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Princess Angeline photograph and postcard collection, approximately 1870-1958
Overview of the Collection
- Title
- Princess Angeline photograph and postcard collection
- Dates
- approximately 1870-1958 (inclusive)18701958
1870-1896 (bulk)18701896 - Quantity
- 42 photographic prints and postcards (1 box and 1 oversize folder) ; various sizes
- Collection Number
- PH0844
- Summary
- Photographs of Princess Angeline, daughter of Chief Seattle, her house, and her grave in the form of photographic prints and postcards
- 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 is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Princess Angeline (circa 1816-1896) was the daughter of Chief Seattle, the leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish tribes during the time of the first Seattle settlers. Angeline was originally named Kikisoblu (spelled many different ways in English), but a white pioneer, in some accounts Catherine Maynard, named her Angeline, and the white community in Seattle referrred to her alternately as Princess Angeline or Queen Angeline. She stayed in the city after the Seattle native peoples were forced to relocate to the Port Madison Reservation, and she lived in a house located on Western Avenue between Pine and Pike Streets, near what is now Pike Place Market. Angeline worked as a laundress and basket weaver. When she died on May 31, 1896, her passing was mourned by the city, and her funeral procession included some of the most influential Seattle residents. She was buried in Lake View Cemetery on Capitol Hill, Seattle near the grave of pioneer Henry Yesler.
Angeline was an icon of early Seattle, and was the purported heroine of a oft-told and revised story in which she was supposed to have warned the early white settlers of Seattle about an impending Indian attack prior to the so-called "Battle of Seattle" on January 26, 1856. In some tellings, Chief Seattle or another local native American, Curley (also known as Sucquardle), warned the settlers. In any case, Angeline became a well-loved figure to Seattleites both during her lifetime and for years after her death, probably due also to her continued presence in downtown Seattle. Angeline was photographed by early Seattle photographers such as Edwin J. Bailey, Edward S. Curtis, Asahel Curtis, and Frank La Roche. Her image was duplicated and altered multiple times; changes included the addition of open eyes, which were drawn onto Angeline's closed eyes.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
Early photographers often did not pay much attention to the intellectual property rights of fellow photographers. Even notices of copyright marked on negatives or prints did not stop photographers and publishers from using works for their own gain without attribution to the originators. In the same way that authorship was ignored, the authenticity of images is frequently difficult to determine, as photographers also altered the images of fellow artists in order to use them in their own work. The Princess Angeline collection demonstrates the repeated copying and alteration of photographs by publishers and photographers; in particular, the postcards in the collection show the fluid definition of authenticity and authorship in the booming postcard publishing industry of the early 1900s.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The contents of this collection have been transferred from the Portrait File, the General Indian Collection, and the Subject Postcard Collection to represent the diversity of images of Princess Angeline in a unified collection, allowing viewers to observe how images of Angeline were duplicated and altered through reprinting and publication in multiple media formats, particularly through postcards published in the early 1900s.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View selections from the collection in digital format.
Restrictions on Use
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Processing Note
Processed by Elizabeth Russell, 2010.
Transferred from Portrait File, Postcard File, and General Indian Collection, 2009.
Related Materials
Additional photographs of Angeline not represented in this collection are in the following photograph collections: Boyd and Braas, Frank La Roche, Elite Studio, Hamilton, and A.C. Warner. The Denny Hall clock, from 1895, now standing in Suzzallo Library Espresso at the University of Washington, features an inlay of Princess Angeline.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
PortraitsReturn to Top
Portraits of Angeline represented in the collection include photographic prints and color postcard images. Postcards with photographic prints are listed as photographs.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Photographs |
|||
Portraits of Angeline by the McKnight
Brothers |
|||
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/1 | 1a-b | circa 1887 | |
| 1/1 | 2 |
Postcard photograph of Angeline
seated with hands resting on walking stick, posed against studio
backdrop Romans Photographic Co, Seattle (publisher)
Printed on postcard: Romans Photo Co.10923.Printed on verso: This card is a real photograph made by
Romans Photographic Co., Seattle.This postcard photograph is a print of a circa 1887 portrait
of Angeline taken by either Samuel F. or John C. McKnight.
