Alexander Girard and Colin MacKenzie Photographs, circa 1902-1921

Overview of the Collection

Title
Alexander Girard and Colin MacKenzie Photographs
Dates
circa 1902-1921 (inclusive)
Quantity
4 linear feet of shelf space, (8 boxes), (343 images)
Collection Number
PC 170 (collection)
Summary
Glass plate images, primarily negatives, from Aberdeen, WA, and surrounding areas circa the early 20th century. They portray shipping and lumber industries as well as photographs of people and numerous aspects of daily life.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open and available for research use.

Languages
English.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

According to an obituary in the Sept. 30, 1946 Seattle Times (page 24, column 5), Alexander C. (Jerry) Girard (1879-1946) lived in the Hoquiam/Aberdeen area from 1902-1921, where he worked as a newspaperman, coroner, and assistant county assessor. He was subsequently a reporter/photographer for Seattle newspapers from 1921-1929 before running a café from 1930 until his retirement.

Colin S. MacKenzie (1879-1912) was a photographer and an assistant deputy in Hoquiam. A former logger, he took up photography in 1903 after injuring his back during a fire. He was shot and killed in 1912 while pursuing a murder suspect. His name is spelled MacKenzie on his own photographs and in the census of the time, but seems to have accidentally been popularized to McKenzie in the newspaper coverage of his death and subsequently on his gravestone.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The photographs are taken in the Grays Harbor county area of Washington State, primarily Aberdeen and Hoquiam. A significant number of the photographs deal with the shipping and lumber industries, but many more pertain to the people of the time and their daily lives in and around these Aberdeen areas.

A small number of images are signed by their creators, C.S. MacKenzie and A.C. Girard. While we assume this means the majority of these images are theirs, we cannot be certain. As MacKenzie died in 1912 and Girard subsequently moved to Seattle (where these images were found), most are probably Girard’s.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply.

Preferred Citation

[Item Description] Alexander Girard and Colin MacKenzie Photographs, ca. 1902-1921

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

A majority of the plates are 6”x8”, but 45 of them are 8”x10”. Those 45 larger images are located in box 1, while the others are in the remaining boxes.

As recorded in this guide, the materials are organized in a number of alphabetical subject-based series, with individual items organized alphabetically within those. The “Ships” series includes a number of subseries. Most series include items in both the larger and smaller glass negative sizes.

The donor had created his own scan of the materials, and printed and bound them in several subject-based books. These four volumes, as well as a key linking MASC’s identifiers to his, can be found at the end of the final box. Following that is a small folder of MASC-created donor/creator materials.

Acquisition Information

The materials in this collection were donated to the Washington State University Libraries’ Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections on September 5th, 2017 from Marvin C. Sharpe of Gibsonville, NC and retained as UPC 2017-01. Mr. Sharpe had discovered the images in the attic of his 1956 Seattle home, located on NE 38th Street.

Processing Note

The collection was digitized, reorganized, and described in 2017-2018 by student Kaitlyn Van Vleet. Items with peeling emulsion were repaired by conservator Linnea Rash in 2018.

Related Materials

PC 18, the Charles R. Pratsch Photographs, 1888-1913, covers the same geographical region and subject areas. The dates of the collections overlap, but the Pratsch materials average perhaps a decade earlier. Pratsch’s materials also include many MacKenzie photographs.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1: BusinessesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
2 1
Belding Hall, Refrigerator window
2 2
Display window, advertising oil stocks. By A.C. Girard
2 3
Flower shop
2 4
Flower shop
2 5
Movie house production of "The Beloved Cheater"
2 6
Street with Smith Ice Cream on corner
2 7
US royal cord tires, window display
2 8
US royal cord tires, window display [copy]

Series 2: CarnivalsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
2 9
Carnival side show
2 10
Carnival with Ferris Wheel
2 11
Carnival with Ferris Wheel side show
2 12
Carnival with sign "Mamie Strange Girl"
2 13
Fair side show with "torture chamber" sign

