Beverly B. Dobbs photographs, circa 1900-1912

Overview of the Collection

Photographer
Dobbs, B. B. (Beverly Bennett)
Title
Beverly B. Dobbs photographs
Dates
circa 1900-1912 (inclusive)
Quantity
62 photographic prints (1 box)
1 album of 60 photographic prints (1 box)
Collection Number
PH0323
Summary
Photographs by Beverly B. Dobbs documenting Nome, Alaska, including town scenes, high school basketball teams, the gold mining industry and the Eskimo people
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.

Request at UW

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

The son of a farmer, Beverly Bennett Dobbs was born in 1868 near Marshall, Missouri. At age 8, he moved with his parents to Lincoln, Neb., where he learned photography. In 1888, Dobbs moved to Bellingham, Wash., and operated a photography studio for 12 years, including a partnership in 1890-1891 with F.F. Fleming under the name Dobbs & Fleming. He married Dorothy Sturgeon of Bellingham in 1896, then moved to Nome, Alaska, in search of gold in 1900. Dobbs continued to earn his living as a photographer, and by 1903, he had formed a partnership with the photographer A.B. Kinne from San Francisco. The Dobbs & Kinne studio in Nome offered photography services and photo supplies. Dobbs photographed scenes in Nome and the Seward Peninsula and made portraits of Eskimo people (Eskimos). He was awarded a gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World’s Fair) in 1904 for his Eskimo photographs.

By about 1909, Dobbs had started Dobbs Alaska Moving Picture Co., making him one of the first to use motion picture film north of the Arctic Circle. He made a name for himself as a filmmaker with Atop of the World in Motion (also called Top of the World in Motion ), a collection of his motion picture travelogues detailing the Alaska gold rush. By 1911, it is probable that Dobbs was focusing only on his moving picture business; he no longer had his photography supply store, and had sold his photography negatives to the Lomen Brothers, who later issued some of his work under their name. By 1914, Dobbs had returned to Seattle and was managing the Dobbs Totem Film Company. He is listed as the cinematographer for A Romance of Seattle , a film shot in and around Seattle in 1919. In his later years he specialized in developing motion picture films in his studio at his home. During the 1930s, Dobbs photographed the fish processing operations at Pacific American Fisheries (PAF) in the Fairhaven area of Bellingham. He died at age 69 in 1937.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Photographs documenting gold-mining scenes, town views, youth basketball teams, and Eskimo culture in and around Nome, Alaska, in the early years of the 20th century. There are also photographs depicting the activities of the Pioneer Mining Company and the Hot Air Mining Company. All the photographs were made by Beverly Dobbs, although some were later signed by the Lomen Brothers.

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

Album: Source, Michael Maslan, July 1992.

Photographic prints: Source unknown.

Processing Note

Processed by Linda Corets, 2004. Revised by Stefanie Terasaki, 2015.

Bibliography

Dobbs's work is featured prominently in E.S. Harrison, Nome and Seward Peninsula: History, Description, Biographies and Stories (Seattle: E.S. Harrison, 1905).

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Album of Nome and VicinityReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Page item
1 1 circa 1900-1912
2 2 circa 1900-1912
3 3 June 21, 1906
4 4 circa 1900-1912
5 5 circa 1900-1912
6 6 circa 1900-1912
7 7 circa 1900-1912
8 8 circa 1900-1912
9 9 circa 1900-1912
10 10 circa 1900-1912
11 11 circa 1900-1912
12 12 circa 1900-1912
13 13 circa 1900-1912
14 14 circa 1900-1912
15 15 circa 1900-1912
16 16 circa 1900-1912
17 17 circa 1900-1912
18 18 circa 1900-1912
19 19 circa 1900-1912
20 20 circa 1900-1912
21 21 circa 1900-1912
22 22 circa 1900-1912
23 23 circa 1900-1912
24 24 circa 1900-1912
25 25 circa 1900-1912
26 26 circa 1900-1912
27 27a circa 1900-1912
27 27b 1902
27 27c circa 1900-1912
28 28 circa 1900-1912
29 29 circa 1900-1912
30 30 circa 1900-1912
31 31 circa 1903
32 32 circa 1900-1912
33 33
Eskimo berry pickers, Nome
circa 1900-1912
34 34 circa 1900-1912
35 35 circa 1900-1912
36 36 circa 1900-1912
37 37 circa 1900-1912
38
[Blank page]
item
39 39 circa 1900-1912
40 40 circa 1900-1912
41 41a circa 1900-1912
41 41b circa 1900-1912
42 42a circa 1900-1912
42 42b circa 1900-1912
43 43a circa 1900-1912
43 43b circa 1900-1912
44 44a-b circa 1900-1912
45 45a circa 1900-1912
45 45b circa 1900-1912
45 45c circa 1900-1912
46 46a-d circa 1900-1912
47 47a-d circa 1900-1912
48 48 circa 1900-1912

