Access
Publication and Use Rights
Processing Note
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Historical or Biographical Note
Collection Scope and Content
Collection Arrangement
Related Materials
Title: George W. Elder (built 1874; steamship) passenger accommodations plan
Date: 1890 April 30
Identifier/Call Number: HDC1300 (SAFR 21359)
Creator:
Unknown
Physical Description:
1 item.
Repository:
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
Abstract: The GEORGE W. ELDER (built 1874; steamship) passenger accommodations plan (SAFR 21359, HDC1300) consists of one blueprint
showing the passenger accommodations for the steamship S.S. GEORGE W. ELDER. The vessel is also referred to as the GEO. W.
ELDER. The drawing is dated April 30, 1890 and depicts the main deck. The document predates the ship's most famous voyage,
the Harriman Alaska Expedition. The collection is open for use.
Physical Location: San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
Language(s):
In English.
Access
This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.
Publication and Use Rights
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.
Processing Note
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.
Preferred Citation
[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item
Number], HDC1300 (SAFR 21359), George W. Elder (built 1874; steamship) passenger accommodations plan, San Francisco Maritime
National Historical Park
Acquisition Information
SAFR-00001
Gifted to the Park 25 January 1955
Historical or Biographical Note
The S.S. GEORGE ELDER (1874; steamship), also known as the GEO. W. ELDER, was built by Roach & Sons in Chester, Pennsylvania
for the Oregon S.S. Co. in 1874. The ship was once chartered by the Pacific Mail Steamship Co. The GEORGE W. ELDER is probably
best known as the ship that railway magnate Edward H. Harriman lavishly refitted for his famed expedition (on behalf of the
U.S. Biological Survey) along the Alaskan coast in 1899. Harriman and his crew sailed through the Inside Passage, the Gulf
of Alaska, the Aleutian Archipelago, north through the Bering Sea and Strait, to Nome. Crowds cheered the ship when it departed
from Seattle on May 31, 1899, and the voyage was front-page news across the world. Naturalists John Muir and John Burroughs,
and some of the nation's leading scientists were recruited for the voyage. The Harriman Alaska Expedition enriched the world's
knowledge of the region and its environment, describing new genera and species, recording new fossil species and surveying
new parts of
the Alaskan territory.
(Taken largely from "Harriman Expedition Retraced: A Century of Change," http://www.pbs.org/harriman/)
Collection Scope and Content
The GEORGE W. ELDER (built 1874; steamship) passenger accommodations plan (SAFR 21359, HDC1300) consists of one blueprint
showing the passenger accommodations for the steamship S.S. GEORGE W. ELDER. The vessel is also referred to as the GEO. W.
ELDER. The drawing is dated April 30, 1890 and depicts the main deck. The document predates the ship's most famous voyage,
the Harriman Alaska Expedition. The collection is open for use.
Collection Arrangement
One blueprint stored in an A sized flat folder.
Related Materials
GEORGE W. ELDER (1874; steamship), freight contract, 1877, SAFR 00427, HDC0508
- This material is located at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Harriman Alaska Expedition (1899)
Steamboats
GEO. W. ELDER (built 1874; steamship)
Blueprints
Architectural drawings
Naval architects