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Frank A. Jacobs Photographs, 1900-1941

Overview of the Collection

Photographer
Jacobs, Frank A., 1881-1979
Title
Frank A. Jacobs Photographs
Dates
1900-1941 (inclusive)
Quantity
1 box, (111 photographic prints; sizes vary; 3 folders and 1 box)
Collection Number
PH0137
Summary
Photographs of Seattle scenes, Seattle groups, grave of a Chinese worker, climbers, mountaineers, and scenery in Mount Rainier National Park, and horseback guiding services, snow maintenance, and work of Robert Hamilton while working for the Rainier National Park Company
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

No access restrictions.

Request at UW

Languages
Collection materials are in English.
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Photojournalist Frank Abner Jacobs (1881-1979) was born in Kansas on December 31, 1881, and settled in Seattle, Washington in 1907. He spent the 1920s as the official photographer for the Rainier National Park Company. Jacobs was a pioneer in the field of photojournalism and covered events big and small throughout the Pacific Northwest, but he specialized in transportation disasters such as ship and train wrecks. Jacobs had been interested in photography since he was a boy and opened his own photography studio at 4th Avenue and Union Street, Seattle, circa 1908. Although he spent most of his career with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer starting in 1909, he also had stints with other publications, ran his own photography studio (Jacobs Photo Shop), served as an early motion picture cameraman, starting circa 1911, for the Pathe News, and had the opportunity to photograph eight Presidents. He became the first photographer to take aerial photographs of Seattle in 1913.

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Content Description

Photographs of various Seattle scenes and groups; the grave of a Chinese worker; climbers, mountaineers, and scenery in Mount Rainier National Park; and horseback guiding services, snow maintenance, and work of Robert Hamilton while working for the Rainier National Park Company. An example of hand-colored photography can be found in the Animal Portraits series.

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Other Descriptive Information

The dates in this collection were taken from the photographer's numbering system in which the first two numbers are the year that the photograph was taken.

Content on this site is drawn from a historical source which includes materials that may contain offensive language reflecting racist, sexist, ethnically derogatory or other offensive biases. The images and text in this site are presented as specific, original artifacts recording the attitudes, perspectives and beliefs of a different era. They remain included as part of an honest presentation of that history and of the primary source material. The University of Washington does not endorse the views expressed in this collection which may contain text offensive to some researchers. We are working to confront bias and racism at the individual, institutional and systemic levels. Learn more about diversity and inclusion efforts at the UW.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

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Restrictions on Use

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

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Mountaineering images gifted by Fred Watson; one photograph donated by Brainard, 1991. Rainier National Park: 18 photographs donated by Angela Greenberg, 2021. The Robert Hamilton and Frank Jacobs Rainier National Park Company photo album was purchased from Zephyr Books, January 2023. The hand-colored photograph of a cat in the Animal Portraits series was donated by Kelly Ackert, 2025.

Processing Note

Processed by Rebekah Dalby, 2002, Kaylynn Guerra, 2019, and Abbey Maynard, 2019. An additional Frank Jacobs accession D-2025112001 was merged with this collection by Grace Landers in February 2026.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and Subjects

Subject Terms

  • Mountaineering--Washington (State)--Mount Rainier National Park--Photographs
  • Mountaineers--Washington (State)--Mount Rainier National Park--Photographs
  • Recreation
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Geographical Names

  • Mount Rainier National Park (Wash.)--Photographs
  • Washington (State)


2003 (Last modified: 2/12/2026)

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