Thomas Prosch Indian photograph albums, approximately 1864-1912

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Prosch, Thomas Wickham, 1850-1915
Title
Thomas Prosch Indian photograph albums
Dates
approximately 1864-1912 (inclusive)
approximately 1880-1910 (bulk)
Quantity
123 black and white photographic prints in 2 albums
Collection Number
PH0018
Summary
Photographs of Washington and British Columbia Indians, circa 1898-1903
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

Access restricted. Original albums are not available to the public. Photocopies of the albums are available for viewing.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Thomas Prosch was a journalist and civic booster who had a great love of history. Prosch focused much of his energy on recording and preserving the history of the region and on civic improvement. He spent time walking through the town of Seattle photographing and documenting its history. He assembled the photographs he made and collected from others into annotated albums depicting various topics--Seattle, Washington State, Indians. He also assembled a dictionary of Chinook trade jargon and an extensive private library of Northwest history materials. He was frequently asked to speak at historical events. Prosch and his wife died in a tragic automobile accident in 1915 when the car they were in went off the road and into the Duwamish River as they were returning from a meeting at the Washington State Historical Society.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Two albums of photographs depicting Washington and British Columbia Indians taken by a number of early photographers, including Dr. E.H. Latham, Henry Fair, S.G. Morse, Anders Wilse, E.S. Meany, Webster and Stevens, B.C. Collier and Theodore E. Peiser. Indian tribes represented include Columbia River Indians, Nez Perce, Yakama, Chelan, Clallum and Indians of Puget Sound in general. Also included are images of Chief Joseph, Chief Seattle and Angeline. Photos date from circa 1864 to 1912.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format

Photocopies of the albums are available for viewing.

See also Native American Microfiche (NA 1284-1391)

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 Ashby Lee Collinson and Marion Brown, 2008

