Ella E. McBride (1862-1965) began working in the photography field in 1907 when she took a job assisting friend and fellow mountaineer Edward Curtis in his Seattle photography studio. In 1916 she ended her association with Curtis and opened her own studio; by 1919 photographer Wayne Albee had joined the business. McBride began experimenting with art photography by 1920 and soon had great success showing her work in national and internationals competitions. After Albee moved to San Diego in 1925, McBride continued to operate her studio in various Seattle locations until 1932, when she partnered with accomplished portrait photograph Richard H. Anderson (1908-1970). McBride & Anderson became a popular and successful portrait studio for decades, first located in the Loveless buidling on Capitol Hill, and moving to 14th Ave East in 1939, where McBride also lived in the studio. Ella McBride retired in 1954 due to failing eyesight, and Anderson continued to run the studio until 1966, shortly after McBride's death.
The collection consists of 520 negatives from the McBride & Anderson photography studio in Seattle. The majority are nitrate and safety film negatives, with an additional 15 glass plate negatives. Most of the negatives are undated; the dated negatives range from 1891 to 1954, with the bulk between 1926 and 1947. The majority of the photographs are individual and group portraits, including artists, performers, politicians, sports figures, and others, and the collection also includes photos of stores and displays, homes, and other views in Seattle.
Individuals, groups, and locations depicted include: Mary Ann Wells dancers, Junior League Girls Vaudeville, Leo Lassen, Rev. H.H. Gowen, Helen Igoe, Bertha Landes, Charles Clise, hockey players Harry Holmes and Frank Foysten, sculptor Alonzo Victor Lewis, various children's homes, the Women's University Club, fraternities, a 1947 debutante ball, and Seattle monuments and businesses. Many more people and groups than those listed are represented in the collection.
Some of the photographs predate the McBride & Anderson partnership, and which partner was the photographer of these is not known.
View selections from the collection in
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.
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
McBride & Anderson Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
After Ella McBride's death and the closing of the McBride & Anderson studio, McBride's archive of negatives was stored by the Johanson Studio in Seattle. MOHAI accepted a portion of these negatives into its collection in 1974.
Gift of Edwin Johanson of the Johanson Studio, received in July 1974.
Some of the negatives received were badly damaged and were deaccessioned.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.