Collection Guide
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A guide to the Albert G. Kingsbury lantern slide collection, circa 1880-1930
P97-025 (SAFR 23857)
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Title: Albert G. Kingsbury lantern slide collection
Date: circa 1880-1930
Date (bulk): 1897-1915
Identifier/Call Number: P97-025 (SAFR 23857)
Creator:
Kingsbury, Albert G.
Hegg, Eric A.
Hegg, Eric A.
Physical Description:
385 items.
Repository:
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
Abstract: The Albert G. Kingsbury lantern slide collection, circa 1880-1930, bulk 1897-1915, (SAFR 23857, P97-025) is comprised mainly
of photographs of Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush and Nome Gold Rush as well as photographs
of Mexico. The collection has been processed to the File Unit level, with some Items listed, and is open for use.
Physical Location: San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
Language(s):
In English.
This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.
Glass lantern slides may require special handling by the reference staff.
Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other
case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.
Each photographic image has been assigned an Item number; in some cases there are multiple physical forms of each image (e.g.
two lantern slides with identical images) which has been noted in the physical description field.
See also the collection file for a magazine received from the donor of the P97-025. The February 1983 issue of "Smithsonian"
(Volume 13, Number 11) contains the article "Hell Roaring Mike: A Fall from Grace in the Frozen North" by Mary and Albert
Cocke (pages 119-137). The article discusses the life of Captain Michael Healy, former captain of the U.S. Revenue Cutters
CORWIN and BEAR, among others.
Description Notes:
Dates refer to when the original photograph was taken.
The descriptions in this collection guide were compiled using the best available sources of information. Such sources include
the creator's annotations or descriptions, collection accession files, primary and secondary source material and subject matter
experts. While every effort was made to provide accurate information, in the event that you find any errors in this guide
please contact the reference staff in order for us to evaulate and make corrections to this guide.
Please cite the title and collection number in any correspondence with our staff.
[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item
Number], P97-025 (SAFR 23857), Albert G. Kingsbury lantern slide collection, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
SAFR-01180
Murray D. Baxter donated the collection in 1996. Upon the death of his parents, Mr. Baxter inherited the lantern slides which
had belonged to his great uncle, Albert G. Kingsbury, of San Diego, California. Mr. Baxter's grandfather, Henry Kingsbury,
was the brother of Albert. The Gulf Islands National Seashore received the collection on behalf of the San Francisco Maritime
National Historical Park and shipped the collection to San Francisco.
Historical or Biographical Note
Albert G. Kingsbury ([1850s]-1932) was a machinist, mineral prospector, and traveler.
Albert George Kingsbury was born in the 1850s in Francestown, New Hampshire, to George and Betsey Kingsbury. He had two brothers,
Warren and Henry. He was educated in the machinist trade, with a specialization in hydraulics and electrics. He relocated
to Florida where he "was engaged in installing apparatus for manufacturing ice and electric light and power, and for irrigation
purposes, successfully combining the three plants in one when conditions made it desirable" for ten years ("The Editor's Table").
He then spent three years in Mexico making similar installations around the country.
In 1898, Kingsbury departed for Alaska to participate in the Klondike Gold Rush; however, his journey was disrupted when the
vessel on which he was traveling, the schooner JANE GRAY, sank off Cape Flattery, Washington, on May 22. Kingsbury was one
of the twenty-seven survivors of the wreck. He resumed his voyage north on the steam schooner GRACE DOLLAR, arriving in Kotzebue
Sound, Alaska, from which he traveled up the Kobuk River on the steamer ARTIC BIRD. He traveled hundreds of miles and also
spent time working as an engineer aboard Alaska Commercial Company river steamers, eventually making his way to Nome, Alaska,
where he stayed the summer of 1899. In the fall, Kingsbury returned to his home in Boston, Massachusetts, but he made multiple
trips back to Alaska. He wrote articles about his some of his Alaska experiences for National Magazine and New England Magazine.
During his trip to Alaska in 1900, he sailed aboard the former U.S. Revenue Cutter CORWIN, which had been sold to the Corwin
Trading
Company in February of that year. Kingsbury may have been an investor in the Corwin Trading Company.
The United States Census for 1920 and 1930 place Kingsbury in San Diego, California, working as a real estate agent. He died
on January 24, 1932.
- "The Editor's Table." New England Magazine XXXII, no. 4 (June 1905): 499-500.
- "Bound for Nome." San Francisco Call (San Francisco, California), May 16, 1900.
- Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Accessed July 9, 2014.
- Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Accessed July 9, 2014.
- Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Accessed July 9, 2014.
- Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Accessed July 9, 2014.
Articles written by A. G. Kingsbury, in chronological order (Note: This is not an exhaustive list.):
- "Through Unknown Regions of Alaska." National Magazine XII, no. 1 (April 1900): 753-760.
