A guide to the Albert G. Kingsbury lantern slide collection, circa 1880-1930

Box 1-6

Series 1. Alaska and Canada, 1890-1915 (bulk bulk 1897-1915)

Extent: 250 photographs (264 physical forms: lantern slides)

Scope and Content Note

Consists of photographs taken in Alaska and Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush and Nome Gold Rush. Includes photographs of CORWIN (built 1876; steamship), owned by the Corwin Trading Company, and the wreck of CATHERINE SUDDEN (built 1878; barkentine, 3m), which was salvaged by CORWIN, as well as photographs of other vessels, including paddle riverboats, small craft, and kayaks. There are photographs of various cities and encampments, a majority of which were taken in Nome, Alaska. Six photographs show Corwin Coal Company and Corwin Trading Company locations, likely in Alaska. There are photographs of prospectors, mining activities, and mining equipment, as well as photographs of sleds and wagons pulled by horses, dogs, and reindeer for recreation and transportation. The Series also includes photographs of indigenous peoples, some of which are professional studio portraits, and gravesites of indigenous peoples and non-natives, as well as landscape views and other miscellaneous photographs.

Many of the photographs were likely taken by Albert G. Kingsbury; however, because Kingsbury did not mark all his slides, it is difficult to be certain which images are his. The File Unit also includes fifty-nine photographs by Eric A. Hegg (signed "E. A. Hegg"), one photograph by John M. Blankenberg, and one photograph by N. H. Wood. Additional photographs in the File Unit are likely by Hegg or other photographers; however, they could not be positively attributed at the time of processing.

Arrangement

Arranged into eleven File Units based on subject matter: File Unit 1: Corwin (built 1876; steamship) and Catherine Sudden (built 1878; barkentine, 3m); File Unit 2: Other vessels; File Unit 3: Corwin Coal Company and Corwin Trading Company locations; File Unit 4: Nome, Alaska; File Unit 5: Other cities and encampments; File Unit 6: Mining activities and equipment; File Unit 7: Sleds and wagons; File Unit 8: Indigenous peoples; File Unit 9: Gravesites; File Unit 10: Landscapes; File Unit 11: Other photographs.

Box 1

File Unit 01. Corwin (built 1876; steamship) and Catherine Sudden (built 1878; barkentine, 3m), 1900-1915

Extent: 12 photographs.

Physical Description: 12 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 001-012. Consists of photographs of CORWIN (built 1876; steamship), likely off Alaska (Items 001-005, 012), and the wreckage of CATHERINE SUDDEN (built 1878; barkentine, 3m) in the Bering Sea (Items 006-012).

CATHERINE SUDDEN was built by Hall Brothers in Port Ludlow, Washington. Her home port was San Francisco, California. She wrecked in the ice in the Bering Sea in June 1900 and was abandoned by her crew. Upon finding CATHERINE SUDDEN dismasted and partially sunk, CORWIN (built 1876; steamship) was able to refloat the vessel in order to tow her to Nome, Alaska. On board CATHERINE SUDDEN was DOROTHY (launch), which the CORWIN's crew salvaged. In Nome, CORWIN's crew sold CATHERINE SUDDEN's cargo. In September, a storm drove the hulk of CATHERINE SUDDEN ashore and she broke to pieces.

CORWIN was formerly the United States Revenue Cutter THOMAS CORWIN. Her home port was San Francisco, California, but most of her career was spent in the waters off Alaska. In 1900, the Corwin Trading Company purchased the vessel for use in mineral prospecting in Alaska.

Box 1

File Unit 02. Other vessels, 1897-1915

Extent: 31 photographs.

Physical Description: 31 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 013-043. Consists of photographs of various vessels, including Native kayaks, paddle riverboats, other steamships, and small craft underway, moored, wrecked, and covered in ice in Alaska and the Yukon Territory, Canada. Includes A.J. GODDARD (paddle riverboat), ARCTIC BIRD (steamer), JOE. MATHEWS (steamer), JOHN CUDAHY (paddle riverboat), KALAMAZOO (riverboat?), SANTA ANA (steam schooner), SEATTLE NO. 1 (paddle riverboat), SKOOKUM (barge) and other unidentified vessels. Two photographs were taken by Albert G. Kingsbury while a riverboat towed his boat up the Kowak River, Alaska (Items 023 and 024).

Box 1

File Unit 03. Corwin Coal Company and Corwin Trading Company locations, 1900-1915

Extent: 6 photographs (7 physical forms).

