Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Victor B. Scheffer photographs, 1918-1976
Overview of the Collection
- Photographer
- Scheffer, Victor B
- Title
- Victor B. Scheffer photographs
- Dates
- 1918-1976 (inclusive)19181976
1966-1976 (bulk)19661976 - Quantity
-
19 negatives
16 transparencies
8 photographic prints : col.
34 photographic prints : b&w - Collection Number
- PH0445
- Summary
- Photographs documenting the Mima Mounds in Thurston County, Wash., Native-American sea otter hunters, people in the Olympic Peninsula, and an Armistice Day parade photograph taken by Theophilus Scheffer
- 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
Negatives are not available for viewing.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Dr. Victor B. Scheffer was born in Manhattan, Kansas, on November 27, 1906. When he was eight years old his family moved to Puyallup, Wash., where he attended school.
His father, Theophilus H. Scheffer (1866-1966), was an associate biologist for the United States Bureau of Biological Survey for 27 years. His work focused on wildlife management in the Pacific Northwest.
Victor Scheffer received his bachelor of science in 1930, his master of science in 1932, and his doctorate in zoology in 1936 at the University of Washington in Seattle. He worked as a biologist for the United States Bureau of Biological Survey from 1937 to 1940, for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1956, and for the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1956 to 1969. He was a lecturer for the Ecology Department at the University of Washington from 1966 to 1972 and was named chairman of the Marine Mammal Commission from 1973-1976.
Scheffer's first book, Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses , was published in 1959. He has also written 13 other books and over one hundred scientific pamphlets and articles, many of which are available at the University of Washington Libraries.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
According to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, many theories exist as to the origin of the Mima Mounds. One theory is that family burrows of pocket gophers were once plentiful, and their burrowing brought earth to the surface and built the mounds. Another theory is that these mounds were forced during the end of the Ice Age, five thousand years ago, by surface thawing and freezing. Because of this, fissures developed and were filled with clear ice which, as it expanded, repeatedly pushed up the earth. A different theory is that the frozen earth may have been in the form of frozen polygons, and flooding waters may have washed away the thawed material between the frozen cores. Portions of this mound area have been declared a registered natural landmark to be preserved in the interest of science and as an ecological mystery.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The first series in the collection shows the Mima Mounds. The images numbered 1-18 are repeated in various formats: transparencies, negatives, and color and black and white photographic prints. There are also photographs of Native American seal otter hunters, Quinault Indians digging razor clams, and Makah Indians making a fishing boat. In addition, there are miscellaneous photographs and transparencies of Victor Scheffer as a child in an Armistice Day parade, Justice W.O. Douglas, and Professor T. Kincaid.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
Photographic prints made from the negatives are available for reference purposes.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Arranged into four series: Mima Mounds, Native American Sea Otter Hunters, Olympic Peninsula, and Armistice Day Parade.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Mima Mounds, Thurston County, WashingtonReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Color transparencies |
|||
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/1 | 1a | Aerial view of mounds on Mima Prairie
(Scheffer 6259A) |
July 29, 1966 |
| 1/1 | 2a | Aerial view of mounds (Scheffer
6259B) "Scar of a gravel pit shows at right of center."
|
July 29, 1966 |
| 1/1 | 3a | Aerial view of mounds, looking toward
the Black Hills (Scheffer 6259C) |
July 29, 1966 |
| 1/1 | 4a | Aerial view of conifers beginning to
populate Mima Mounds (Scheffer 6259D) |
July 29, 1966 |
| 1/1 | 6a-9a | Aerial view of conifers growing along
the Mima Prairie (Scheffer 6259F, 6259G, 6259H, 6259I ) |
July 29, 1966 |
| 1/1 | 10a | Cross section of a mound
demonstrating dark soil on pale, course gravel in Mima Prairie (Scheffer
6528) |
April 9, 1968 |
| 1/1 | 11 | Washington State Department of
Natural Resources sign on Mima Prairie, erected 1967 (Scheffer
6530A) |
April 9, 1968 |
| 1/1 | 13a-14a | Victor B. Scheffer in Mima Prairie
(Scheffer 8624, 8624A) |
July 17, 1976 |
| 1/1 | 15a | "Pocket gopher displays adaptations
for digging and transporting soil," from Rochester, Wash. (Scheffer
8631) |
July 19, 1976 |
| 1/1 | 16a | Aerial view of Mima Prairie looking
northwest towards the Black Hills (Scheffer 8634) |
July 27, 1976 |
| 1/1 | 17a-18a | Aerial view of Mima Prairie from 600
feet (Scheffer 8641, 8642) |
July 27, 1976 |
| 1/2 | 19 | Photograph of line engraving from
American Naturalist of mound formations in San
Diego, Calif., probably made for comparison purposes (Scheffer
8620) Original line engraving is dated 1879.
