Frank A. Jacobs Photographs

Frank A. Jacobs Photographs, 1900-1941

Overview of the Collection

Photographer: Jacobs, Frank A., 1881-1979
Title: Frank A. Jacobs Photographs
Dates: 1900-1941 (inclusive)
19001941
Quantity: 110 photographic prints (3 folders and 1 box) ; sizes vary
Collection Number: PH0137
Summary: Photographs of Seattle scenes, Seattle groups, grave of a Chinese worker, climbers, mountaineers, and scenery in Mount Rainier National Park, and horseback guiding services, snow maintenance, and work of Robert Hamilton while working for the Rainier National Park 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 is 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

Photojournalist Frank Abner Jacobs (1881-1979) was born in Kansas on December 31, 1881, and settled in Seattle, Washington in 1907. He spent the 1920s as the official photographer for the Rainier National Park Company. Jacobs was a pioneer in the field of photojournalism, and covered events big and small throughout the Pacific Northwest, but specialized in transportation disasters such as ship and train wrecks. Jacobs had been interested in photography since he was a boy and opened his own photography studio at 4th Avenue and Union Street, Seattle, circa 1908. Although he spent most of his career with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, starting in 1909, he also had stints with other publications, ran his own photography studio (Jacobs Photo Shop), served as an early motion picture cameraman, starting circa 1911, for the Pathe News, and had the opportunity to photograph eight Presidents. He became the first photographer to take aerial photographs of Seattle in 1913.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Photographs of various Seattle scenes and groups; the grave of a Chinese worker; climbers, mountaineers, and scenery in Mount Rainier National Park; and horseback guiding services, snow maintenance, and work of Robert Hamilton while working for the Rainier National Park Company.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

The dates in this collection were taken from the photographer's numbering system in which the first two numbers are the year that the photograph was taken.

Content on this site is drawn from a historical source which includes materials that may contain offensive language reflecting racist, sexist, ethnically derogatory or other offensive biases. The images and text in this site are presented as specific, original artifacts recording the attitudes, perspectives and beliefs of a different era. They remain included as part of an honest presentation of that history and of the primary source material. The University of Washington does not endorse the views expressed in this collection which may contain text offensive to some researchers. We are working to confront bias and racism at the individual, institutional and systemic levels. Learn more about diversity and inclusion efforts at the UW.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donor: Mountaineering images, Gift of Fred Watson; one photograph donated by Brainard, 1991. Rainier National Park 18 photographs donated by Angela Greenberg, 2021. The Robert Hamilton and Frank Jacobs Rainier National Park Company photo album was purchased from Zephyr Books, January 2023.

Processing Note

Processed by Rebekah Dalby, 2002, Kaylynn Guerra, 2019, and Abbey Maynard, 2019.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Seattle, WashingtonReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Folder	item
1	1	View from 2nd Ave at Pike St. of people, cars, and street car tracks outside the Peoples Savings Bank and Bigelow Buildings Printed on verso: "Pike, looking east from 2nd Ave."	between 1920 and 1940
1	2	View looking down on the crowd of people outside 215 Pike St. at S.H. Kress & Co. building on the corner of 2nd Ave. and Pike St.	between 1920 and 1940
1	3	View looking southeast and down across the roofs of 3rd Ave. and Union St. (Jacobs 715) Written on verso: "Post Intelligencer block SW corner Union/4th, White Bldg./U.S. Post Office."	1917?
1	4	Exterior of F.E. MacKenzie Greenwood Garage with a gas pumps and cars, Seattle, WA	1920?
1	5	Postcard of the Theodora Home, 6559-35th N.E. Written on image: "Owned and operated by The Volunteers of America."	between 1914 and 1930?
1	6	Capitol Auto Laundry and Service Station, 1816 Broadway, Seattle, Washington Written on verso: "Auto Laundry & service station Stucco up to date Bldg built 1929. Hot water heated. A view of auto and service station store brick Veneer other [ill.]."	1929?
box:oversize
OS1	7	Hotel Ritz exterior with horse-drawn carriages in front, 1618 4th Ave. N.	1906
OS1	8	Interior of John L. Bird Company Office Supplies store, Seattle, WA	1916?
Folder
1	9	Interior of office supply store (possibly the John L. Bird Company)	between 1900 and 1930
1	10	Steamship S.S. Oregon docked with crowd below	1916?
		Potlatch Parade, Seattle, WA
Folder	item
1	11	Float with a canoe on top (Jacobs 34) Written on image: "Golden Potlatch. Seattle."	1912
1	12	Float drawn by people dressed as frogs (Jacobs 63)	1912
1	13	Float being pulled by people dressed as rabbits (Jacobs 69)	1912