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Container(s) Description Dates
Album item
1 1-1
Columbia River Indian camp
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
July 1903
1 1-2
Nez Perce Chief Joseph in ceremonial dress on painted horse
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Before the Chief would pose for this picture, he exacted $10 from the artist.
1903
1 1-3
Chief Joseph in war costume with rifle
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
July 4, 1903
1 1-4
Chief Joseph near horses and tepees
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
Fall of 1903
1 1-5
Chief Joseph's winter quarters tepee
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
1903
1 1-6
Nez Perce woman Check-a-ma-poo
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Said to be the oldest of Nez Perces, 100 snows and more, in the Indian war of 1877, when Joseph led her tribesmen, she carried a gun, and fought like a man.
1903
1 1-7
Young Nez Perce woman, Alice, daughter of Yellow Wolf
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
between 1900 and 1905
1 1-8
Nez Perce camp and hills, Nespilem
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Nez Perce War Parade.
July, 4 1901
1 1-9
Nez Perce camp, Nespilem, WA
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
July 4, 1901
1 1-10
Tepees in Nez Perce camp, Nespelem, Washington
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
July 1903
1 1-11
Crowd of Nez Perce gathered around medicine dancer
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: The great Doctor Two Moons is pictured as dancing on right of group.
between 1900 and 1905
1 1-12
Nez Perce man on horse with painted spots
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: The spots painted on shoulder and flank show where the balls struck the horse when it was shot from under the rider.
between 1901 and 1903
1 1-13
Three Nez Perce men near tepees
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
Walla-qua-mit, Chu-ya (Umatilla), Jim White (the younger brother of White Bird).
between 1901 and 1903
1 1-14
Nez Perce tepees in summer
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
between 1901 and 1903
1 1-15
Nez Perce tepee in winter surrounded by snow
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
1901?
1 1-16
Nez Perce camp, Nespelem, Washington
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
July 4, 1903
1 1-17
Nez Perce camp and hills at sunrise
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
July 1903
1 1-18 between 1900 and 1905
1 1-19
Quiotsa, dressed as a medicine man with sacred scarf
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
A brother of Chief Moses who was the head chief of the Yakamas for forty years.
1903?
1 1-20
Sister and grandchild of Chief Moses
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
between 1900 and 1905
1 1-21
Four grandchildren of Chief Moses
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
between 1900 and 1905
1 1-22
Two views of a young woman, with "winged" dress and dress with shawl, carrying beaded bag
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: An Aristocrat among the Columbia Valley natives.
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-23a
Two children in dresses
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-23b
Pasco Sam, with his grandson and horse
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: A very noted Columbia River Indian.
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-24
Two Columbia Valley Indian women in blankets
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-25
Three Columbia Valley Indian girls
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-26
Group of Columbia Valley Indians in front of tepee
Edward H. Latham (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Half-breed on the right hand.
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-27
Okanagan woman and baby
Dr. Edward H. Latham (photographer)
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-28
[no photo]
1 1-29a
Thrace, a Wenatchee girl
B.C. Collier (photographer)
between 1902 and 1912
1 1-29b
A Wenatchee mother with baby in cradle
M.P. Spencer (photographer)
1902
1 1-30
Indian in Wenatchee jail who committed suicide
Handwritten on photo: Sin, shame, suicide. Tragic end of an Indian in the Wenatchee in the Wenatchee jail, slow and deliberate self strangulation.
Possibly a set up photo.
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-31 between 1902 and 1910
1 1-32
Indian in camp, near Wenatchee, Washington
B.C. Collier (photographer)
between 1902 and 1910
1 1-33a-c between 1900 and 1910
1 1-34a
Wapato John and wife, Julia Bob
Handwritten on photo: The Wapato family is one of much local distinction. John is very old, blind and religious. He preaches every Sunday, usually twice or thrice."
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-34b
Julia Bob, member of a well-known Chelan family, and a man on horseback
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-35
Camp in Wenatchee Valley
B.C. Collier (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Tents, wagons, all, indicate travelers moving and living comfortably.
between 1902 and 1910
1 1-36
Indian camp with two tepees
Wilse (206) (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Tenting on the old campground. Familiar scene in Eastern Washington.
between 1897 and 1900
1 1-37
Nez Perce Indians in temporary camp on the Lapwai Reservation, Idaho
Henry Fair (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Nez Perce Indians in temporary camp on the Lapwai Reservation. Idaho; poor, dirty and wretched, but not much more so than white campers.
1906?
1 1-38
A Lapwai Indian grandfather
Henry Fair (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: A Lapwai grandfather surrounded by the works and marks of civilization-his clothing, the electric pole and barbed wire fence-he is an Indian still, too old and fixed to conform to all the conditions and ways of the white men he sees and knows.
1906?
1 1-39a
Lapwai or Nez Perce Indian woman
Handwritten on photo: One of the older, more primitive, kind.
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-39b
Lapwai or Nez Perce Indian women
Handwritten on photo: Two of the younger, more modern kind.
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-40
Indian man on horseback
Henry Fair (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: A present day Indian, in the prime of life, mounted on his favorite animal, the horse, in the land of his people, the Lapwai.