|
circa 1892 |
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/1 | 3 |
Portrait of Angeline in front of
studio backdrop by Edwin J. Bailey Edwin J. Bailey (photographer)
Printed on the copy negative for this photo: Bailey, Third and
Seneca Streets, Seattle; however, the above text has been cropped away in the
print.
|
1890 |
| 1/1 | 3a | Portrait of Angeline with head scarf
by J.C. Judkins J.C. Judkins (photographer)
Handwritten story on verso.
|
1890 |
| 1/1 | 3b | Portrait of Angeline with walking
stick and head scarf Boyd and Braas (photographer)
Same item is in PHColl277 Boyd and Braas Photograph
Collection.
|
1890 |
Portraits of Angeline by John P. Soule These four photos, which are very similar, were likely taken
at the same time.
|
|||
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/1 | 4 |
Princess Angeline seated on bench
in Madrona Park,with face toward camera John P. Soule (photographer)
This is a copy from the photograph in the Thomas Prosch
Seattle Views Album, volume 2, page 82, PH Coll. 27. The Prosch caption reads:
Picture taken in Madrona Park, in 1892, by John P. Soule. As far as known, she
then took her first, and perhaps last, street car ride.A copy owned by Seattle Public Library has a caption with
copyright notice for 1893, by Soule.
|
1892 |
| 1/1 | 4a |
Princess Angeline seated on bench
in Madrona Park John P. Soule (photographer)
|
1892 |
| 1/1 | 5 |
Princess Angeline seated on bench
in Madrona Park, head slightly turned Detroit Photographic Co (publisher)
Black and white print is from colored half-tone image copied
when on loan; the photograph was probably taken by John P. Soule in 1892, in
the same sitting as items 4, 4a, 5 and 5a.
|
circa 1892 |
| 1/1 | 5a |
Princess Angeline seated on bench
in Madrona Park There is a sticker on verso from the Seattle National Bank
with an image of Chief Seattle (Sealth) that reads: Capital $250,000. This may
have been a promotional item.
John P. Soule (photographer)
|
1892 |
| folder:oversize | item | ||
| 1 | 6 | Portrait of Angeline by Edward S.
Curtis Edward S. Curtis (Photographer)
This is an enlargement of the original image by Edward S.
Curtis in
The North American Indian,
portfolio 9, plate no. 314. It is unclear whether Curtis made this
enlargement.Prosch also used a portion of this image in his Indian Albums,
vol. 2, page 4, PH Coll. 18.
|
1895? |
| Box/Folder | |||
| 1/1 | 7a |
Portrait of Angeline by Asahel Curtis
Photo Co. Asahel Curtis Photo Co(4715) and
Puget Sound News CompanySeattle and Leipzig-Berlin (photographer)
See two postcards based on this portrait, items 18 and 19.
|
1895? |
| folder:oversize | |||
| 1 | 7b |
Portrait of Angeline by Asahel Curtis
Photo Co. printed on page with small photo of two Native American children
printed below Asahel Curtis Photo Co(4715) (photographer)
|
1895? |
| Box/Folder | |||
| 1/1 | 8 |
Portrait of Princess Angeline with
hair uncovered On verso there is a narrative which attributes to Angeline the
warning which saved the Seattle pioneers from a massacre, and there is a note
advertising that this photograph card is available for sale at Balke, Cole, and
Co.'s Art Rooms.
