Browse photographs from the Paul Dorpat Collection which documents the history of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. At this time, a small sampling of images has been digitized while the collection is actively being processed.
The white spot
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_05
View this itemBlack Veil
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_46
View this itemEspagnole
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_54
View this itemWomen working at Saxony Knitting Company, Seattle, ca. 1917
Women working on knit goods at tables in a workroom. In 1912, the company was located at 81 Marion St. The company was located at 150 S. Jackson St. from 1913 to 1918. Beginning in 1918, the company was headquartered at 2000 5th Ave.
Identifier: spl_dor_gpn_re_00137
Date: 1917
View this itemParsons Gardens, Queen Anne, May 7, 1967
Parsons Gardens or Parsons Memorial Garden was donated to the city of Seattle in 1956 by the children of Reginald H. Parsons and Maude Parsons and was designated a Seattle landmark in 1980. This photograph also shows the Stuart-Balcom House above the gardens, another Seattle landmark designated in 1984.
Identifier: spl_dor_00047
Date: 1967-05-07
View this itemAurora Bridge from Smith St. dead end, October 2, 1958
View of the Aurora Avenue Bridge looking north, taken from the dead end of Smith Street in East Queen Anne.
Identifier: spl_dor_00008
Date: 1958-10-02
View this itemYesler Way, east from Western Avenue, April 4, 1961
Showing views of Smith Tower, and the Seattle Hotel building the day after its demolition began on April 3, 1961.
Identifier: spl_dor_00035
Date: 1961-04-04
View this itemDrumheller Fountain, University of Washington, ca. 1980s
Exterior view looking south towards the Drumheller Fountain on the University of Washington campus. Mary Gates Hall appears on the left. Johnson Hall appears on right.
Identifier: spl_dor_00039
Date: 1985
View this itemE. Denny Way east from Boylston Ave. E., Seattle, ca. 1910s
Looking east from the south side of E Denny Way at Boylston Ave E. Views of houses, trees and telephone poles on a rainy day. The Harvard Apartments building is visible up the hill to the right.
Identifier: spl_dor_gpn_re_00056
Date: 1910; 1911; 1912; 1913; 1914; 1915; 1916; 1917; 1918; 1919
View this itemS. Jackson St. west from Occidental St. S., May 14, 1982
Photograph shows the Herman and Blumenthal Building on the corner with the Jackson Building visible behind it.
Identifier: spl_dor_00033
Date: 1982-05-14
View this item