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Asahel Curtis photographs of the Makah Indians, 1910
Overview of the Collection
- Photographer
- Curtis, Asahel, 1874-1941
- Title
- Asahel Curtis photographs of the Makah Indians
- Dates
- 1910 (inclusive)19101910
- Quantity
- 23 photographic prints, 11 photogravures (1 box and 1 folder) ; Sizes vary
- Collection Number
- PH0898
- Summary
- The photographs document Makah whaling and activities in Neah Bay, Washington
- 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
-
Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries’ Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Asahel Curtis was the best-known Seattle photographer in the early twentieth century, as well as a noted outdoorsman and regional booster. Born in Minnesota in 1874, he moved to the Puget Sound area in 1888. Asahel's brother, Edward, supported the family by opening a photo studio in Seattle, and Asahel went to work for him in 1894. In 1897 the brothers agreed that Asahel should go to the Yukon and photograph the gold rush. Asahel stayed there for two years, alternately taking pictures and working a small claim that never produced much gold. When Asahel returned in 1899, he learned that Edward had published several Yukon photos without giving acknowledgment that they had been taken by Asahel. The brothers had a massive fight and rarely spoke to each other for the rest of their lives. Edward later became nationally famous for his twenty-volume series of photos of Native Americans. Asahel never achieved this measure of success, but had a notable career nonetheless. He married Florence Carney in 1902 and opened his own studio in 1911. He was hired by a number of companies, organizations, and wealthy individuals to take portraits and promotional photos. But Asahel was probably better known for his high-quality photos of the Washington landscape published in national magazines.
Asahel Curtis loved Mount Rainier; some people thought that he almost worshipped it. He photographed it thousands of times and climbed it dozens of times. Curtis was a founding member of the Mountaineers, a mountain-climbing group which also promoted the preservation of wilderness areas. Curtis was active in the affairs of the club for the first several years after its founding in 1906, but his activities as chair of the Mount Rainier National Park advisory committee from 1911 to 1936 strained his relations with the group. Curtis sought to promote accessibility to the park and to boost tourism by building roads. He also ran afoul of the Mountaineers when he vigorously opposed the expansion of Olympic National Park in the late 1930s.
Indeed, Curtis was almost as much of a regional booster as he was a photographer. For example, Curtis not only worked as the official photographer of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, he also chaired its Development Committee and its Highway Committee for many years. Curtis did not confine his work as a booster to Seattle. He owned a small orchard near Ellensburg, and always thought that the interesting landscape of Central Washington could be improved by building irrigation projects to turn the semi-desert into cropland. The Washington Irrigation Association thus chose Curtis to be its president in the 1920s. He also participated in the affairs of the Washington State Good Roads Association, serving as its president in 1932 and 1933. Asahel Curtis died in 1941.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
Several of these photographs were published in a book titled The Whaling Equipment of the Makah Indians, by Thomas Talbot Waterman, in 1920. Most of the photographs were taken in 1910 while Curtis documented how the Makah hunted and then processed a whale. Whaling and whales are central to Makah culture. The conduct of a whale hunt requires rituals and ceremonies which are deeply spiritual. They are the subject and inspiration of Makah songs, dances, designs, and basketry. For the Makah tribe, whale hunting imposes a purpose and a discipline which benefits their entire community. It is so important to the Makah that in 1855, when the Makah ceded thousands of acres of land to the government of the United States, they explicitly reserved their rights to hunt whales within the Treaty of Neah Bay.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The photographs document Makah whaling in Neah Bay, Washington. The collection includes the Makah people processing a whale on the beach in 1910. In addition, there are images of Makah women doing chores at Neah Bay.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View the digital version of the collection
Restrictions on Use
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Asahel Curtis Photographs of Makah WhalingReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Makah harpooning a whale (A. Curtis 56519) |
|||
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/1 | 1a |
Makah harpooning a whale Copy photo, cropped version.
|
circa 1910 |
1/1 | 1b | Makah harpooning a whale Copy photo showing Curtis' signature.
|
circa 1910 |
Whaling boat at sea (A. Curtis 19251) |
|||
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/2 | 2a |
Whaling boat at sea Modern print from full negative.
|
1910 |
box-folder:oversize | |||
OS Box | 2b | Whaling boat at sea Photogravure
Printed on page: Indian Whalers Homeward Bound from the
Pacific.
|
1910 |
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/2 | 3 |
Whaling boat at sea towing whale Photogravure
Printed on page: Indian Whalers Entering the Straits of Juan
de Fuca.
|
1910 |
Boat with whale and floats near shore (A. Curtis
19211) |
|||
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/3 | 4a | Boat with whale and floats near shore Copy photo from album. Written on album page: Landing Whale
Neah Bay.
|
1910 |
1/3 | 4b |
Boat with whale and floats near shore Cropped by Curtis.
|
1910 |
1/3 | 4c | Boat with whale and floats near shore Close-up copy print.
|
1910 |
Boat with whale, floats, and rope stretched to shore (A.