People and GroupsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Folder	item
OS1	14	George F. Cotterill holding a newspaper and standing in front buildings, Seattle, WA George F. Cotterill was a civil servant and elected official in Seattle and the state of Washington for more than 40 years.	between 1900 and 1930
1	15	Chinese grave in Horse Heaven Hills, Washington Name on grave marker is in Chinese characters and translates to Yajiu Feng.Written on verso: "only the grave of a Chinese section hand. He was working on the tracks in Horse Heaven Hills and was bitten by a rattlesnake. His companions were too superstitious to carry his body on the train with them so the burried [sic] him in the sand among the sage brush and put up the board with the chinese inscription to mark the grave. notice the words "Dead Man" on the board. Looks rather lonely even for a dead chink doesn't it?"	between 1900 and 1925?
1	16	Group portrait of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington dressed in pioneer costumes, Seattle, WA Written on verso: "A Day in the Sixties -- February 1937. This annual affair for members and guests in Seattle Chapter No. 1 of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington. Margaret Ashworth Maxson (Mrs. Louis H.) was President of the Chapter. In the center, front Mrs. Edmond Bowden was turned sideways to show the sunbonnet which her mother made and wore. Mrs. Bowden (Angie Burt Bowden) wrote: Early Schools of Washington Territory. Note--The photo widened the right-hand third of the group. "	1937
1	16a	Group of young ballet dancers on stage, probably Seattle, WA	November 1926
1	16b	Two young ballet dancers on stage, probably Seattle, WA	November 1926
box:oversize
XC1	17	Large group outside brick building	between 1900 and 1930

MountaineeringReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Folder	item
1	17a	Group of climbers with alpenstocks, Mount Rainier National Park, WA (Jacobs 20379)	1920
1	18-20	Men and women climbing a glacier, Mount Rainier National Park, WA (Jacobs 201006, 201009, and 201012)	1920
1	21	Group of climbers sitting with alpenstocks on mountainside, Mount Rainier National Park, WA (Jacobs 201007)	1920
1	22	Group of climbers posing with alpenstocks in Paradise Park with the Tatoosh Mountain Range in the background, Mount Rainier National Park, WA (Jacobs 201008)	1920
1	23	Group of climbers with alpenstocks near the Paradise Inn, Mount Rainier National Park, WA (Jacobs 201011)	1920
1	24	Group portrait of men and women with hiking poles in Paradise Valley, WA (Jacobs 21736) Written on verso: "University party with Dean Landis as guide."	Aug. 6, 1921