Series 3: EventsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
2 14
Football scrimmage
2 15
Military marching down street in rain
2 16
Military marching in rain
2 17
Military tribute marches down main street
2 18
Spectators in grand stand
2 19
Sports horse cart race
2 20
Town hall dinner
2 21
Women's golf at hole nine, 215 yards

Series 4: FamiliesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
2 22
16 children posing in the yard
2 23
16 children posing, inside yard
2 24
16 children posing, inside yard [copy]
2 25
18 children posing, dressed up
2 26
18 children posing, dressed up
2 27
Family picnic on grass #1
2 28
Family picnic on grass #2
2 29
Family posing against ivy wall
2 30
Family posing in yard
2 31
Seven married couples
2 32
Young boy and dog

Series 5: Farm AnimalsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
2 33
Bull with nose ring
2 34
Cattle grazing
2 35
Cow and two pigs
2 36
Cow being patient
2 37
Cow posing for picture
2 38
Cows and bulls
2 39
Cows and man
2 40
Sheep grazing in deforested hill
2 41
Sheep grazing in pasture

Series 6: GroupsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
2 42
Bandsaw no. 2 crew in Aberdeen. By A.C. Girard
2 43
Boiler maker crew for S.S. Aberdeen. By A.C. Girard
1 1
Crew (damaged glass negative)
2 44
Group of people with hats
2 45
Joiner force for S.S. Aberdeen. By A.C. Girard
2 46
Men
3 1
Metal workers, Aberdeen. By A.C. Girard
3 2
S.S. Aberdeen crew celebrates 17.5 days to build. By A.C. Girard
3 3
S.S. Aberdeen machinist crew. By A.C. Girard
1 2
S.S. Aberdeen, caulkers crew. By A.C. Girard
3 4
Ship staging crew. By A.C. Girard
3 5
Unidentified group of men
3 6
Unidentified group of workers. By A.C. Girard
3 7
Unidentified people, waiting
3 8
Unidentified ship builder employees. By A.C. Girard
3 9
Unidentified ship builder employees. By A.C. Girard
3 10
Unidentified ship builder employees [copy]. By A.C. Girard

Series 7: InteriorsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
3 11
Chairs and table in dining room (double exposure)
3 12
Four chairs and two tables
3 13
Hallway with two doors
3 14
Party room with player piano
3 15
Two rockers, two chairs, and a table

Series 8: LumberReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
3 16
Apparent flood damage
3 17
Condition of land after logging
3 18
Erosion
3 19
Erosion with tree fallen into creek
3 20
Fallen trees and big stump
3 21
Finished lumber storage building
3 22
Hills of stumps and scrub brush
3 23
Hillside erosion
3 24
Hillside erosion
3 25
Hillside regrowth
3 26
Inspection of fire damage
3 27
Inspection of fire damage
3 28
Inspection of fire damage
3 29
Land stripped of trees
3 30
Land stripped of trees
3 31
Land stripped of trees
3 32
Land stripped of trees
3 33
Landscape stripped of tall trees
3 34
Large stumps and dead tree
3 35
Loading lumber for rail transport
3 36
Loading wood products at mill
3 37
Logs in pond with lumber mill in background
3 38
Logs in pond with lumber mill in background
3 39
Logs transported from logging site
3 40
Lumber in foreground of pond and trees
3 41
Lumber mill, interior storage
3 42
Lumber mill, unused machinery
3 43
Lumber mill, view from across harbor
1 3
Lumber sluice spilling into water
3 44
Lumber workers in unidentified location
3 45
Meadow with hundreds of stumps
3 46
Mill beside rail spur
4 1
Mill in operation #1
4 2
Mill in operation #2
4 3
Multiple stumps and some trees in background
4 4
Multiple stumps with forest behind
4 5
Old manufacturing equipment
4 6
Stacks of lumber on carts in mill
4 7
Trail through stripped hills
4 8
Truck and trailer of wood shingles
4 9
Truckload of wooden shingles
4 10
Workers posing in lumber mill #1
4 11
Workers posing in lumber mill #2

