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John E. Thwaites Alaska photographs, writings and other material, circa 1900-1934
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Thwaites, John E. (John Edward), 1863-1940
- Title
- John E. Thwaites Alaska photographs, writings and other material
- Dates
- circa 1900-1934 (inclusive)18951935
- Quantity
- 1 box, including 511 photographs, (.42 cubic feet)
- Collection Number
- 1989.107 (accession)
- Summary
- Photographs of Alaska taken or collected by amateur photographer John E. Thwaites, writings on Alaska by Thwaites, and letters and drawings to Thwaites from Native Alaskan schoolchildren
- Repository
-
Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library
P.O. Box 80816
Seattle, WA
98108
Telephone: 2063241126 x102
library@mohai.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
- Languages
- English.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
John Edward Thwaites was born in Eastwood, Ontario, Canada in 1863. The family moved to Michigan around 1871. In 1885, Thwaites married Carrie Warne, and the two worked as schoolteachers in Michigan until Thwaites' ill health led the couple to relocate to Florida. Unable to establish a viable career as a teacher, Thwaites applied at the Florida Southern Railroad for a position as a federal Railway Mail Service clerk in 1895. In 1901 he was transferred to Spokane to work for the Rocky Mountain Division of the Great Northern Railway. After his involvement in several train wrecks and derailments, Thwaites decided to apply for a less dangerous position in Alaska. He was assigned the "ship service mail route" from Valdez to Unalaska in 1905, primarily aboard the SS Dora of the Northwestern Steamship Company. From 1905 to 1912 Thwaites delivered mail to the coastal communities of Southwestern Alaska.
Thwaites was also an amateur photographer. Using a Kodak camera popular for producing postcards, Thwaites documented his experiences in Southeastern Alaska, photographing native Alaskans, small towns, and scenes of life in Alaska. Thwaites also photographed maritime disasters, including the wreck of the SS Farallon at Illiamna Bay in 1910.
Thwaites was transferred to the Seward-Seattle mail route in 1914, delivering mail by dogsled to the Yukon-Kuskokwin region. He began operating a photography business out of Seward, moving the business to Ketchikan after his retirement in 1919. After selling his business in 1932, he and second wife moved to Mercer Island, Washington, where Thwaites died in 1940.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection is comprised of photographs taken or collected by J.E. Thwaites, original writings by Thwaites, and letter and drawings to Thwaites from children in Alaska.
511 photographs of Alaska (including 3 albums) taken or collected by amateur photographs John E. Thwaites, mostly while employed by the Railway Mail Service in Alaska. Includes images of the shipwrecks of the SS Farallon and SS Columbia, of Alaska natives and details of native life, and of other people and places in Alaska. Also includes a group of photographs copied from negatives taken by photographer Otto Geist, of Native Americans at Gambell, Alaska.
Writings describe Thwaites's experiences aboard the ships Dora and Farallon, and an essay on the Boroslov volcano, with accompanying photographs by Thwaites.
Children's letters are addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Thwaites in Ketchikan from Native Alaskan children in Gambell and Savoonga, Alaska. Most are thank you letters for gifts of photographs and dolls from J.E. Thwaites and his wife.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
John E. Thwaites Photograph Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Location of Collection
2b.4.6Acquisition Information
Accession 1989.107 is comprised of 44 photographs by John E. Thwaites, source unknown. The remainder of the materials was found in the Library collection.
Processing Note
Additional materials--one album, writings by Thwaites, children's drawings and children's correspondence--were added to the collection in October 2010.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
PhotographsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Folder | ||
1 | 1-45: S.S. Farallon shipwreck
On January 5, 1910, Thwaites was aboard the S. S.
Farallon, a wooden steam schooner, when it was
wrecked at Illiamna Bay, Cooks Inlet. He and thirty others survived for one
month on the beach by retrieving supplies from the grounded ship and scavenging
the brush for fuel. They were eventually rescued by the S.S.
