Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
This postcard shows a group of Seattle Pacific College students on a hiking trip in the temperate rainforest near Seattle. The photo may not have been taken during the same trip as the photos in the two previous posts, but was likely taken within a year or two. The postcard came from the estate of... Continue Reading →
This postcard shows a group of Seattle Pacific College students on a hiking trip in the temperate rainforest near Seattle. The image was reproduced in the June 1914 school yearbook, The Cascade, in a feature titled "Jolly Hikers." The postcard came from the estate of Hazel Alberts Peterson (1898-1989). For more information about Hazel and... Continue Reading →
This postcard shows a group of Seattle Pacific College students on a camping trip in the temperate rainforest near Seattle. The image was reproduced in the June 1914 school yearbook, The Cascade, in a feature titled "Jolly Hikers." The man at the back, second from left, is Winfred Nathan Thuline (1886-1982). Eventually I hope to... Continue Reading →
This postcard came from the estate of Hazel Alberts Peterson (1898-1989). As a girl, Hazel Alberts attended Seattle Seminary, a Free Methodist college preparatory school. College-level classes were introduced in 1910, and in 1915 the school's name was changed to Seattle Pacific College. For more information about Hazel and her family, please see the page... Continue Reading →
An inscription in pencil on the back of this carte-de-visite says simply: "Dr. Sanford 1883." She was easy to identify, and her individual story is fascinating and inspiring. I also learned that Dr. Sanford's life and career were closely connected to those of other pioneering women in medicine and in other fields who supported and... Continue Reading →
This cabinet card photo was made during the same sitting at Draper's Studio as the photo in the previous post. This time, Clau is pretending to toss a chocolate to Frank, who is reclined on the studio floor.
These four friends posed for portraits together on August 3, 1895, at Draper's Studio in Bridgton, Maine. An inscription on the back identifies them as Clau [Clan?], Nan, Beth and Frank. Someone decided that a box of Stevens Confectionery chocolates would make a fun prop. Later, someone used a pen to draw a sign at... Continue Reading →
I found this photograph at an antiques shop in West Townsend, Massachusetts. The owner had written "Thomaston, Maine, 1912" on a note accompanying the photo, but the photo itself has no information on it.
This unusual image shows a group of men engaging in the labor-intensive process of breaking rocks into pieces and sorting them by size for use in road construction. A small smokestack in the background indicates that a steam engine powered the conveyor which carried pieces of rock up to a sorting sieve.
According to the Fall 2008 newsletter of the Upper Pemigewasset Historical Society, in 1928 Ed and Florence Clark moved to the town of Lincoln in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to raise sled dogs and demonstrate their abilities for tourists. On April 5, 1932, Florence summited Mt. Washington with a team of dogs, becoming... Continue Reading →
These postcards were acquired by a British or American sailor during the First World War. They were probably made available to the men as keepsakes of their service. In the image above, a line of sailors is visible in the distance, probably on a brief leave to sightsee. The snowy hills on the island below... Continue Reading →
This albumen print was made by a photographer identified as L.D. Austin in South Haven, Michigan. The young women appear to be in their late teens, and are grouped around a swing, which could symbolize the carefree days of youth. The sitter at lower left is also holding a long stick ... another relic of... Continue Reading →
Tokens of Companionship 
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