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Joseph Sonneman photographs and other materials, 1960s-2006

Overview of the Collection

Photographer
Sonneman, Joseph
Title
Joseph Sonneman photographs and other materials
Dates
1960s-2006 (inclusive)
Quantity
35.40 cubic feet (50 boxes)
Collection Number
PH2008-029
Summary
Photographs by a lawyer and former Senate candidate of Juneau, Alaska
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: permission of curator required.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Joseph Sonneman was born in Chicago in 1944, and grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Sonneman served in the Army from 1963 to 1966, attended University of Illinois as a undergraduate, then Claremont Graduate School, earning masters and doctorate degrees in Government. In 1989, Sonneman earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Sonneman moved to Juneau in the early 1970s, where he was a candidate for mayor in 1973 and for the Alaska House in 1974. Sonneman also ran as the Democratic nominee for United States Senator from Alaska in 1998. In Juneau, Sonneman worked as a lawyer, legal researcher, management consultant, and legislative and law reporter. He also served as President of the World Affairs Council and was highly involved in local affairs.

Sonneman's father Eric had been an amateur photographer in Germany and gave Sonneman his first camera at age 5. Sonneman pursued his interest in photography from an early age, experimenting with different cameras and lenses, and different conceptual approaches. Sonneman was inspired by the work of Edward Weston, among others, and his still life studies reflect this interest. In Juneau, Sonneman documented local political events, such as those of the Alaska Democratic Party; Pioneers of Alaska events; as well as family, friends and the city of Juneau. Sonneman also extensively photographed Native American events, such as a re-enactment of Custer's last stand, the annual Crow Fair, Tlingit dance ceremonies and other Tlingit celebrations, Powwows, the Navajo Nation Fair , the centennial re-enactment of the Sitka "Last Potlatch" of 1904, and the dedication of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

One of Sonneman's major photographic projects was documentation of the construction of the Trans-Alaska pipeline. Influenced by Eric Hegg's photographs of the Klondike Gold Rush in the Murray Morgan book One Man's Gold Rush: A Klondike Album, Sonneman left his job and spent the years from 1974 to1977 photographing the pipeline with an 8'" x 10" view camera. Sonneman's pipeline photographs have been exhibited in Chicago, San Jose, Oklahoma and California.

Joe Sonneman relocated to Seattle in 2006.

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Content Description

The collection consists largely of photographs, varying in format from 35 mm snapshots through 8" x 10" contact prints, including a large number of slides and other transparencies.. Subjects include Sonneman's family and friends at home and at social events; the city of Juneau and local events; political events such as Alaska Democratic Party picnics; Native American events, such as dances, ceremonies, and celebrations, including Tlingit dances, a recreation of the Sitka Potlatch of 1904, a re-enactment of Custer's Last Stand at Little Bighorn, and the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian.

One series documents Sonneman's work photographing the construction of Trans-Alaska pipeline from 1974-1977, in slides, color photographs and, primarily, large format black and white photographs. This series also includes materials related to Sonneman's project of pairing his photographs with analogous photographs from One Man's Gold Rush, a book of Eric Hegg's photographs of the Klondike gold rush. In addition to the photographs, materials include correspondence, manuscripts and posters.

A series of albums, 1997-2006, includes snapshots of family, friends, the city of Juneau, and trips to other cities such as Chicago, Tucson, and Washington D.C. The albums also includes snapshots of political events and Native American events, and documentation of artwork in shows.

Non-photographic material in the collection include videos of Native American events, including a DVD of a re-enactment of Custer's Last Stand, correspondence to and from Sonneman, promotional materials and ephemera.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

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

Preferred Citation

The required credit line for use of images from Special Collections is: University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, [plus the negative number].

The negative number is provided with the image and is a letter + number combination such as UW13452; Hegg 1234; or NA1275. A typical credit line would be, University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, UW13452.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in 7 series:

  • One Man's Pipelinematerials
  • Photographs
  • Albums
  • Audiovisiual and other format materials
  • Papers
  • Ephemera and artifacts
  • Works by others

Acquisition Information

Source: Joseph Sonneman; received in 2007.

Processing Note

Minimally processed.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Sonneman, Jospeh--Photographs

Geographical Names

  • Juneau (Alaska)--Photographs
  • Trans-Alaska Pipeline (Alaska)--Photographs


2016 (Last modified: 11/27/2017)

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