Physical Description: 7 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 044-049. Consists of photographs of a Corwin Coal Company building and a Corwin Trading Company building, likely in Alaska.

Box 1-2

File Unit 04. Nome, Alaska, 1898-1915

Extent: 38 photographs (47 physical forms).

Physical Description: 47 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 050-087. Consists of photographs of street scenes, including Front Street and Steadman Avenue, and the waterfront at Nome, Alaska.

Items 072-087 show partially collapsed buildings after destructive storms. In Item 086, the bow of ELK NO.1 (vessel type unidentified) is on the left. Item 076 possibly shows the Pacific Cold Storage Company plant and a sign for Elite Baths is visible in Item 084. Items 076 and 084 were likely taken after an October 1913 storm. Whether or not the other storm damage photographs in this File Unit were taken in June 1900, October 1913, or on a different date could not be confirmed. Note that there may be additional photographs of Nome in Series 1, File Unit 05, that could not be positively identified at the time of processing.

Box 2-3

File Unit 05. Other cities and encampments, 1897-1915

Extent: 40 photographs.

Physical Description: 40 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 088-127. Consists of photographs of cities and encampments in Alaska and Canada. Alaska locations include Anvil Creek, Dyea, Unalaska, Skagway, and the Kowak River. Canada locations include Dawson, Lindeman Lake, Miles Canyon, Fort Selkirk, Stewart City, and the Pelly River. Other locations are unidentified.

Box 3

File Unit 06. Mining activities and equipment, 1897-1915

Extent: 33 photographs.

Physical Description: 33 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 128-160. Consists of photographs of prospectors mining for gold and the equipment they use, including rockers, sluices, and dredges, in Alaska and the Yukon Territory, Canada. Items 128-131 show prospectors en route to the Yukon gold fields through Chilkoot Pass and along One Mile River.

Box 3-4

File Unit 07. Sleds and wagons, 1897-1915

Extent: 25 photographs (27 physical forms).

Physical Description: 27 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 161-185. Consists of photographs of dogsleds as well as horse and reindeer drawn sleds and wagons in Alaska and the Yukon Territory, Canada. They are shown being used both for recreational outings and for hauling items.

Box 4

File Unit 08. Indigenous peoples, 1897-1915

Extent: 36 photographs (37 physical forms).

Physical Description: 37 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 186-221. Consists of photographs of indigenous peoples of Alaska and the Yukon Territory, Canada. Includes professional studio portraits and informal photographs outdoors.

Box 4, 6

File Unit 09. Gravesites, 1897-1915

Extent: 9 photographs (10 physical forms).

Physical Description: 10 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 222-230. Consists of photographs of gravesites of Native and non-Native people in Alaska or the Yukon Territory, Canada.

Box 4

File Unit 10. Landscapes, 1897-1915

Extent: 15 photographs.

Physical Description: 15 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 231-245. Consists of photographs of landscape views in Alaska, including the Bearing Sea and beaches at Dutch Harbor and Nome, as well as the Yukon River in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Most locations are unidentified.

Box 4

Item No. 231. Sunrise over the Bering Sea, Alaska, 1900

Creator/Collector: Hegg, Eric A.

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in. Cracks in lower left corner. Photog. no. 1222.

Scope and Content Note

Box 4

Item No. 232. Beach at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, 1897-1902

Creator/Collector: Hegg, Eric A.

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in. Slide is cracked. Photog. no. 1419.

Scope and Content Note

The rock formation has a hole in it.

Caption: Hole in the wall, Dutch Harbor.

Box 4

Item No. 233. Waves crashing on the beach at Nome, Alaska, 1897-1902

Creator/Collector: Hegg, Eric A.

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Caption: Surf at Nome, Alaska.

Box 4

Item No. 234. Miles Canyon and the Yukon River, Yukon Territory, 1897-1902

Creator/Collector: Hegg, Eric A.

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in. Upper right corner is cracked. Photog. no. [?]02.

Scope and Content Note

Two women are standing near the cliff edge on the left.

Caption: Miles Canyon.

Box 4

Item No. 235. Five Finger Rapids on the Yukon River, Yukon Territory, 1897-1902

Creator/Collector: Hegg, Eric A.

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in.

Box 4-5

File Unit 11. Other photographs, circa 1890-1915

Extent: 5 photographs.

Physical Description: 5 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 246-250. Consists of photographs of seal hunting, a Sami man and woman, a reindeer herd, and a polar bear in Alaska.