Nome, AlaskaReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/1 49 circa 1900-1912
2/1 50 circa July 4, 1901-1910
2/1 51 circa 1900-1912
2/1 51a
People gathered on street with building on fire
circa 1901-1903
2/1 52 circa 1900-1912
2/1 53 circa 1900-1912
2/1 54-55
Men rowing boat in surf
Dobbs's signature removed from photograph and replaced with "Lomen Bros."
circa 1900-1912
2/1 56 circa 1900-1912
2/1 57 circa 1900-1912
2/1 58 circa 1900-1912

Gold Mining Around NomeReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/2 59 circa 1900-1912
2/2 60 circa 1900-1912
2/2 61 circa 1900-1912
2/2 62 circa 1900-1912
2/2 63 1906
2/2 64 1906

Youth Basketball Teams in Nome, AlaskaReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/3 65 circa 1907
2/3 66-67 circa 1900-1912
2/3 68 circa 1900-1912
2/3 69 circa 1908
2/3 70 circa 1906

Eskimo Domestic ScenesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/4 71 circa 1900-1912
2/4 72 circa 1900-1912
2/4 73 circa 1900-1912
2/4 74 circa 1900-1912
2/4 75 circa 1900-1912
2/4 76
Eskimos from East Cape in boat on Snake River, Nome
Same as 323.15
circa 1900-1912
2/4 77 circa 1900-1912

Eskimo MenReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/5 78 circa 1900-1912
2/5 79 1903
2/5 80 1905
2/5 81-82 circa 1900-1912
2/5 83 circa 1900-1912
2/5 84
Eskimo boys skinning reindeer near river
Lomen Bros. signature on lower left corner of photograph.
circa 1900-1912
2/5 85-86
Eskimo men hunting walruses
Lomen Bros. signature on lower left corner of photograph.
circa 1900-1912
2/5 87
Walruses on ice floe, near Nome
Lomen Bros. signature on lower left corner of photograph.
circa 1900-1912

Eskimo Women and ChildrenReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
2/6 88 circa 1900-1912
2/6 89 1907
2/6 90-91 circa 1900-1912
2/6 92 circa 1900-1912
2/6 93 circa 1900-1912
2/6 94 1905
2/6 95-98 circa 1900-1912
2/6 99 circa 1900-1912
2/7 100
"Eskimo Belles, Nome"
Dobbs's signature removed from photograph and replaced with "Lomen Bros." Drawings added to backdrop. See also items 53 and 54.
1903
2/7 101-102 1903
2/7 103 circa 1900-1912
2/7 104 circa 1900-1912
2/7 105 circa 1900-1912
2/7 106-107 circa 1900-1912
2/7 108 circa 1900-1912
2/7 109 circa 1900-1912

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Basketball players--Alaska--Nome--Photographs
  • Basketball teams--Alaska--Nome--Photographs
  • Eskimo--Alaska--Photographs
  • Eskimo--Alaska--Social life and customs
  • Gold mines and mining--Alaska--Nome--Photographs
  • Gold mines and mining--Alaska--Photographs
  • Gold rushes--Alaska--Nome--Photographs
  • Gold rushes--Alaska--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Dobbs, B. B. (Beverly Bennett)

Corporate Names

  • Hot Air Mining Company
  • Pioneer Mining Company

Geographical Names

  • Alaska--Gold discoveries
  • Nome (Alaska)--Gold discoveries
  • Nome (Alaska)--Photographs