj_031
Date: 1880?
View this item