Photograph Album of the Cruise of the Revenue Cutter "Corwin" in Alaska:
Finding Aid photCL 97
Finding aid prepared by Michelle Sanchez.
The Huntington Library
© 2013
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San Marino, California 91108
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Note
Last updated by Brooke M. Black in September 2024.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Photograph Album of the Cruise of the Revenue Cutter "Corwin" in Alaska
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 97
Physical Description:
0.87 Linear Feet
(36 photographs in 1 album; album 18 x 27 cm (7 x 11 in) + 1
preservation microfilm copy reel)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1881-1883
Abstract: This photograph album illustrates the
sights and peoples experienced during a voyage of the United States Revenue Cutter
Thomas Corwin to Alaska and the Arctic Ocean during the early
1880s. There are many views of native (Inuit) villages and inhabitants in Alaska and coastal
Siberia, along with scenery and seascapes. All photographs are accompanied by detailed
manuscript captions by an unknown individual. Photographs depict Alaskan nature scenes and
harbors; Inuit people, dwellings and villages; and documentation of the fur trade in the
19th century.
Language of Material: English.
General
Finding aid last updated on April 28, 2014.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
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Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
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necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
Photograph Album of the Cruise of the Revenue Cutter "Corwin" in Alaska. The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
Purchased from Shorey Book Store (Seattle, Washington) in 1956.
Historical Note
The USRC
Thomas Corwin was a United States Revenue Cutter that
patrolled the Arctic Ocean and Bearing Sea, beginning in the late 1870s. In 1882, Michael A.
Healy (1839-1904) became commander of the
Corwin, and he rose
to the position of captain in March of 1883. While in command of the
Corwin, Healy patrolled the Arctic to the prevent illegal sale of guns and alcohol
to the Alaskan natives and to control illegal fur seal hunting. The captain was also
concerned for the well-being of the Alaskan natives, and ferried Siberian caribou to help
reestablish the natives' food supply, since many seals and walruses were killed by white
traders.
Scope and Content
This album contains photographs that were taken during a voyage of the USRC
Thomas Corwin to Alaska and the Arctic Ocean during the early
1880s. With images of the Inuit inhabitants including portraits; views of homes and
villages; and the killing and skinning of seals. There are also views of non-Indian hunters
and traders. The Inuit villages and dwellings illustrated are in Sitka, St. Michael, King's
Island, and locations in Siberia. There is one view of an "Eskimo" [i.e. Inuit] grave at an
unidentified location. The photograph album has the title "Scenes in Alaska and the Arctic
Ocean. 1883" embossed on the front cover. An ink manuscript title page reads: "Cruise of the
Revenue Cutter 'Corwin' 1881." All photographs are accompanied by detailed manuscript
captions in ink by an unknown individual.
Existence and Location of Copies
Related materials in the Huntington Library
-
Photograph Collection of the Revenue Cutters "Bear" and "Corwin" in
Alaska, 1880s (photCL 131)
contains related photographs concerning the
"Corwin."
-
Papers of Michael A. Healy, 1881-1900 (mssHM
47577-47618).
Existence and Location of Copies
There is a preservation microfilm copy: Box 9 of photCL 131. Advance arrangements for
viewing the preservation microfilm must be made with the Curator of Photographs.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Body piercing -- Photographs.
Corwin (Ship) -- Photographs.
Fur trade -- Alaska -- Photographs.
Graves -- Alaska -- Photographs.
Indians of North America -- Alaska -- Photographs.
Inuit -- Photographs.
Orthodox churches -- Photographs.
Russian Orthodox -- Photographs.
Sailing ships -- Photographs.
Whaling -- Photographs.
Alaska -- Photographs.
Arctic Ocean -- Photographs.
Bering Sea -- Photographs.
Siberia (Russia)-- Photographs.
Photograph albums.
Photographs
Marine photographs.
Healy, Michael A., 1839-1904.
Box 1
Photograph Album
Online items
General
Item titles transcribed from handwritten captions.
Box 1, Item 1
Departure Bay. East side of Vancouver Island B.C. A coal depot; extensive
mines 5 or 6 miles inland.
Box 1, Item 2
Fort Wrangell. A settlement in South Eastern Alaska. Indian village on the
right.