|
undated |
| 1/1 | 9 |
Portrait of Princess Angeline wearing
kerchief and shawl by Oneida Photograph Gallery Oneida Photograph Gallery, Seattle (Photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/1 | 10 |
Portrait of Princess Angeline wearing
a striped shirt by Peterson Brothers Peterson Brothers (photographer)
|
undated |
| 1/1 | 11 | Portrait of Angeline seated in front of studio
backdrop of Puget Sound Black and white print from colored half-tone.Same image as in Lowman and Handford postcards, items 21 and
22.
|
undated |
| 1/1 | 12 |
Photograph of a bust of Princess
Angeline sculpted by James Wehn Seattle sculptor James Wehn trained in the Pacific Northwest
and in Chicago. His most noted sculpture in Seattle is probably the bronze
statue of Chief Seattle, completed in 1912, that stands in Tilikum Place Park
near the monorail. Wehn was the first head of the University of Washington's
sculpture department from 1919-1924.
|
circa 1905 |
Postcards Postcards of Angeline were often based on photographs, but were
altered in significant ways through coloring and changes and additions to her
image. Many of these postcards feature Angeline against pristine wilderness
settings, far from her actual location living and working in the midst of the
rapidly growing city of Seattle.
|
|||
Postcards based on photographs of
Angeline by Frank La Roche |
|||
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/2 | 13 |
Postcard with colored image of
Princess Angeline and image of "Indian Camp, Washington" Edward H. Mitchell, San
Francisco (publisher)
Based on Frank La Roche photograph in PH Coll. 283. La Roche
photograph has date August 1898 handwritten below image, but Angeline died in
1896.
|
circa 1896 |
| 1/2 | 14 |
Color image with 3/4 view of
Angeline in red kerchief, green and gold plaid shawl pinned with safety clip,
and necklace Lowman and Handford Co (Publisher)
|
undated |
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/2 | 15a |
Color image of Princess Angeline on
gray background, based on photograph of Angeline by Asahel Curtis Edward H. Mitchell, San
Francisco (publisher)
|
undated |
| 1/2 | 15b |
Color image of Princess Angeline on
light blue background, based on photograph of Angeline by Asahel
Curtis Rhodes 10 Cent Store,
Seattle (publisher)
|
undated |
| 1/2 | 16 |
Color image of Angeline dressed in
red kerchief, green shawl and brown patterned skirt, seated against studio
backdrop T.N. Hibben & Co,
Victoria, B.C. (publisher)
|
circa 1905 |
| 1/2 | 17 a-b |
Color image of Angeline on Lowman and
Hanford Co. postcard Lowman and Hanford Co (publisher)
Item 17a has a lighter color palette and more sky visible
above Angeline's head; item 17b has a darker color palette with Angeline's
figure slightly enlarged.
|
1906 |
| 1/2 | 18a |
Color image based on Edward S. Curtis
photograph of Angeline Detroit Photographic Co (publisher)
Postcard message written in Spanish and dated February 27,
1902, relates to Princess Angeline.
|
1901 |
| 1/2 | 18b |
Black and white image based on Edward
S. Curtis photograph of Angeline Postcard is addressed to Miss Myra H. Ober, Beverly, MA. and
contains UW Professor Caroline Ober's description of Princess Angeline,
including the story that shop owners in Seattle allowed Angeline to take
whatever she needed from their stores without payment. Ober adds: "Her desires
were very modest, however." Postcard dated Jan. 1, 1901.
|
1901? |
| 1/2 | 18c |
Color image based on Edward S. Curtis
photograph of Angeline Lowman and Hanford S. and P. Co, Seattle (publisher)
|
1903 |
| 1/2 | 18d |
Color image based on enlarged Edward
S. Curtis photograph of Angeline Lowman and Hanford Co,
Seattle (publisher)
|
1907 |
| 1/2 | 18e |
Color image based on Edward S. Curtis
photograph of Angeline Rhodes Bros. 5 and 10 Cent Store, Seattle (publisher)
|
undated |
| 1/2 | 18f |
Color image based on Edward S. Curtis
photograph of Angeline Lowman and Handford Co,
Seattle (publisher)
|
undated |
| 1/2 | 19 |
Color image of Angeline and her dog
seated in front of her house based on A.C. Warner photograph Edward R. Mitchell, San
Francisco (publisher)
Based on photograph taken by A.C. Warner and used by O.T.