Series 9: LumberjacksReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
1 4
Group photo, posed on tree trunk
1 5
Group photo, posed on tree trunk. Positive image
4 12
Lumberjacks posing while cutting large tree
4 13
Lumberjacks resting
4 14
Two men on roots of tree, 1906. By C.S. MacKenzie
4 15
Two posing lumberjacks, cutting a large tree
4 16
Two posing lumberjacks, cutting a large tree
4 17
Two posing lumberjacks, cutting large tree
4 18
Two posing lumberjacks, cutting large tree
4 19
Two resting lumberjacks, with axes

Series 10: PortraitsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
4 20
Boxer posing with fists up
4 21
Boxer posing with fists up (blurry)
4 22
Businessman
4 23
Businessmen in suits
1 6
Fishermen with boat. By C.S. MacKenzie
1 7
Four fishermen with boat. Positive image. By C.S. MacKenzie
4 24
Four men
4 25
Group of ship builders and office personnel
4 26
Group of ship builders and office personnel
4 27
Horse and carriage on dirt road, 1906. By C.S. MacKenzie
1 8
Horse and carriage on dirt road, 1906 [copy]. Positive image. By C.S. MacKenzie
1 9
Horse and carriage on dirt road, 1906 [copy]. By C.S. MacKenzie
4 28
Man hands on hips
4 29
Man holding rod
4 30
Man in overalls
4 31
Man in profile [glass broken]
4 32
Man in suit overcoat and hat
4 33
Man in sweater and holding hat
4 34
Man leaning against support. By A.C. Girard
4 35
Man leaning on object
4 36
Man, suit, vest, and hat
4 37
Man wearing cap
4 38
Man with bowler hat
4 39
Man with hands in pockets
4 40
Man with hat tipped back
4 41
Man with pocket watch standing. By A.C. Girard
4 42
Man with suspenders
4 43
Maude Fitzgerald with "vote for sponsor" sign
4 44
Mrs. Geo. Davis with "vote for sponsor" sign
4 45
Mrs. Schumacher with vote for "this company's first girl employee" sign
1 10
Native American Indian woman. Positive image. By C.S. MacKenzie
1 11
Native American Indian woman. Positive image. By C.S. MacKenzie
1 12
Native American mother and daughter with canoe. By C.S. MacKenzie
1 13
Native American Quinault Chief and Princess. By C.S. MacKenzie
4 46
Nurse holding newly born baby
4 47
Nurse with newly born baby
1 14
Photo of clam digger
4 48
Photo of two women
4 49
Two men, one in motion (blurry)
5 1
Woman with black hat
5 2
Woman with crossed arms
5 3
Women standing in shipyard
5 4
Young boy dressed in uniform
5 5
Young boy wearing sailor hat

Series 11: ResidencesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
5 6
Boy on sidewalk
5 7
Building - Aberdeen public library
5 8
Cedar tree in front of house
5 9
Clutter and dilapidated residence with clothesline
5 10
Hidden house with rose border
5 11
House behind crumbling fence
5 12
House with stump in front
5 13
Lindgren and Peachy oil and gas service station
5 14
Lindgren and Peachy oil and gas service station
5 15
Overgrown landscape
5 16
Pitched roof with long porch
5 17
Red Cross building
5 18
Roof damage
5 19
Roses climbing edge of large house
5 20
Shake siding, clothesline on porch
5 21
Shake siding, people on porch
5 22
Shake siding, three girls on porch
5 23
Shingled with corner porch
5 24
Three houses in row
5 25
Two-toned, with two arbors
5 26
Untitled residence
5 27
White house with chimney
5 28
White trim, birdhouse on post
5 29
White trim, people in front yard
5 30
White trim, with attached porch
5 31
White trim, with ivied wall
5 32
White trim, with wagon on walk
5 33
Woman admiring roses