|
1960s-1970s |
Color photographs made from
transparencies Same images as above.
|
|||
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/3 | 1b | July 29, 1966 | |
| 1/3 | 8b | July 29, 1966 | |
| 1/3 | 10b | April 9, 1968 | |
| 1/3 | 13b | July 17, 1976 | |
| 1/3 | 15b | July 19, 1976 | |
| 1/3 | 16b | July 27, 1976 | |
| 1/3 | 17b-18b | July 27, 1976 | |
Black-and-white photographs made from
transparencies Same images as above.
|
|||
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/4 | 1c-2c |
Aerial view of mounds (Scheffer
6259A, 6259B) "Scar of a gravel pit shows at right of center."
|
July 29, 1966 |
| 1/4 | 3c | July 29, 1966 | |
| 1/4 | 4c-7c | Aerial view of conifers beginning to
grow in Mima Mounds (Scheffer 6259D, 6259E, 6259F, 6259G) |
July 29, 1966 |
| 1/4 | 9c | July 29, 1966 | |
| 1/4 | 10c | Cross section of a mound
demonstrating dark soil on pale, course gravel in Mima Prairie (Scheffer
6528) |
April 9, 1968 |
| 1/4 | 12c | Aerial view of Mima Prarie and
Washington State Preserve (Scheffer 6792) |
Nov. 1968 |
| 1/4 | 13c | Victor B. Scheffer in Mima Prairie
(Scheffer 8624) |
July 17, 1976 |
| 1/4 | 15c | "Pocket gopher displays adaptations
for digging and transporting soil," from Rochester, Wash. (Scheffer
8631) |
July 19, 1976 |
| 1/4 | 16c | Aerial view of Mima Prairie looking
northwest towards the Black Hills (Scheffer 8634) |
July 27, 1976 |
Native American Sea Otter HuntersReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/5 | 20a | Nov. 16, 1938 | |
| 1/5 | 20b-c | Nov. 16, 1938 | |
| 1/5 | 20d | Dec. 5, 1938 | |
| 1/5 | 21a | Dec. 17, 1938 | |
| 1/5 | 21b | Dec. 18, 1938 | |
| 1/5 | 22 | April 19, 1939 | |
| 1/5 | 23a | Sketch of Copalis Rocks on the Olympic
Peninsula coast (Scheffer 557) Charles McIntyre built a lookout hut for hunting sea otters at
Copalis Rocks, left. On the right, a derrick built for summer otter
hunting.
Scheffer made this photograph of the drawing by Ada Willoughby
(circa late 1800s) in the 1930s.
|
late 1930s |
| 1/5 | 23b | Derricks in the tidal zone for hunting
sea otters near Oyhut, Wash. (Scheffer 558) Scheffer made this photographic copy of the original photograph
by Clara L. Minard.
|
undated |
| 1/5 | 24a |
Sea otter killed near Oyhut, Wash.