Curtis 19220) |
|||
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/4 | 5a | Boat with whale, floats, and rope stretched to
shore Copy photo from album. Written on album page: Landing Whale
Neah Bay.
|
1910 |
1/4 | 5b |
Boat with whale, floats, and rope stretched to
shore Copy print, cropped by Curtis. Written on verso: Making
ready to tow the dead whale.
|
1910 |
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/4 | 6 | 1910 | |
1/5 | 7 |
Makah on beach with whale near shore (A. Curtis
20180) Copy photo from album. Written on album page: Indians on the
Beach, Neah Bay.
|
1910 |
Makah hauling whale onto beach with rope (A. Curtis
19234) |
|||
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/5 | 8a | Makah hauling whale onto beach with rope Copy photo from album. Written on album page: Landing Whale
Neah Bay.
|
1910 |
1/5 | 8b |
Makah hauling whale onto beach with rope Copy, cropped on right hand side.
|
1910 |
box-folder:oversize | item | ||
OS Box | 9 |
Group of women and children along the beach Photogravure
Printed on page: Indian Life on the Beach at Neah Bay.
|
1910 |
Box/Folder | |||
1/6 | 10 |
Crowd of people around whale on beach (A. Curtis
19229) Copy photo from album.
|
1910 |
1/6 | 11 |
Man stripping skin off of whale Copy print
|
1910 |
1/7 | 12 |
Crowd cutting up whale near 3 pieces of blubber laid out
on beach Copy photo from album.
|
1910 |
Makah stripping whale (A. Curtis 19253) |
|||
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/7 | 13a |
Makah stripping whale Copy photo from album.
|
1910 |
box-folder:oversize | |||
OS Box | 13b | Makah stripping whale Photogravure
Printed on page: Indian Whalers Stripping their Prey at Neah
Bay.
|
1910 |
box-folder:oversize | item | ||
OS Box | 14 |
Makah stripping whale with dog in foreground Photogravure
Printed on page: The King of the Seas in the Hands of the
Makah.
|
1910 |
Box/Folder | |||
1/8 | 15 |
Makah stripping whale with float in foreground (A.
Curtis 19239) Copy photo from album. Written on album page: Indians on Beach
Neah Bay.
|
1910 |
1/8 | 16 |
Makah stripping whale with basket in foreground
(A.Curtis 19236) Copy photo from album. Written on album page: Indian whalers
cutting up whale Neah Bay.
|
1910 |
1/9 | 17 |
Three men on beach (A. Curtis 18732) Photogravure
Printed on page: Makah Indian Whalers. Written on verso: Makah
Indians, from reader's left to right; Antone Wispu, David Fischer, Charley
White.
|
1910 |
1/9 | 18 | 1910 | |
1/9 | 18a | Man standing next to whaling boat (A. Curtis
19217) Copy photo from negative.
|
1910 |
1/9 | 18b | Man standing next to whaling boat Copy photo from album.
|
1910 |
Makah WomenReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Makah woman carrying basket on the beach (A. Curtis
19223) |
|||
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/10 | 19a |
Makah woman carrying basket on the beach Written on verso: Modern Indian woman gathering clams.
|
circa 1910 |
1/10 | 19b | Makah woman carrying basket on the beach Photogravure
Printed on page: The Makah Basket-Carrier.
|
circa 1910 |
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/10 | 20 | circa 1910 | |
Makah woman carrying firewood on beach (A. Curtis
20183) |
|||
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/11 | 21 |
Makah woman carrying firewood on beach Copy print.
|
circa 1910 |
box-folder:oversize | |||
OS Box | 22 | Makah woman carrying firewood on beach Photogravure
Printed on page: A Gatherer of Faggots at Neah Bay.
|
circa 1910 |
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/11 | 23 | circa 1910 | |
1/11 | 24 | Makah woman carrying firewood near buildings (A. Curtis
19235) Copy photo from album.
|
circa 1910 |