Frasch; see item 23.Text printed on verso of card is titled: History of Princess
Angeline Seattle (Related by Chief Seattle's grandson "Moses.") It tells the
story of how Angeline warned the white settlers during the Treaty War of 1856
that "bad Indians" were coming to kill the whites. The story mentions the U.S.
gunboat
Decaturwhich played a decisive
role in the so-called "Battle of Seattle" during the Treaty War. It also notes
that Angeline was 85 years old when she died in 1896. The text ends with
"compliments of J.E. Standley, Prop. Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, Colman Dock,
Seattle."
|
1910 |
| 1/2 | 20 |
Color image of Angeline based on Edward S. Curtis
portrait Pacific Novelty Co, San
Francisco and Los Angeles (publisher)
Angeline is dressed in dark green shawl and red and white
kerchief, with cane just showing at bottom of frame.
Based on Edward S. Curtis portrait; see item 6.
|
undated |
| 1/2 | 21 |
Collage of photographs of Chief
Seattle, Angeline's house, and Angeline Puget Sound News Company,
Seattle and Leipzig (publisher)
|
undated |
Houses and GraveReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Houses Princess Angeline lived for some years in a wooden house near
the Seattle waterfront probably near the foot of Pike Street. It was possibly
built in 1881. According to some sources, Seattle businessman Amos Brown built
a new cabin for her in 1891. After Angeline's death in 1896, her grandson may
have continued to live in the cabin, and it was most likely photographed in the
years following her death as well as during her lifetime.
|
|||
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/3 | 22 |
Copy print of Princess Angeline
seated in front of her first wooden house F.J. Haynes(3955) (photographer)
Young man partially cut off by frame at right may be
Angeline's grandson Joe Foster.
|
1890 |
| 1/3 | 23a | Princess Angeline seated in front of her house with
small dog |
1890 |
| 1/3 | 23b |
Postcard photograph of Princess
Angeline seated in front of her house, with a small dog sitting up next to
her Arthur Churchill Warner(3181) and
O.T. Frasch and
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop,
Seattle (photographer)
Warner's photograph cropped and copied for postcard by O.T.
Frasch. See A.C. Warner Collection, PHColl 273, for original photo.Caption printed on photograph: Princess Angeline daughter of
Chief Seattle at her cottage foot of Pike St.
|
1910 |
| 1/3 | 24a | Princess Angeline's house Items 24a-d are all copies of a photograph; the original
version of the image is not in the collection. 24a is a later print than items
b-d, but includes more of the original image.
|
undated |
| 1/3 | 24b | Princess Angeline's house Cropped version of the image in 24a.
|
undated |
| 1/3 | 24c |
Princess Angeline's house Cropped version of the image in 24a.
|
circa 1900 |
| 1/3 | 24d | Princess Angeline's house Cropped version of the image in 24a.
|
undated |
| folder:oversize | |||
| 1 | 25 | Photograph of a watercolor painting
of Princess Angeline in front of her house Painting is by C.C. Maring.
|
December 8, 1914 |
Grave |
|||
| Box/Folder | item | ||
| 1/3 | 26 | Princess Angeline's grave marker,
Lake View Cemetery, Capitol Hill, Seattle Grave marker placed by the Seattle Historical Society in
1958.
|
undated |
| 1/3 | 27 | undated | |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Suquamish Indians--Washington (State)--Seattle--Photographs
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Personal Names
- Curtis, Asahel, 1874-1941
- Curtis, Edward S., 868-1952
- La Roche, Frank
Geographical Names
- Seattle (Wash.)--Photographs
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Angeline, Suquamish Indian, -1896--Photographs (photographer)