Victoria.
|
1910 January |
2 | 46-63: Fishing 18 negatives
15 prints
Images of the boat Leonine and
harvested fish.
|
circa 1910-1930 |
3 | 64-71: Old Kasaan totem
poles
8 negatives :
nitrate
|
circa 1910-1930 |
3 | 72-96: Alaska places
Latouche, Seward, Kodiak, Taku Glacier, Cordova, Eddystone near
Ketchikan, Knight’s Island, Hop, Russian Church in Sitka, Aleutian baraboras.
|
circa 1910-1930 |
3 | 97-98: Aleutian baraboras
No print for .97
|
circa 1910-1930 |
3 | 99-102: Shipwreck of
Columbia
|
1909 |
3 | 103-108: Miscellaneous people; husky
dog |
circa 1910-1930 |
3 | 109-115: Ships in Panama Canal |
circa 1910-1930 |
4 | 116: Album: "Alaska Views by Various
‘Authors.’ J.E. Thwaites”
1 album with 105 photographs
7” x 10”
Photographs of people and places in Alaska. Many are inscribed
with notations by Thwaites and dated 1907.
|
1907 |
5 | 117: Album
1 album with 44 photographs
7.5” x 11”
Photographs of people and places in Alaska. Several people
identified as being aboard the Dora, the ship on
which Thwaites was stationed. Locations include Seward, Seldovia, Sand Point,
Kodiak Island and Chignik.
|
circa 1909 |
6 | 119: Album
1 album with 25 photographs
5” x 8”
Album apparently belonged to a Mr. Frederick A. Williams. The
first photograph in the album shows Thwaites writing at a desk, and is
inscribed "A Few Alaskan Views with Compliments of the Artist." A legend to the
photographs is included on the inside back cover.
|
undated |
118: Otto Geist photographs of Native
Alaskans at Gambell
213 photographs
2.5” x 3.5”
Inscribed on box: “J.E. Thwaites. Prints off films of Otto
Geist. 1928-29. From Gambell, St. Lawrence Isl. Alaska.”
|
circa 1928-1929 |
Writings, 1905-1933Return to Top
Original writings by J.E. Thwaites about various Alaska experiences.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Folder | ||
7 | 120: "An Alaska Railway Post
Office"
Thwaites account of a runaway trip of the Dora, on which he was stationed as mail clerk, including
entries from his log from the trip in December 1905 and January 1906. The
Dora was driven from her course by ice, delaying
her trip by two months.
|
1905-1906 |
8 | 121 :
Outdoor Life magazine with "The
Wreck of the Farallon," text and photographs by J.E. Thwaites
Thwaites account, in 2 parts, of the wreck of the
Farallon, on which he was stationed as mail clerk.
Also includes another article by Thwaites, "A Bering Sea Story." Thwaites's
writings comprise the entirety of the issue.
|
1913 December |
9 | 122: "Bogoslov Volcano," text and
photographs by J.E. Thwaites 9 typewritten
pages
9 photographs
Article subtitled "Nature's Kaleidoscope," about a small group
of islands in the Bering Sea. Includes 9 photographs of the Bogoslov group
taken by Thwaites.
|
1933 |
Children's drawings and letters, 1928-1934Return to Top
Letters and drawings addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Thwaites, mostly from Native Alaska schoolchildren in thanks for gifts received.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Folder | ||
10 | 133: Children's letters and
drawings 20 letters
11 drawings
This folder contains 20 letters from Alaskan native children
from one class in a school in Gambell, Alaska. Most of the letters are written
in the same hand and all are dated March 28, 1929. The letters thank the
Thwaiteses for gifts. Also includes11 drawings in pencil, crayon and watercolor
depict buildings, sailboats, dog teams and people
|
1929 March |
11 | 134: Children's letters to Mr. and
Mrs. Thwaites 16 letters
Includes 9 letters from schoolchildren in Savoonga, Alaska,
1929-1930; and 7 letters from children and in Gambell, Alaska, 1928-1934. Most
are thanking the Thwaiteses for gifts of pictures and dolls.
|
1928-1934 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Alaska Natives
- Dora (Ship)
- Farallon (Ship)
- Shipwrecks--Alaska
Form or Genre Terms
- Drawings
- Photographs
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Geist, Otto William (creator)