NTE2pc35.xml Guide to the Frank S. Matsura Photographs 1907-1913 Matsura (Frank S.) Photographs Finding aid prepared by David Smestad and Terry Abraham Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections © 2021 Finding aid encoded by Suzanne James-Bacon. 2021 Finding aid written in English. English. Finding aid based on DACS 2nd Edition ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard). Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections PC 35 Matsura, Frank, 1873-1913 Frank S. Matsura Photographs 1907-1913 2 Linear feet of shelf space 2 Boxes Photographic prints depicting pioneer life in Okanogan County, Washington, including scenes of work and entertainment. Collection materials are in English

Frank S. Matsura arrived in the United States from Japan in 1905, settling briefly in Seattle before crossing the Cascades to take a job at the Elliot Hotel in Conconully, Washington, as a handyman. In 1907 he moved to Okanogan, Washington, and opened a photography studio, which he operated until his death from tuberculosis in 1913 at the age of 32. Judge William C. Brown served as administrator of Matsura's effects and gained custody of his photographs. As one of Matsura's closest friends, Judge Brown recognized the historical importance of the photographs in his custody.

The collection consists of 1886 photographic prints depicting pioneer life in Okanogan County, Washington, including scenes of work and entertainment. The photographs have been sorted into subject groupings and roughly organized into eight series.

Series I. People - Includes individual and group portaits, children, Judge William Compton Brown's animals, athletics, Indians, and horsemen.

Series II. Places - Consists of photographs of the Columbia River Okanogan, Omak, and Riverside.

Series III. Things - Includes automobiles, homesteads and ranches, horse-drawn vehicles, houses, and orchards.

Series IV. Activities includes scenes of farming, irrigation projects in Okanogan, construction of the Conconully Dam and the Elgin Canyon Road.

Series V. Scrapbook - Includes mounted prints.

Series VI. Oversize - Consists of photographs of athletic groups.

Series VII. Recent (2001) Japanese materials - Consits of photographs and printed materials by Tatsuo Karihara relating to Matsura.

Series VIII. Scrapbook - Consists of a dismantled scrapbook added to the collection after the initial processing.

The photographs have been roughly organized into eight general series and sorted within by subjects.

Almost all of the items in this collection have been digitized and are available online as the Frank S. Matsura Image Collection

This collection is open and available for research use.

Copyright restrictions may apply.

[Item description]

Frank S. Matsura Photographs, 1907-1913 (PC 35)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

The Frank S. Matsura photographs were received by the Washington State University Library in the early 1960's as part of the papers of William Compton Brown. A scrapbook purchased by MASC in 2005 was added to the collection as Series 8.

The photographs were processed in February, 1979 by David Smestad. During this processing, any original nitrate negatives were removed for safety; photographic prints were made from these and used to replace the negatives, which were then discarded. Terry Abraham conducted additional arrangement and description in February, 1981. In 2010, a scrapbook purchased by MASC in 2005 was added to the collection as Series 8.

The photographs were seperated from the William Compton Brown Papers, 1830-1963 (Cage 196)

Nez Perce Photographs, circa 1877-1905 (PC 83)

Lucullus Virgil McWhorter Photographs, circa 1868-1950 (PC 85)

Cull A. White Photographs and Negatives, 1861-1950 (PC 86)

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.

Matsura, Frank, 1873-1913 -- Archives Brown, William Compton, 1869-1963 -- Photographs Okanogan County (Wash.) -- History -- Photographs Washington (State) Photographs Japanese Americans Native Americans Series 1: People 1 1 Frank Matsura 100 items. 1 2 W. C. Brown 7 items. 1 3 W. C. Brown's animals 9 items. 1 4 Portraits 157 items. 1 5 Families 49 items. 1 6 Couples 20 items. 1 7 Children 71 items. 1 8 Group portraits 104 items. 1 9 Music groups 10 items. 1 10 Outing groups 13 items. 1 11 School groups 20 items. 1 12 Athletics 45 items. 1 13 Horsemen and horsewomen 59 items. 1 14 Indians 8 items. "Short shots" (multiple image negatives) 1 15 Men 68 items. 1 16 Women 100 items. 1 17 Children 65 items. 1 18 Groups 28 items. 1 19 Couples, athletic groups and other 109 items. Series 2: Places 1 20 Columbia River 2 items. 1 21 Conconully, WA 10 items. 1 22 Fort Okanogan 7 items. 1 23 Malott, WA 3 items. 1 24 Okanogan, WA 50 items. 1 25 Okanogan Auditorium 9 items. 2 26 Okanogan fair and parades 17 items. 2 27 Okanogan high bridge 8 items. 2 28 Okanogan countryside 40 items. 2 29 Omak, WA 12 items. 2 30 Riverside, WA 4 items. Series 3: Things 2 31 Automobiles 18 items. 2 32 Blacksmith, tack shop 2 items. 2 33 Building interiors 7 items. 2 34 Farm animals 11 items. 2 35 Farms 9 items. 2 36 Homesteads and ranches 54 items. 2 37 Horse-drawn vehicles 41 items. 2 38 Hotels 16 items. 2 39 Houses 15 items. 2 40 Orchards 55 items. 2 41 Steamboats 9 items. 2 42 Street scenes and buildings 16 items. Series 4: Activities 2 43 Hunting and fishing 14 items. 2 44 Farm land development 13 items. 2 45 Okanogan Irrigation project 10 items. 2 46 Harvest 4 items. 2 47 Construction of GNRR into Okanogan 16 items. 2 48 Construction of Conconully Dam 69 items. 2 49 Elgin Canyon Road construction 19 items. 2 50 Construction scenes 23 items. 2 51 Mining 3 items. Series 5: Scrapbook 2 52 Scrapbook of mounted prints 350 items. Series 6: Oversize o.s. Athletic groups 7 items. Series 7: Recent (2001) Japanese materials 2 53 Photographs and printed materials by Tatsuo Karihara relating to Matsura, including recent photographs from vantage points used by Matsura. Series 8: Scrapbook 2 54 Dismantled scrapbook. A photocopy of the original scrapbook/placement is included.