Rainier National Park Company Official PhotographerReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Folder	item
1	25	Mt. Rainier (Jacobs 19304)	1919
1	26	Paradise Valley and Inn (Jacobs 19305)	1919
1	27-28	Top of Mt. Rainier (Jacobs 19307 Jacobs 19311)	1919
1	29	Interior of Paradise Inn (Jacobs 19312)	1919
1	30	Narada Falls (Jacobs 19313)	1919
1	31	Paradise Valley and Inn (Jacobs 19318)	1919
1	32	Mt. Rainier through trees (Jacobs 19319)	1919
1	33	Pinnacle Peak and camp buildings (Jacobs 19320)	1919
1	34	Paradise Inn (Jacobs 19321)	1919
1	35	Road to Paradise Valley (Jacobs 19322)	1919
1	36	The gate to Mt. Rainier National Park (Jacobs 19323)	1919
1	37	Wild Aster flowers (Jacobs 19324)	1919
1	38	Cars in front of Paradise Inn (Jacobs 19325)	1919
1	39	Paradise Inn (Jacobs 19326)	1919
1	40	Mt. Rainier and trees (Jacobs 19327)	1919
1	41	Top of Mt. Rainier (Jacobs 19328)	1919
1	42	Sluskin Falls	1919
		Robert Hamilton and Frank Jacobs Rainier National Park Company photo album 66 photographs; removed from album Robert Hamilton was a guide for the Rainier National Park Company while Frank Jacobs was a photographer, documenting guiding services, maintenance, and other work from the 1920s to the Great Depression. The Rainier National Park expanded during the 1920s and during this time it was the first park in the nation to allow automobile touring sites. Park company guides also prepared auto stages, added picnic areas, and conducted popular horseback tours with cowboy guide. Purchased from Zephyr Books, January 2023	approximately 1920-1941
Box/Folder	item
2/1	43	Group preparing to climb Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs	approximately 1920s
2/1	44	Woman outside (Jacobs 21193)	approximately 1920s
2/1	45	Toddler outside on a tricycle with three goats	approximately 1920s
2/1	46	Travelers on an Automobile tour of Mount Rainier National Park	approximately 1920s
2/1	47	Man outdoors at a table in the Mount Rainier National Park	approximately 1920s
2/1	48	Group hiking on Mount Rainier	approximately 1920s
2/1	49	Travelers outside an Automobile tour of Mount Rainier National Park	approximately 1920s
2/1	50	Woman and child outdoors on Mount Rainier Written on verso: "Robert Hamilton"	approximately 1920s
2/1	51	Woman and child outside of automobile in the snow	approximately 1920s
2/1	52	Woman standing in a lake	approximately 1920s
2/1	53	Man in the snow on Mount Rainier	approximately 1920s
2/1	54	Group outside of automobile in the snow	approximately 1920s
2/1	55	Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 200880)	approximately 1920s
2/1	56	Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 20657)	approximately 1920s
2/1	57	Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 19798) Stamped on verso: "Photo by Frank A. Jacobs, official photographer Rainier National Park Co. Longmire Springs, Wash."	approximately 1920s
2/1	58	Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 201125)	approximately 1920s
2/1	59	Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 19713) Stamped on verso: "Photo by Frank A. Jacobs, official photographer Rainier National Park Co. Longmire Springs, Wash."	approximately 1920s
2/1	60	Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 21583)	approximately 1920s
2/1	61	Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 20664) Stamped on verso: "Photo by Frank A. Jacobs, official photographer Rainier National Park Co. Longmire Springs, Wash."	approximately 1920s
2/1	62	Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 211302)	approximately 1920s
2/2	63	Two men with steam shovel	approximately 1920s
2/2	64	Koshring steam shovel clearing roads in Mount Rainier National Park	approximately 1920s
2/2	65	Koshring steam shovel clearing roads in Mount Rainier National Park	approximately 1920s
2/2	66	Paradise Lune National Park Service Steam Shovel clearing snow	1932
2/2	67	Steam Shovel clearing snow	1932
2/2	68	Miscellaneous construction equipment	approximately 1920s
2/2	69	6 Men with trucks	approximately 1920s
2/2	70	Cabin outdoors in the snow Written on verso: "Paradise May 1926)	May 1926
2/2	71	Firewatch Tower	approximately 1920s
2/2	72	Miscellaneous city street	approximately 1920s
2/2	73	California State Capitol Written on verso: "California State Capitol February 1941"	February 1941
2/2	74	Horses outside a cabin	approximately 1920s
2/2	75	Horses outside a cabin	approximately 1920s
2/2	76	The Original Cat or Dog Rest Room certified Clean Comfort Stations	approximately 1920s
2/2	77	Cabin in the snow	approximately 1920s
2/2	78	Cabin surrounded by fallen trees	approximately 1920s
2/2	79	Wood structure on path	approximately 1920s
2/2	80	Man amongst fallen trees	approximately 1920s
2/2	81	Black bear Written on verso: "Robert Hamilton"	approximately 1920s
2/2	82	Landscape view of mountain	approximately 1920s
2/2	83	Comet Falls Waterfall Written on verso: "Comet Falls"	approximately 1920s
2/2	84	Landscape View of Mountain Written on verso: "Summerland"	approximately 1920s
2/2	85	Group of horses from afar	approximately 1920s
2/2	86	Landscape View of Mountain	approximately 1920s
2/2	87	Landscape View of Mountain	approximately 1920s
2/2	88	Landscape View of Mountain	approximately 1920s
2/2	89	Landscape View of Mountain Written on verso: "Indian Henry"	approximately 1920s
2/3	90	Lake in a forest	approximately 1920s
2/3	91	Horses by a lake Written on verso: "Mistick [sic] Lake"	approximately 1920s
2/3	92	Landscape View of Mountain	approximately 1920s
2/3	93	Bear in a cage	approximately 1920s
2/3	94	Landscape View of Mountain	approximately 1920s
2/3	95	Landscape View of snow-covered Mountain	approximately 1920s
2/3	96	Deer in the Park at Ashland Oregon Written on verso: "Deer in the park at Ashland, Oregon 1941"	1941
2/3	97	Cows	approximately 1920s
2/3	98	Cows	approximately 1920s
2/3	99	Cows	approximately 1920s
2/3	100	Landscape View of Mountain	approximately 1920s
2/3	101	Landscape view of Mount Shasta Written on verso: "Mount Shasta near Shasta California"	approximately 1920s
2/3	102	Cows	approximately 1920s
2/3	103	Cows	approximately 1920s
2/3	104	Cows	approximately 1920s
2/3	105	Cows	approximately 1920s
2/3	106	Forest in the snow Written on Verso: "General Sherman tree"	approximately 1920s
2/3	107	Forest in the snow Written on Verso: "General Sherman tree Sequoia National Park"	approximately 1920s
2/3	108	Man on dogsled in the snow Written on verso: "at paradise 1926"	1926

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