1906?
1 1-41
Man giving the boy a lesson in horsemanship
Henry Fair (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Probably the same Indian [in previous photo], giving the boy a lesson in horsemanship, acquainting him with the country, and making of him a brave, worthy son of a worthy father.
1906?
1 1-42a
Two Indian women
Handwritten on photo: Friends, possibly Sisters. Such as these, women of the Twentieth Century, are to be seen daily in the towns of Washington.
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-42b
Indian woman.
Handwritten on photo: A young beauty.
between 1900 and 1910
1 1-43a
Native American family posed for studio picture in Western dress
Handwritten on photo: An Indian family well advanced in industry, thrift, enlightenment. Compares favorably with many white families.
1900?
1 1-43b
Rev. Henry H. Spaulding
Handwritten on photo: Who in 1838 came with Marcus Whitman and established to A.B.C.F.M. mission at Lapwai.
1900?
1 1-44
Blank page
1 1-45
A Spokane Indian man
between 1900 and 1908
1 1-46a
Yakama man and woman
between 1900 and 1908
1 1-46b
Young Yakama woman
between 1900 and 1908
1 1-47a between 1900 and 1908
1 1-47b
Indian Man
between 1900 and 1908
Container(s) Description Dates
Album item
2 2-1
Chief Seattle
E.M. Sammis (photographer)
Copied by Boyd and Braas
Handwritten on photo: Seattle was large, strong and commanding in his youthful days, a warrior of success and fame. He was also an orator of ability. In his later years he was bent, feeble and poor. This photograph, by Sammis, is the only picture take of him in life.
1864
2 2-2a
Chief Seattle's grave, Indian cemetery, Port Madison Reservation
Seattle Camera Club (photographer)
May 30, 1901
2 2-2b
Chief Seattle's grave with American flag
Edmond S. Meany (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Flag by Thomas W. Prosch
May 30, 1903
2 2-3
Angeline, daughter of Chief Seattle
Curtis (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: She was the daughter and last surviving child of Chief Seattle. Her maternal parent is not known, as her father had several wives. She also had at least two husbands, Her Indian name is reported to have been Kakiisilma, by Miss E.L. Denny. It is also said to have been Wewik. One of Seattle's wives is recorded in Catholic Church baptisms as Hewyik. Some white person called her Angeline; she accepted it, and the name thereafter became fixed, entirely displacing the original name, which was lost to the general public.
1896
2 2-4
Angeline, daughter of Chief Seattle.
Theodore Peiser (photographer)
Photograph taken not long before her death.
1890
2 2-5a
Port Madison Indian Reservation seen from water
Edmond S. Meany (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: At this place and in this "Old Man House" Seattle lived and ruled, and Angeline and his other children probably were born. Seattle died here, Angeline lived here later years in the town of Seattle.
May 30, 1903
2 2-5b
Last fragment in the historic Old Man House at Port Madison Reservation
Edmond S. Meany (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: This house is said to have been 520 feet long, 60 feet wide, 15 feet high in front and 10 feet high in rear.
May 30, 1903
2 2-6
Angeline's tombstone in Lakeview Cemetery, Seattle
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: No spot in this beautiful city of the dead is more sightly, more sought and more remarked.
between 1897 and 1900
2 2-7
Indian canoe and steamer ship in Puget Sound
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Indian canoe sailing up Puget Sound, while loaded sail ship is towed by steamer down Sound.
1900?
2 2-8
Puget Sound Indian woman weaving baskets
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Seated on beach with three twined baskets; perhaps taken at West Seattle.
1899?
2 2-9
Canoe and basket makers at work
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: He makes canoes and she makes baskets to sell to white people on the beach at West Seattle.
1899?
2 2-10
Indian Village, Neah Bay, WA
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: The only commercial resource of these people seems to be fish.
1897
2 2-11
Indian Village on beach, Washington
Ozette village near Cape Alava; remains of ship Austria, wrecked in 1887, in foreground.
1880
2 2-12
Four men in a canoe off Cannonball Island, near Flattery Rocks
Cannonball Island, Ozette village, near Cape Alava; remains of ship Austria wrecked in 1887.
1880?
2 2-13
A fleet of Neah Bay whale hunting canoes
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
1900?
2 2-14
Native whale hunters, Neah Bay, WA
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: The whale hunter's story.
1900?
2 2-15
Makah man who was called "Young Doctor", a canoe maker
Samuel G. Morse (?) (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: This native son knows enough good fish stories to fill a book
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-16
Makah mother and child, Neah Bay
Samuel G. Morse (?) (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Posing for a picture on the ocean coast of Washington
between 1891 and 1900
2 2-17
Group of Makah in large sea-going canoe
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Afloat on the Pacific; looking for seals, whales, halibut.
1900
2 2-18
Makah couple landing canoe with fish, Neah Bay
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Fishing is a partnership or family matter on Puget Sound; he catches, she cleans, she sells, he takes the money.
1900?
2 2-19
Indian couple in front of dwellings
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Real old settlers. Typical Indian habitations.
between 1897 and 1900
2 2-20
Portrait of Blakely Jim
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: A well known Puget Sounder.
between 1897 and 1900
2 2-21
Four children on beach (West Seattle?)
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Sand fleas.Handwritten on photo: Fair specimens of the present Generation.
1899
2 2-22
Temporary camp in North Seattle
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Temporary Sojourners in Seattle in the 1880s.
between 1880 and 1890
2 2-23
Indian hut at Shilshole Bay
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Home of "Indian Charley."
between 1897 and 1900
2 2-24a
Bodies wrapped in blankets on Hudson Bay
Handwritten on photo: Camps of British Columbia Indians in 1880
1880