Series 12: ScenicReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
5 34
Boys sitting in opening in sea wall
1 15
Eight ships on horizon. Positive image
5 35
Fallen fence or decaying bridge
5 36
Forest road lined with trees
5 37
Forest standing timber
5 38
Forest with dirt road
5 39
Forest with dirt road
1 16
Forest with people on dirt road. Positive image
5 40
Forest with road and auto
5 41
Forest with water
5 42
Lake Quinault. By A.C. Girard
5 43
Lower river above rapids. By A.C. Girard
1 17
Moonlight, Aberdeen Harbor. By C.S. MacKenzie
1 18
Moonlight over bay. Positive image
5 44
Opening in seawall. By A.C. Girard
5 45
Sandbar near shore
5 46
Ship pummeled by storm
5 47
Water and eroded bank
1 19
Waves breaking against rocks

Series 13: ShipsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
6 1
Photo of unidentified Freighter. By A.C. Girard
6 2
S.S. Aberdeen
6 3
S.S. Aberdeen, band on deck
6 4
S.S. Aberdeen, cargo ship, christening
1 20
S.S. Aberdeen construction schedule [mirrored, copy]
1 21
S.S. Aberdeen construction schedule [mirrored]
6 5
S.S. Aberdeen construction schedule [copy]
6 6
S.S. Aberdeen final prep, 1918. By A.C. Girard
6 7
S.S. Aberdeen launch, May 10th, 1919
6 8
S.S. Aberdeen preparing for cruise. By A.C. Girard
6 9
S.S. Aberdeen, band in front. By A.C. Girard
1 22
S.S. Aiken, striped canopy
1 23
S.S. Aiken, striped canopy
1 24
S.S. Bancroft, Cargo Ship #1
1 25
S.S. Bancroft, Cargo Ship #2
1 26
S.S. Boxley Cargo Ship. By A.C. Girard
6 10
S.S. Broncho
6 11
S.S. Broncho, 1918 to 1924
6 12
S.S. Broncho, 1918 to 1924 [copy]
6 13
S.S. Brookside, boy and dog in boat, 1918 to 1924
6 14
S.S. Gray Cloud christening, 1918
6 15
S.S. Gray Eagle, Cargo Ship
6 16
S.S. Grayling of Aberdeen, 1918 to 1924
1 27
S.S. Itanca, another cloudy day, 1918
1 28
S.S. Itanca in progress, Sailor on bow waving
1 29
S.S. Itanca, Cargo Ship, 1918 to 1924. By A.C. Girard
6 17
S.S. Wihaha, view of stern
6 18
S.S. Wishkah, 1918 to 1924. By A.C. Girard
6 19
S.S. Wishkah, accompanied by Hoquiam
6 20
S.S. Wishkah, headed to sea
6 21
S.S. Wishkah with tugboat Hoquiam
6 22
Ship headed to sea, led by tugboat
6 23
Ship, name illegible
6 24
Ship, name illegible
6 25
Ship, name illegible, attached to tug boat named Forester
6 26
Ship, no visible name
6 27
Ship preparing for departure. By A.C. Girard
6 28
Ship ready for christening
6 29
Ship, schooner, five masted, no details #1
6 30
Ship, schooner, five masted, no details #2
6 31
Ship, schooner, five masted, no details #3
6 32
Ship, schooner, five masted, no details #4
6 33
Ship with no apparent name
6 34
Untitled ship

Series 14: Ship christeningsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
6 35
Christening, ceremonial sponsor
6 36
Christening, ceremonial sponsor [copy]
6 37
Christening ceremony, four men, one woman
6 38
Christening event, photograph of woman with champagne and flowers
6 39
Christening event, photograph of woman with champagne and flowers
6 40
Christening event, sponsor and young boy
6 41
Christening event, three women, two men
6 42
Christening party, four women, three men
6 43
Christening party, one woman, four men
6 44
Christening, post-ceremony, woman without champagne
6 45
Christening, post-ceremony, woman without champagne [copy]
6 46
Christening, post-ceremony, woman without champagne [copy]
7 1
Christening-related, group photograph, seven people
7 2
Christening-related, group photograph, nine people near ship
7 3
Christening-related, group photograph, ten people
7 4
Christening-related, group photograph, ten people near ship
7 5
Christening-related sponsor with bouquet
7 6
Christening, sponsor and ten attendees
7 7
Christening, sponsor, ready for christening
7 8
Christening, sponsor with one man
7 9
Christening, woman with champagne and flowers