(Scheffer 555) Scheffer made this photographic copy of a Clara L. Minard
photograph (circa late 1800s).
|
undated |
| 1/5 | 24b |
Seven sea otter pelts cased and dried,
hung on wall by trader A.O. Damon, Oyhut, Wash. (Scheffer 556) Scheffer made this photographic copy of the photograph by Clara
L. Minard (circa late 1800s).
|
undated |
| 1/6 | 25 | Drawings of Northern fur seals,
callorhinus ursinus (Scheffer 9100) Figure 1: male. Figure 2: female.Photographic copy from Steller's De
Bestiis Marinis , 1751.
|
undated |
| 1/6 | 26 | Drawings of sea otters,
enhydra lutris (Scheffer 9101) Figure 1: male. Figure 2: female with pup.Photographic copy from Steller's De
Bestiis Marinis , 1751.
|
undated |
| 1/7 | 27 | Drawing of Government House (Scheffer
8377 A) Caption: Elliott lived in Government House, which was built
during his tour of duty in 1872. Thanks to the cold, clean air of the Bering
Sea, the house was still standing a century later, though converted to other
uses.Photographic copy from Henry W. Elliott's The Pribilov Group, or Seal Islands, of Alaska,
1873.
|
undated |
| 1/7 | 28 | People in barrabakie (Scheffer 8377
B) Caption: Elliott labeled this sketch 'The Interior of Lukah's
Barrabakie.' One of the Russian-Aleut figures is evidently Mrs. Luka Mandrigan,
age 53. Barrabakies, or barrabaras, were dugouts insulated with sod. The
remains of many such habitations are common on the islands of the Bering
Sea.Photographic copy from Henry W. Elliott's The Pribilov Group, or Seal Islands, of Alaska,
1873.
|
undated |
| 1/7 | 29 | Fur seals on cliffs (Scheffer 8377
C) Caption: A fur seal harem sketched by Elliott on 14 June 1872,
shortly before the peak of the breeding season. The harem bull or beachmaster
takes a commanding position from which he can monitor the movements of his
harem of a dozen or so cows. Other cows are yet to arrive on land from their
winter migration at sea.Photographic copy from Henry W. Elliott's The Pribilov Group, or Seal Islands, of Alaska,
1873.
|
undated |
| 1/7 | 30 | Man among seals (Scheffer 8377
D) Caption: We can suppose that Elliott put himself in this sketch
which he labeled 'Seal Breath Fog.' On 10 October 1872, he was moving slowly
through the masses which typically congregate on the 'Reef Parade-ground' in
late summer, shortly before they all leave on migration.Photographic copy from Henry W. Elliott's The Pribilov Group, or Seal Islands, of Alaska,
1873.
|
undated |
| 1/7 | 31 | Men with weapons driving seals
(Scheffer 8377 E) Caption: A driving or 'pickup' of bachelor seals destined for
the killing fields of English Bay, 10 June 1872. Change their clothing, and the
sealers could be those of today. The bachelor seals habitually sleep in a group
outside the rookeries, or breeding grounds.Photographic copy from Henry W. Elliott's The Pribilov Group, or Seal Islands, of Alaska,
1873.
|
undated |
| 1/7 | 32 | Men clubbing seals (Scheffer 8377
F) Caption: A Fourth of July clubbing scene. A dozen sealers were
killing animals selected for the quality of their pelts, while skinners (at
left) were beginning their back-breaking task. Hundreds of other seals (at
right) were destined to pass in review before the clubbers.Photographic copy from Henry W. Elliott's The Pribilov Group, or Seal Islands, of Alaska,
1873.
|
undated |
Olympic PeninsulaReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/8 | 33-37 | ||
| 1/8 | 38 |
Makah Indians making a cedar-log dugout
for open sea sealing and fishing, La Push, Wash. (Scheffer 8695) Theophilus Scheffer (photographer)
|
March 26, 1930 |
| 1/8 | 39 | 1964 | |
| 1/8 | 40 | ca. 1930 |
Armistice Day ParadeReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/9 | 41 |
Impromptu parade in Puyallup, Wash.
(Scheffer 5738) Theophilus Scheffer (photographer)
"Told that the Great War had ended, children gathered in small
neighborhood groups to celebrate."
|
Nov. 11, 1918 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Hunters--Washington (State)--Photographs
- Indians of North America--Washington (State)--Olympic Peninsula--Photographs
- Patterned ground--Washington (State)--Puget Sound Region--Photographs
- Prairie ecology--Washington (State)--Mima Prairie
- Sea otter hunting--Washington (State)--Photographs
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Geographical Names
- Mima Mounds (Wash.)--Photographs
- Mima Prairie (Wash.)--Photographs
Form or Genre Terms
- Negatives
- Photographic prints
- Transparencies