2 2-24b
Man constructing a canoe frame
Handwritten on photo: Camps of British Columbia Indians in 1880.
1880
2 2-24c
Two Indians in tent
Handwritten on photo: Camps of British Columbia Indians in 1880.
1880
2 2-24d
Burial ground
1880
2 2-24e
Totem pole
1880
2 2-25a
Two girls in hop pickers camp in White River Valley
Asahel Curtis (photographer)
1902
2 2-25b
Lolota, son of Chief Zackuse
Abbie Denny Lindsley (photographer)
Lived at Lake Sammamish.
1890
2 2-26
Woman carrying burden basket on her back
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
between 1897 and 1900
2 2-27
"Tasha" seated in a tent
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
between 1897 and 1900
2 2-28
Young Indian boy
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
1900
2 2-29
Mother and baby
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: A proud Puget Sound mother and her exuberant, hilarious young one.
1900?
2 2-30
"Wahoolit" or "Yelm Jim" holding gun, seated next to human skull
Handwritten on photo: "Wahoolit," or "Yelm Jim," a Nisqually Indian. He fought with Leschi in 1855-56. He killed Sluggia, Leschi's betrayer. Sentenced to be hung he was pardoned on the day set for execution.
between 1880 and 1900
2 2-31
Elder mother and blind son in city
Handwritten on photo: Old Betty and her blind son-to be seen in Olympia any day. She leads him with a stick, using the other as cane for herself.
between 1890 and 1900
2 2-32
Elder mother and blind son in city
Same mother and son as previous image.
Handwritten on photo: After standing for the picture taker, the bent-over old Indian woman and her unfortunate son moved on up the Olympia street to their humble place of abode.
between 1890 and 1900
2 2-33
Family sitting around canoe on beach
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Three generations: Grandmother, father and mother, two little ones. These are Puget Sound Indians.
between 1897 and 1900
2 2-34
Family of Puget Sound Indians
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: This represents a comfortable, well-to-do, half civilized family of Puget Sound Indians. Few Indian families are there with five living children.
between 1897 and 1900
2 2-35
Burial ground on Puget Sound
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: An old-style burial place, on Puget Sound. Such places were common in the 1860s. Another manner was to place the body in a small canoe, and then hoist and hide the same in the branches of a tree. The present day Indian buries his dead the manner of his white neighbors.
between 1897 and 1900
2 2-36
Members of the Clallum tribe on Juan de Fuca Strait
Anders B. Wilse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: The man (and father) is giving his boys lessons in the arts of fishing and navigation. They are eager students. Soon they will be experts in both lines.
between 1897 and 1900
2 2-37a
Steve Wilson at a Seattle wharf
Webster and Stevens (photographer)
between 1900 and 1910
2 2-37b
Prosch with arm around older Indian woman
Edmond S. Meany (?) (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: No explanation of this scene is required.
between 1900 and 1910
2 2-38
Indian town at Eagle Harbor
Webster and Stevens (photographer)
between 1900 and 1910
2 2-39
Eagle Harbor view
Webster and Stevens (photographer)
between 1900 and 1910
2 2-40
Group of Indians in front of general store
Webster and Stevens (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: After a day in town these old Indians are on the Colman wharf, waiting for the steamer to take them back to Eagle Harbor.
Left to right: Doctor Peter, Charlie Yukon, Mrs. Chief Jacob, Chief Jacob Wahalchu, unknown, Mary Adams.
between 1900 and 1910
2 2-41
Indian women selling crafts on a dock
Webster and Stevens (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: Indian women exhibiting and offering for sale their skin, bead and other fancy work articles. These Indians are from the north of Washington [probably Tlingit].
between 1904 and 1910
2 2-42
Women cleaning fish on beach in canoe.
Webster and Stevens (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: The women here appear to be doing the work and attending to the business. The men are at the saloon, maybe, the sign of which shows.
between 1904 and 1910
2 2-43
Women rowing in canoe
Handwritten on photo: Here are more women at work. They have their rolls of matting and other articles for sale. They are not pleased at or with the photographer.
between 1895 and 1910
2 2-44
Woman with child strapped on her back
between 1895 and 1910
2 2-45a
Two young Indian women seated
Handwritten on photo: North Pacific Coast Indians: women and girls.
between 1895 and 1910
2 2-45b
Woman with four children
Handwritten on photo: North Pacific Coast Indians: women and girls.
between 1895 and 1910
2 2-46a
Three boys on beach, fish drying in background
between 1898 and 1910
2 2-46b
Four boys seated
One wears beaded mukluks, another plays the violin.
between 1898 and 1910
2 2-47
Weisub and Neisub, Makah Indians, making baskets
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
1898?
2 2-48a
Okutter, a maker of wooden figures
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
1898?
2 2-48b
Quidessa, a Makah woman
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
Handwritten on photo: A native of the coast.
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-49
Yaddebassa, a Makah wood carver, totem or toy maker
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-50
Kalappa, an Indian woman of Neah Bay
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-51
Owatta, a Makah woman
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-52
Aschadaback, or in English, Peter Brown, Chief of the Makah or Neah Bay Indians; also policeman or sheriff.
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-53
Ketub, an Indian woman
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-54
Neisub, the basketmaker of Neah Bay
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-55
Yadaquit, Makah woman
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-56
Wassobad, a Makah woman
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-57
Neclel, Makah woman holding staff
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-58
Hartsquee, Makah woman
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-59
Yarlado, an Indian woman
Samuel G. Morse (photographer)
between 1894 and 1900
2 2-60 between 1894 and 1900

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)