Alaska Packers Association motion picture film, 1909-1918

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Summary

Creators:
Alaska Packers Association
Extent:
1 item
Language:
In English.
Preferred citation:

[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item Number], P79-179a (SAFR 14965), Alaska Packers Association motion picture film, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Background

Scope and content:

The Alaska Packers Association motion picture film (P79-19a, SAFR14965) consists of one reel of 35mm silent black-and-white motion picture film known as "Old Sailing Ships" approximately 1,000 feet of the Alaska Packers Fleet, circa 1909-1918.

The film's run time is 00:18:29. A digital preservation copy made from the original 35mm print is available for streaming on the Internet Archives at https://archive.org/details/csfmm_00002 and digitized by the California Audiovisual Preservation Project (CAVPP). A 16mm copy projection print was made by San Francisco Maritime Museum in 1979.

Shot List
  • 00:00:09 - Unloading cargo dockside.
  • 00:00:37 - Star of Lapland unloading.
  • 00:00:53 - Loading supplies: hogs into hold, hay bales, barrels and bedding.
  • 00:02:18 - Star of Alaska? OR Iceland.
  • 00:02:36 - Star of Finland.
  • 00:02:59 - Star of Chile.
  • 00:03:33 - Star of Iceland.
  • 00:04:04 - Tacoma.
  • 00:04:14 - Star of Alaska.
  • 00:04:19 - Loading vessel.
  • 00:04:30 - Donkey engine and operator.
  • 00:04:35 - Star of France.
  • 00:04:44 - Vessel departure.
  • 00:05:25 - Pier 54 - with fleet in background and workers moving lumber and dogs in foreground.
  • 00:05:37 - Loading lumber and crates.
  • 00:05:57 - Vessel at China Basin Warehouse Co. dock loading.
  • 00:06:24 - Vessel at dock with sails unfurled.
  • 00:06:54 - Star of Zealand departure with close up of crowds and men boarding vessel.
  • 00:07:46 - Star of Lapland.
  • 00:08:03 - Star of Iceland.
  • 00:08:12 - Tacoma?
  • 00:08:38 - Ships being towed out.
  • 00:08:45 - Star of Greenland under tow.
  • 00:11:27 - Vessels at dock (camera panning up rigging.)
  • 00:12:07 - Vessel under way.
  • 00:12:44 - Crew boarding vessel.
  • 00:13:13 - Supplies being loaded.
  • 00:13:25 - Star ship departing dock.
  • 00:14:44 - Fishing dory under sail.
  • 00:14:58 - Fishing dory hauling in net.
  • 00:15:17 - Nushagak (built 1904; steamship) loaded with 2 large motor vessels.
  • 00:16:26 - 4-masted bark underway possibly Star of Greenland or Star of Lapland.
Biographical / historical:

The Alaska Packers Association (APA) began with a prospecting mission by the schooner NEPTUNE to Bristol Bay in 1883. The Bering Sea's first modern cannery was established near Nushagak by the then Arctic Packing Company. On September 2, 1891 a meeting was held of several Alaska independent canners and the concept of an industrial association was approved. Incorporation of this association came on January 13, 1892. That year, 15 vessels were chartered for use. The next year, on February 9, 1893, the association reincorporated under the formal name of Alaska Packers Association, with the main office on Market Street, in San Francisco, California.

Revenues from the sale of company stock were used to buy 28 canneries, 19 fishing stations, 19 steamers, 15 launches and hundreds of acres of land in Alaska. The vessels were put to sea each Spring, sailing from San Francisco for the Pacific Ocean. Sailing vessels took about one month to arrive at the salmon fishing grounds, while steamers could speed to the fisheries in nine days. Summers were spent going back and forth from fishing grounds to canneries. The fleet returned to San Francisco in the Fall.

In the 1960s, APA moved their central office to Blaine, Washington, on Puget Sound, after having been sold to the Del Monte Corporation. [Source: Alaska Department of Education, Division of State Libraries and Museums. A Preliminary Inventory of the Alaska Packers Association Record Series on Microfiche].

Acquisition information:

SAFR-00001

The film was donated in 1979 by Del Monte Corporation to the San Francisco Maritime Museum.

Processing information:

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.

Arrangement:

The collection consists of a single reel of motion picture film.

Physical location:
San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
Physical description:
.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard .

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item Number], P79-179a (SAFR 14965), Alaska Packers Association motion picture film, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Location of this collection:
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123, US
Contact:
415-561-7030
Website