Box 4

Item No. 246. Men clubbing fur seals on Saint Paul Island, Alaska, before 1895

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

The photographer is unknown, but it is not likely A. G. Kingsbury.

Box 4

Item No. 247. Men skinning fur seals in Alaska, circa 1890-1900

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

The photographer is unknown, but it is not likely A. G. Kingsbury.

Box 5

Item No. 248. Sami man and woman, possibly in Alaska, circa 1895-1915

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in., hand colored.

Scope and Content Note

Studio portrait. The photographer is unknown, but it is not likely A. G. Kingsbury.

Box 5

Item No. 249. Reindeer herd at Port Clarence, Alaska, 1900

Creator/Collector: Hegg, Eric A.

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in. Photog. no. 1201.

Scope and Content Note

Box 5

Item No. 250. Polar bear, circa 1895-1915

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in.

Box 5-6

Series 2. Mexico, circa 1880-1898

Extent: 110 photographs (112 physical forms: lantern slides)

Scope and Content Note

Consists of photographs taken in Mexico, primarily city scenes, including Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Veracruz. Two photographs show small craft underway and a series of twenty-one photographs document a bullfight in an unidentified Mexican stadium. Albert G. Kingsbury is likely the photographer of these images.

Arrangement

Arranged into three File Units based on subject matter: File Unit 1: Vessels; File Unit 2: Bullfights; File Unit 3: Cities and people.

Box 5

File Unit 1. Vessels, circa 1880-1898

Extent: 2 photographs.

Physical Description: 2 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 251-252. Consists of photographs of small craft underway, apparently off the coast of Mexico.

Box 5

Item No. 251. Rowboat underway, apparently off the coast of Mexico, circa 1890-1898

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

One man is on board. There is a canopy over the boat. Additional rowboats and steamships are in the distance.

Box 5

Item No. 252. Scow and other small craft underway, apparently off the coast of Mexico, circa 1890-1898

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 lantern slide, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Most vessels appear to have one square sail as well as oars for rowing.

Box 5

File Unit 2. Bullfights, circa 1880-1898

Extent: 21 photographs.

Physical Description: 21 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 253-273. Consists of photographs of bullfights in a Mexico stadium.

Box 5-6

File Unit 3. Cities and people, circa 1880-1898

Extent: 87 photographs (89 physical forms).

Physical Description: 89 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 274-360. Consists of photographs of various city scenes in Mexico. There are no descriptions on the slides identifying the locations or dates of the images. The processing archivist identified some buildings as cathedrals in Guadalajara, Mexico City (Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Templo del Pocito), and Veracruz. There is one photograph of the Kiosco Morisco (Moorish Kiosk) in Mexico City. Many photographs show local residents.

Box 6

Series 3. Polynesia and other locations, circa 1880-1930

Extent: 9 photographs (9 physical forms: lantern slides)

Scope and Content Note

Consists of studio portrait photographs of Polynesian women as well as other photographs taken in mostly unidentified locations outside of Alaska, Canada, and Mexico.

Arrangement

Arranged into two File Units based on subject matter: File Unit 1: Polynesia; File Unit 2: Other locations.

Box 6

File Unit 1. Polynesia, 1880-1915

Extent: 3 photographs.

Physical Description: 3 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 361-363. Consists of studio portrait photographs of Polynesian women by an unidentified professional photographer. Eric A. Hegg was known to have spent time in Hawaii; however, it could not be confirmed that he is the photographer of these images.

Item list:

Item 361: Two women, standing, with their arms outstretched as if dancing. Photog. no. 1002.
Item 362: Three women, seated, with ukuleles and a guitar. Photog. no. 1003.
Item 363: Three women, one seated holding a ukulele and two standing. Photog. no. 1022.

Box 6

File Unit 2. Other locations, circa 1890-1930

Extent: 6 photographs.

Physical Description: 6 lantern slides, 3.25 x 4 in.

Scope and Content Note

Items 364-369. Consists of photographs taken in other, mostly unidentified, locations, possibly outside of Alaska, Canada, and Mexico.

Item list:

Items 364-365: Chinese children in an unidentified city.
Item 366: Man and woman standing outside a building, possibly circa 1920-1930.
Item 367: Stacks of boxes with a large rock placed on top. There are 20-30 stacks with 2-4 boxes each.
Item 368: Mountain, possibly Mount Rainier, near Seattle, Washington.
Item 369: Illustration of a pig with suckling piglets titled "Warm meals at all hours."

Collection Contents