William Howard Case was born on April 19, 1868, in Marshalltown, Iowa, and lived most of his life in South Dakota and Oregon. He came to the Klondike during the gold rush and secured several claims in Atlin before opening the Case and Draper photography studio in a tent in Skagway, Alaska. The partners later moved their business to a two-story building in Skagway on Broadway near 4th Avenue, where they also sold photographic supplies, Alaska Native handicrafts and game specimens. In 1907, the partnership dissolved. Draper kept the business in Skagway, now Draper & Co., while Case moved to Juneau and started a new photography studio there, taking pictures under the name WH Case. In Juneau, he had three children: Howard, Alice and Madge. He was active in the community as a Mason and a Shriner until he died there suddenly on July 16, 1920. His studio was reopened after his death by E. C. Adams.
Photographs made by W.H. Case after he dissolved his partnership with Draper and opened his own studio in Juneau in 1907. The collection consists of images of baskets created by Native American Tlingit, Haida, and Attu tribes of Southeast Alaska.
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Donor: Mrs. G.J. Wheeler.
Processing completed by Jaki Parsons, 2013.
Photographs transferred from General Indian Collection, PH Coll 564, 2012.
Handwritten on front of photograph: Attu Baskets.
Handwritten on back of photograph: Westward Indians Basket.
Written on back of photograph: Hidah [sic] baskets 1910. This is not correct, for these designs are made by the Tlingit, not the Haida. Ewa P (illegible) 2-15-64.
Handwritten on back of photograph: Deer Feet Baskets.