Series 15: Ship constructionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
1 30
Bright photo, people standing by hull construction
1 31
Construction of ship hull
1 32
Construction of wooden ship hull
1 33
Man standing in ship, construction
1 34
Men working on base of ship
1 35
Men working on ship hull wooden beams
1 36
Ship builders' celebration
7 10
Ship building stern view
7 11
Ship crew, nearing completion
7 12
Ship crew working on adjacent ship
1 37
Ship crew working on upper deck
7 13
Ship crew working on upper deck
7 14
Ship crew working on upper deck
7 15
Ship crew working on upper deck
7 16
Ship crews on command deck
1 38
Ship hull construction
1 39
Ship hull construction
7 17
Ship hull construction phase one
7 18
Ship hull construction early stage #2
7 19
Ship hull fifty eight, November, 1917
7 20
Ship hull fifty five, November, 1917
7 21
Ship hull fifty seven, November, 1917
7 22
Ship hull fifty six, November, 1917
7 23
Ship hull scaffolding
7 24
Ship hull scaffolding #1
7 25
Ship hull scaffolding #2
7 26
Ship hulls under construction
1 40
Ship hull construction early stage #1
1 41
Ship hull under construction
1 42
Ship hull under construction
1 43
Ship hull (spotty quality)
1 44
View of men working on ship construction

Series 16: Ship launchingsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
7 27
Ship launching, name unknown
7 28
Ship launching, name unknown
7 29
Ship launching, name unknown
7 30
Ship launching, name unknown
7 31
Ship launching, name unknown
7 32
Ship launching, name unknown
7 33
Ship launching, name unknown
7 34
Ship launching, name unknown
7 35
Ship launching, Wishkah

Series 17: VehiclesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
7 36
"Agency Rebublic Trucks" with night and day tow truck service
7 37
Callahan Motors Co. dealer
7 38
Cars being unloaded to dock
7 39
Cars being unloaded to dock
7 40
Dealer for Republic trucks
7 41
Kaufman Leonard Co. Quality Furniture vehicle
7 42
Kaufman Leonard Co. Quality Furniture vehicle
7 43
Man leaning up against "Orange Crush" vehicle
7 44
NASH truck without bed
7 45
North Coast Products Co. "Orange Crush" car
7 46
Simon's Transfer Express and Baggage
7 47
Stewart auto dealership
7 48
Touring car, circa 1917
7 49
WN dealer plate 690, expires 1921

Series 18: MiscellaneousReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
8 1
Boiler in place, standard oil operations. By A.C. Girard
1 45
Christmas tree
8 2
Metal hooks one
8 3
Metal hooks two
8 4
Miscellaneous images. Positive image
8 5
Rhododendron
8 6
Rubber suit exhibition
8 7
Rubber suit floating in water
8 8
Rubber suit tested in water
8 9
Stack and boiler built by J.C. Jamison. By A.C. Girard
8 10
Stack and boiler built by J.C. Jamison [copy]. By A.C. Girard
8 12
Stack and boiler for Western Lumber Co., Aberdeen [copy]. By A.C. Girard
8 11
Stack and boiler for Western Lumber Co., Aberdeen. By A.C. Girard
8 13
Street with scalped hills in background [glass broken]
8 14
Texas petroleum dividend checks
8 15
Untitled severely damaged

Series 19: Print VolumesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
8 16
Volume I: 1. Girard; 2. MacKenzie; 3. Miscellaneous; 4. Portraits
8 17
Volume II: 5. Scenic; 6. Residence; 7. Vehicles; 8. Animals
8 18
Volume III: 9. Lumber; 10. Lumberjacks; 11. Shipworkers; 12. Hulls
8 19
Volume IV: 13. Ships, unnamed. 14: Ships, named; 15: Christenings; 16. Launchings

Documentation and donor notes.Return to Top

Container(s): Box 8, Folder 20

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top