Otto D. Goetze photographs of Nome, Alaska

Otto D. Goetze photographs of Nome, Alaska, circa 1900-1908

Overview of the Collection

Photographer: Goetze, O. D. (Otto Daniel)
Title: Otto D. Goetze photographs of Nome, Alaska
Dates: circa 1900-1908 (inclusive)
19001908
Quantity: 38 prints (1 box and 1 oversize folder) ; various sizes
Collection Number: PH0304
Summary: Photographs documenting Nome, Alaska taken by photographer Otto D. Goetze
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.
Additional Reference Guides
Languages: English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Otto Daniel Goetze was born in Missouri in 1871 to a German immigrant family of twelve children. He moved to Walla Walla, Washington as a young man, then to Oregon and later to Seattle. Goetze went to Alaska around 1898 as the Gold Rush began and established a photography studio in Nome. He often worked as an itinerant photographer and photographed throughout southeast Alaska, the Yukon and Siberia with his base in Nome. He also photographed at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. He sold his business in Nome to the Lomen Brothers in 1908 and moved to Seattle where he operated the Alaska Photo Studio from 1909 to 1912. He was among a number of photographers who made photographic postcards at Seattle's 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. Goetze got married in 1911 and had a daughter, Dorothy, in 1912. In 1914, the family moved to a farm in Cedar Valley. Goetze sold the farm in the 1930s as a consequence of financial difficulties related to the Depression; afterwards Goetze may have moved to Monroe, Washington.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Most of the photographs in the collection depict scenes of Nome, including street scenes, snowy landscapes, waterfront activities, Eskimos, the fire of 1903, and mining claims in the vicinity. Goetze collection numbers are written on verso or on the images.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

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 Jill Hardy, 2009. Revised by Susan Fitch in 2014

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

NomeReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
		Nome street scenes
Box/Folder	item
M270	1	Bird's-eye-view of Nome looking west with the Bering Sea and Front St. at left Panorama made of three attached panels.	circa 1907
1/1	2	Horses and carts stuck in muddy streets of Nome (Goetze 1009)	circa 1900-1908
1/1	3	Pedestrians walking along businesses on Front Street Nome (Goetze C117)	circa 1900-1908
1/1	4	Bird's-eye view of Nome looking north (Goetze 1010) Shows undertaking parlor and Hotel Del Norte along Front St., and St. Joseph's Catholic church to the northwest.	circa 1900-1908
1/1	5	Snow-covered street with Nome Daily News printing office and other Nome businesses (Goetze C140)	circa 1900-1908
1/1	6	Tunnel in snow leading to front door of house (Goetze 213) Caption on photo: Snow in Winter in Nome Alaska.	circa 1900-1908
1/1	7	Dog team on snow-covered Front Street (Goetze 1005) Shows several businesses including The Igloo, W.J. Rowe Transfer & Freighting, and Ames Mercantile.	circa 1900-1908
1/1	8	Second Street under snow drifts (Goetze C136)	circa 1900-1908
1/1	9	Snow tunnel leading to miners cabin buried in snow (Goetze 973) Handwritten on image: A happy miner's home in Nome Alaska.	circa 1900-1908
1/1	10	New courthouse under construction with carpenters and businessmen (Goetze 1000)	July 24, 1908
		Nome beach
Box/Folder	item
1/2	11	Aerial view of waterfront beach with tents and buildings (Goetze C89)	circa 1900-1908
1/2	12	Ice breakup on Snake River near several Nome riverfront businesses including U. S. Restaurant (Goetze C149) Caption on photo: Ice going out Snake River	1901
1/2	13	Nome beach with tents, buildings, horses, and carts (Goetze C179a)	circa 1900-1908
1/2	14	Men displaying bundles of whale baleen on beach (Goetze C173) Caption on image: Whalebone on Nome beach.	circa 1900-1908
1/2	15	Men and dog on large rocks at the beach (Goetze C111)	circa 1900-1908
		Nome fires
Box/Folder	item
1/3	16	Collapsed and smoking burned building during Nome's 1903 fire (Goetze C139) Caption on photo: Nome's second big fire.	Jan. 31, 1903
1/3	17	Crowd in street surrounding Hotel Lawrence on fire (Goetze C158)	circa 1903-1905
		U.S. Senators' and Congressmen's visit to Nome A contingent of Senators and Congressman visited Nome in 1903. Included in these photographs are possibly Senator W. P. Dillingham, of Vermont, Senator H. E. Burnham, of New Hampshire, Senator Knut Nelson of Minnesota and Senator E. M. Patterson of Colorado. Also included in that party were Sergeant at Arms of the Senate; Col. Ramsdell; Lt. Andrews, of the U.S. Army; Dr. Willcox; Mr. John McLane {McLain}, Ed. Minneapolis Journal & Mr. Brill, of the Associated Press.
Box/Folder	item
1/4	18	Senators landing on Nome beach (Goetze C177)	1903
1/4	19	Banquet of Senators and Congressmen (Goetze A516)	1903
1/4	20	Senators being lowered onto a barge by a crane (Goetze C113) Handwritten on image: Senatorial Party leaving Nome, Alaska.	1903
		Nome Environs
Box/Folder	item
1/5	21	Solomon City pier, mining equipment and tents (Goetze C1014)	circa 1900-1908
1/5	22	The midnight sun over the Arctic Ocean, June 21 (Goetze 1008)	circa 1900-1908
1/5	23	W.H. Webb freighting thirty cases of goods by dogsled fromS. S. Corwin(Goetze A995)	June 3, 1907
1/5	24	Floral arrangement on table with lace backdrop and framed portrait	circa 1900-1908

MiningReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box/Folder	item
1/6	25	North Pole claim on Otter Creek third beach line (Goetze 1002)	circa 1900-1908
1/6	26	Dumps and workings of the Burns Bench and Sunshine Claim on third beach line (Goetze 1001) Handwritten on image: G. Hendricks, Morrison-Gunderson Ekstrom.	circa 1900-1908
1/6	27	Dump on Burns Bench claim on Irene Creek (Goetze 1003) Handwritten on image: J. Hendricks.	circa 1900-1908

EskimosReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box/Folder	item
1/7	28	Eskimos with reindeer sleds in snowy landscape (Goetze 5)	circa 1900-1908
1/7	29	Eskimo boy on the beach with Nome in the background (Goetze 101) Caption on photo: Eskimo son.	circa 1900-1908
1/7	30	Eskimo child in a fur parka (Goetze 1006)	circa 1900-1908
1/7	31	Eskimo child and his dog (Goetze 1007)	circa 1900-1908
1/7	32	Eskimo cooking food on beach (Goetze C170) Caption on photo: Eskimo cooking lunch.	circa 1900-1908
1/7	33	Eskimos and settlers with white whale on beach (Goetze C179)	circa 1900-1908
1/7	34	Eskimos aboard the sailboat Sophiain Nome harbor (Goetze C168) Handwritten on image: Eskimo own make.	circa 1900-1908
1/7	35	Eskimo storing away berries on Nome beach (Goetze C172)	circa 1900-1908
1/7	36	Studio portrait of Happy Jack Angokwazhuk and one of his wives Happy Jack was a famous and innovative ivory carver, the first Alaskan Eskimo to make a living from his art. After losing both feet from being trapped in ice during a hunting expedition, Jack turned to carving to support his family. His extremely personable and optimistic personality earned him the nickname "Happy Jack."	circa 1905
1/7	37	Studio portrait of Happy Jack's wife (Goetze A617) This photo in other collections shows caption: Eskimo Beauty of Alaska.	circa 1905
1/7	38	Eskimo woman and man in tent with personal belongings Transferred from Lomen collection PH Coll 328	circa 1900-1908

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Archives West Finding Aid

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