Box 1, Item 3
Sitka. Capital of Alaska. Indian village on the left.
Box 1, Item 5
Town and harbor of Ounalaska [Unalaska]. Ounalaska [Unalaska] Island, Behring
[Bering] sea.
Box 1, Item 6
Town of Ounalaska [Unalaska]. Behring [Bering] Sea. Headquarters and stove
houses of Alaska Commercial Co.
Box 1, Item 7
Mountain Scene and waterfall. Island of Ounalaska [Unalaska]
Box 1, Item 8
Town on St. Paul's Island. Behring [Bering] sea.
Box 1, Item 9
Interior of Greek Church. St. Paul's Island.
Box 1, Item 10
Fur seals on the beach. St. Paul's Island.
Box 1, Item 11
Group of fur seals. St. Paul's Island.
Box 1, Item 12
Killing fur seals. The animals are killed by a blow on the head with a large
club. Party on the right are the killers; on the left are the skinners who strip the
fur coats off of the dead bodies with sharp knives.
Box 1, Item 13
"Rocks beside the Sea". St. Paul's Island.
Scope and Contents
[Group of men, women, and boy sitting on rocks. Boy may be Fred Healy, son of
Captain Michael A. Healy. Woman to the right of the boy may be Mary Jane Healy,
Healy's wife.]
Box 1, Item 14
Indian town, St. Michaels [Michael], Alaska.
Box 1, Item 15
Alaska Commercial Co's trading post. St. Michaels [Michael],
Alaska.
Box 1, Item 16
Natives and traders. St. Michaels [Michael], Alaska.
Box 1, Item 17
Esquimo [Eskimo] natives of St. Michaels [Michael]. Skin canoe or "bidarka".
Esquimo [Eskimo] dogs. (Mastodon tusk on the left).
Box 1, Item 18
"Western Fur Co.'s" trading post. St. Michaels [Michael].
Box 1, Item 19
Village on Kings' Island, Behring (Bering) Sea. Island very steep, rocky, and
barren; rises about 1000 feet in height and is about 1 mile across. Houses in view are
of walrus hide, outer end supported by poles of drift wood. Some live in caves.
Natives very healthy, strong, and active.
Box 1, Item 20
Village at Plover [Providence] Bay, Siberia. Houses of walrus hide supported
by drift wood poles lashed together.
Box 1, Item 21
Groups of natives at Plover [Providence] Bay, Siberia. Central figure is
"Cornelius", a native who has been abroad and received some education on Long Island.
Speaks English well.
Box 1, Item 22
"Polunna" [Alaska native youth]. Plover [Providence] Bay,
Siberia.
Box 1, Item 23
Village at Indian Point. Siberia.
Box 1, Item 24
Groupe [Group] of natives at Indian Point, Siberia.
Box 1, Item 25
Summer encampment of Esquimo [Eskimo] at Hotham Inlet Arctic
Ocean.
Box 1, Item 26
Summer encampment, Hotham Inlet. Arctic Ocean. Frames erected for drying and
preserving fish. Drying walrus hides. Seal skin bags for holding oil.
Box 1, Item 27
Esquimo [Eskimo] tea party. Spafarief Bay. Kotzbue [Kotzebue] Sound. Arctic
Ocean.
Box 1, Item 29
"Itit-karook". Showing peculiar lip ornaments worn by men, only, on the
American shores of the Arctic & Behring [Bering] Sea.
Box 1, Item 30
Spafarief Bay. Kotzbue [Kotzebue] Sound. Arctic Ocean. Skin houses, canoes,
oil bags &c
Box 1, Item 31
Original posts, Chamisso Island. Arctic Ocean. Erected in 1826 by H.M.S.
"Blossom" in search of Sir John Franklin.
Box 1, Item 32
Groupe [Group] of natives from Point Hope, Arctic Ocean.
Box 1, Item 33
Cape Thompson, Arctic Ocean.
Box 1, Item 34
American whaler in the Arctic. Bark "Abram Barker" of New
Bedford.
Box 1, Item 35
Sunset in the Arctic Ocean. July 27th 1883. 10:30 p.m.
Box 1, Item 36
Coal Mine Bluff, Arctic Ocean. About 200 miles north of the Arctic
Circle.
