Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
C.T. Conover Photograph Collection, circa 1880-1957
Overview of the Collection
- Collector
- Conover, Charles Tallmadge, 1862-1961
- Title
- C.T. Conover Photograph Collection
- Dates
- circa 1880-1957 (inclusive)18761961
- Quantity
-
12 photographic
prints (1 box) ; sizes vary
Ephemera: 2 items ; sizes vary - Collection Number
- PH0503
- Summary
- Late 19th-century images relating to the career of Charles Tallmadge Conover, a Seattle Post-Intelligencer editor and co-owner of Crawford and Conover real estate company.
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries’ Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Businessman and newspaper columnist, Charles Tallmadge Conover (1862-1961), was born in Esperance, New York, on August 7, 1862, the son of Abram and Harriet M. (Tallmadge) Conover. After working as a journalist in New York State for two years, Conover moved to British Columbia. He then worked briefly for the Tacoma Ledger (1887-1888) and even more briefly as the city editor for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. In 1888, he formed Crawford & Connor with another P-I reporter, Samuel L. Crawford. Crawford & Conover were real estate and financial brokers, and after a slow start, became quite successful. In 1891, Conover married Mary Louise Burns. They had one child, Tallmadge. After Mary Louise Burns' death in 1914, Conover married his second wife, Idelle M. Conkling, in 1931. Crawford & Conover were responsible for a national campaign, advertising Seattle and Washington State, and Conover is credited with coining "The Evergreen State" as Washington's nickname. He also advocated for the name Mount Rainier in 1917 before the United States Geographic Board, and actively campaigned for the continued use of the name Mt. Rainier in 1924 when a resolution was put before Congress to change the name to Mt. Tacoma. After retiring from real estate in 1941, Conover returned to writing, penning a column, "Just Cogitating" for the Seattle Times. Conover also authored several books, including Mirrors of Seattle (1923) and a biography of Judge Thomas Burke. He was a member of the Rainier Club, the Holland Society, the Sons of the American Revolution, and was active in the foundation of the Seattle Humane Society. Conover died in August, 1961.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The photographs document the early business activities of Conover, including his work for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and his career with Crawford and Conover Real Estate, as well as travel photos. Most of the photographs date from the 1880s and 1890s.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
PortraitsReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/1 | 1 |
Charles T.
Conover Sarony, New
York (photographer)
Written on verso: Postmarked May 15, 1893. Charles T. Conover,
formerly of Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
|
circa 1893 |
| 1/1 | 2 |
Photograph of a
drawing of Charles T. Conover Gulbransen (artist)
|
undated |
| 1/1 | 2a |
Mrs. Conover Written on verso: Mrs. L. Conover, 1922 N. Oaks, Tacoma,
Washington. Mother dead. Pro 2479. Ida Lyon.
|
undated |
Journalists at Territorial LegislatureReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/2 | 3 |
Correspondents
at the last session of the Territorial Legislature, Olympia, Washington
Territory Included are: C.T. Conover of Tacoma
Ledger, S.R. Frazier of Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, M.M. Picken of Seattle
Times, S.W. Wall of Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, Captain P.B. Johnson of Portland Oregonian, J. Miller Murphy of
Washington Standard, and Geo. H. Ward of
Tacoma Ledger.
Clark Photo, Olympia (photographer)
|
December 1887-January 1888 |
| 1/2 | 3a |
Group of men playing cards and drinking beer at
table Printed on photo: Seance of the Press
Representatives-Territorial Legislature, Olympia, Washington Territory. Geo. H.
Ward of Tacoma Ledger, C.T. Conover of
Tacoma Ledger, Portland
News, Spokane Falls Review, J. Miller
Murphy of Washington Standard, P.B. Johnson of
Portland Oregonian and Walla
Walla Union, S.R. Frazier of Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, S.W. Wall of Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, M.M. Picken of Seattle
Times.
Rogers, Olympia, Washington Territory (photographer)
|
1887-1888 |
Crawford and Conover Real Estate CompanyReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/3 | 4 |
C.T. Conover and
S.L. Crawford, founders of the Crawford and Conover Real Estate Company, in a
carriage on 5th Avenue between Columbia and Cherry La Roche & Co., Seattle (photographer)
|
circa 1880s-1890s |
| 1/3 | 5-6 |
Office staff of
Crawford and Conover, Real Estate and Financial Brokers La Roche & Co., Seattle (photographer)
|
circa 1889 |
| 1/4 | 7-8 |
Office staff of
Crawford and Conover, Seattle, Wash. La Roche & Co., Seattle (photographer)
|
1890 |
EphemeraReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/5 | 9 |
Printed place
card with signatures on verso Note with card reads: Place card for dinner given by C.T.
Conover for John H. McGraw, newly elected governor, and Frederick J. Grant,
Editor of the Post Intelligencer, newly appointed
Minister to Bolivia. McGraw's Campaign was bitterly fought by Tacoma, led by
Nelson Bennett, hence the cartoon. Some interesting autographs on back.
|
circa 1892-1893 |
| 1/5 | 10 | Crawford & Conover Real Estate business
card |
undated |
TravelReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/6 | 11 |
People at logging camp in Port Moody, British
Columbia Written on verso: Partial view of the camp, Port Moody,
British Columbia. [Numbered identifications correspond to numbers written on
front of photo]: 1. Miss Melanie Dockrill; 2. C.T. Conover; 3. Miss Nellie
Dockrill; 4. Mrs. Joseph Dockrill; 5. Joseph Dockrill; 6. Jos. S. MacDonald,
timber inspector; 7. George McLacklan; 8. Frank Dockrill; 9. Henry Smith; 10.
Jack Parks; 11. Hop Sing; 12. Will Harvey; 13. Cook house; 14. Office and C.T.
Conover's room; 15. Scow loaded with lumber; 16. Commencement of wharf; 17.
Flume and penstock; 18. China cabins; 19. End view of mill; 20. Susan Ericson.
Dockrill's house and half a dozen cabins for the men do not show.
J.A. Brock, Vancouver City, B.C (photographer)
|
1886 |
| 1/6 | 12 |
People in horse-drawn wagon Written on verso: CTC in front seat. Louise in 2nd seat, at
Liberty Cap at end of Yellowstone trip. This picture used on N.P. literature
the following year.
F. J. Hayes & Bro., St. Paul. Official Photographers, N. P. R. R (photographer)
|
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Journalists--Washington (State)--Photographs
- Newspaper editors--Washington (State)--Seattle--Photographs
- Real estate agents--Washington (State)--Seattle--Photographs
- Real estate business--Washington (State)--Seattle
Personal Names
- Conover, Charles Tallmadge, 1862-1961--Photographs
Corporate Names
- Crawford & Conover Inc. (Seattle, Wash.)
Other Creators
-
Corporate Names
- La Roche & Co. (Seattle, Wash.) (photographer)
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
