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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Unknown man in Abington, Illinois, 1879
Photograph taken by William Johnston in Abingdon, Illinois.
Identifier: spl_lj_025
Date: 1879
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Nude
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_13
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Unknown woman in Clarinda, Iowa, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by E.B. Hinman in Clarinda, Iowa.
Identifier: spl_lj_031
Date: 1880
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Unknown man in Santa Barbara, California, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by Alfred Moore Stringfield in Santa Barbara, California.
Identifier: spl_lj_053
Date: 1880
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Unknown man in Council Grove, Kansas, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by George A. McMillan in Council Grove, Kansas.
Identifier: spl_lj_040
Date: 1885
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Unknown man in Galesburg, Illinois, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by Thomas Harrison in Galesburg, Illinois.
Identifier: spl_lj_050
Date: 1880
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Unknown man in Hamburg, Illinois, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by Rifenburg & Co. studio in Hamburg, Iowa.
Identifier: spl_lj_021
Date: 1880
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James 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
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Narcissa Latimer letter to Alice Latimer, February 17, 1888
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 Alice and discusses attending the wedding of George and Leanna, the birth of their sister Harriet's child, and her plans to take a break from teaching to take music classes. The letter was postmarked from Abingdon, Illinois.
Identifier: spl_lj_006
Date: 1888-02-17
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Unknown man in Burlington, Iowa, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by S.T. Bryan in Burlington, Iowa.
Identifier: spl_lj_022
Date: 1880
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