- "Seattle and the Nome Rush." National Magazine XII, no. 3 (June 1900): 162-167.
- "A Summer in the Arctic Circle." National Magazine XII, no. 6 (September 1900): 476-482.
- "Alaska: Present and Possible." New England Magazine XXXII, no. 6 (August 1905): 657-662.
- "Northern Alaska To-day." New England Magazine XXXV, no. 1 (September 1906): 3-16.
The Albert G. Kingsbury lantern slide collection, circa 1880-1930, bulk 1897-1915, (SAFR 23857, P97-025) is comprised mainly
of photographs of Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush and Nome Gold Rush as well as photographs
of Mexico. The collection has been processed to the File Unit level, with some Items listed, and is open for use.
Contains photographs of vessels, cities, mining, prospectors, and indigenous people during the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon
Territory, Canada, and the Nome Gold Rush in Alaska as well as photographs of city scenes in Mexico, circa 1880-1930, bulk
1897-1915. There are 369 unique photographic images in 385 physical forms (lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.).
Many of the photographs were likely taken by Albert G. Kingsbury. Kingsbury spent three years in Mexico, likely sometime between
1880-1898, during which he feasibly photographed the various buildings, people, and bullfights in Mexico City, Guadalajara,
Veracruz, and other cities that appear in this collection. In 1898, Kingsbury traveled to Alaska and Canada, initially for
the Klondike Gold Rush, but he also spent time in Nome, Alaska, during the Nome Gold Rush. He made return trips to Alaska
over the next few years. The collection includes photographs of the Corwin Trading Company vessel CORWIN (built 1876; steamship),
which Kingsbury traveled aboard on his trip to Alaska in 1900, and the wreck of CATHERINE SUDDEN (built 1878; barkentine,
3m), which was salvaged by CORWIN during the voyage. One photograph (Item 161) is identified as Kingsbury near the Allakaket
River, Alaska, in 1899, and two photographs (Items 023 and 024) show Kingsbury's perspective from his boat while being towed
up the Kowak River
between 1898-1900.
Other Alaska and Yukon photographs in the collection show additional vessels, including paddle riverboats, small craft, and
kayaks. The collection also includes photographs of Nome, Alaska, and other cities and encampments; prospectors, mining activities,
and mining machinery; sleds and wagons; and indigenous peoples.
Nine photographs (Items 023, 024, 125, 137, 191, 193, 194, 201 and 222) appear in an article Kingsbury wrote titled "Through
Unknown Regions of Alaska" (National Magazine XII, no. 1 (April 1900): 753-760) and one photograph (Item 063) appears in Kingsbury's
article "Northern Alaska To-day" (New England Magazine XXXV, no. 1 (September 1906): 3-16).
The collection also includes images by photographers by Eric A. Hegg (signed "E. A. Hegg"), John M. Blankenberg, and N. H.
Wood. Additional photographs in the collection are likely by Hegg or other unidentified photographers; however, they could
not be positively attributed at the time of processing.
Arranged into three Series: Series 1: Alaska and Canada; Series 2: Mexico; Series 3: Polynesia and other locations.
The original arrangement of the collection is unknown. The Museum Services Disposition sheet lists six original boxes (two
Eastman lantern slide boxes and four wooden boxes) containing lantern slides as well as 179 additional "loose" slides; however,
at the time of processing, the archivist found the slides in five museum storage boxes. No documentation was found indicating
which original boxes each slide came from or what the original order was. Some broken glass plates had been separated from
their original order and placed at the end of the range of slides.
Due to the fact that the original order is unknown and that slides of both Alaska and Mexico were found in each box, the processing
archivist made the decision to physically arrange the slides into three series based on geographic location and subject matter
rather than maintain the order in which the slides were found.
Related manuscript collections:
Report of the Cruise of Revenue Steamer Corwin in the Arctic, 1884. SFMNHP, (SAFR 14999, HDC1112). Report written by Captain
M.A. Healy, U.S.R.M., Commander.
Related object collections:
The original enclosures for the lantern slides in P97-025 are cataloged as SAFR 19771 (Eastman Lantern Slide Plates box) and
SAFR 19828 (wooden boxes). A lantern slide projector and projector parts also donated along with the slides are cataloged
as SAFR 15095-15099.
Researchers should note that there are other books and collections with materials related to the Klondike and Nome gold rushes
in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. They can search the Park's web catalog for more information.
- This material is located at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Paddle steamers
Merchant ships
Small craft
Shipwrecks--Alaska
Gold mines and mining--Alaska
Gold mines and mining--Canada
Indians of North America--Alaska
Indians of North America--Canada
Corwn (Ship)
Catherine Sudden (built 1878; barkentine, 3m)
Corwin Trading Company
Alaska
Nome (Alaska)
Yukon
Mexico
Lantern slides