Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries
Frank A. Jacobs Photographs
Jacobs, Frank A., 1881-1979
PH0137
1 box
111 photographic prints; sizes vary; 3 folders and 1 box
1900-1941
Photographs of Seattle scenes, Seattle groups, grave of a Chinese worker, climbers, mountaineers, and scenery in Mount Rainier National Park, and horseback guiding services, snow maintenance, and work of Robert Hamilton while working for the Rainier National Park Company
Collection materials are in English.
Photojournalist Frank Abner Jacobs (1881-1979) was born in Kansas on December 31, 1881, and settled in Seattle, Washington in 1907. He spent the 1920s as the official photographer for the Rainier National Park Company. Jacobs was a pioneer in the field of photojournalism and covered events big and small throughout the Pacific Northwest, but he specialized in transportation disasters such as ship and train wrecks. Jacobs had been interested in photography since he was a boy and opened his own photography studio at 4th Avenue and Union Street, Seattle, circa 1908. Although he spent most of his career with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer starting in 1909, he also had stints with other publications, ran his own photography studio (Jacobs Photo Shop), served as an early motion picture cameraman, starting circa 1911, for the Pathe News, and had the opportunity to photograph eight Presidents. He became the first photographer to take aerial photographs of Seattle in 1913.
Photographs of various Seattle scenes and groups; the grave of a Chinese worker; climbers, mountaineers, and scenery in Mount Rainier National Park; and horseback guiding services, snow maintenance, and work of Robert Hamilton while working for the Rainier National Park Company. An example of hand-colored photography can be found in the Animal Portraits series.
The dates in this collection were taken from the photographer's numbering system in which the first two numbers are the year that the photograph was taken.
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Mountaineering images gifted by Fred Watson; one photograph donated by Brainard, 1991. Rainier National Park: 18 photographs donated by Angela Greenberg, 2021. The Robert Hamilton and Frank Jacobs Rainier National Park Company photo album was purchased from Zephyr Books, January 2023. The hand-colored photograph of a cat in the Animal Portraits series was donated by Kelly Ackert, 2025.
Processed by Rebekah Dalby, 2002, Kaylynn Guerra, 2019, and Abbey Maynard, 2019. An additional Frank Jacobs accession D-2025112001 was merged with this collection by Grace Landers in February 2026.
Washington (State)
Mount Rainier National Park (Wash.)--Photographs
Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Mountaineers--Washington (State)--Mount Rainier National Park--Photographs
Mountaineering--Washington (State)--Mount Rainier National Park--Photographs
Recreation
Expeditions and Adventure
Seattle, Washington
View from 2nd Ave at Pike St. of people, cars, and street car tracks outside the Peoples Savings Bank and Bigelow Buildings
between 1920 and 1940
PH0137 Folder 1
1
Printed on verso: "Pike, looking east from 2nd Ave."
View looking down on the crowd of people outside 215 Pike St. at S.H. Kress & Co. building on the corner of 2nd Ave. and Pike St.
between 1920 and 1940
PH0137 Folder 1
2
View looking southeast and down across the roofs of 3rd Ave. and Union St. (Jacobs 715)
1917?
PH0137 Folder 1
3
Written on verso: "Post Intelligencer block SW corner Union/4th, White Bldg./U.S. Post Office."
Exterior of F.E. MacKenzie Greenwood Garage with a gas pumps and cars, Seattle, WA
1920?
PH0137 Folder 1
4
Postcard of the Theodora Home, 6559-35th N.E.
between 1914 and 1930?
PH0137 Folder 1
5
Written on image: "Owned and operated by The Volunteers of America."
Capitol Auto Laundry and Service Station, 1816 Broadway, Seattle, Washington
1929?
PH0137 Folder 1
6
Written on verso: "Auto Laundry & service station Stucco up to date Bldg built 1929. Hot water heated. A view of auto and service station store brick Veneer other [ill.]."
Hotel Ritz exterior with horse-drawn carriages in front, 1618 4th Ave. N.
1906
OS1
7
Interior of John L. Bird Company Office Supplies store, Seattle, WA
1916?
OS1
8
Interior of office supply store (possibly the John L. Bird Company)
between 1900 and 1930
PH0137 Folder 1
9
S.S. Oregon docked with crowd belowSteamship S.S. Oregon docked with crowd below
1916?
PH0137 Folder 1
10
Potlatch Parade, Seattle, WA
Float with a canoe on top (Jacobs 34)
1912
PH0137 Folder 1
11
Written on image: "Golden Potlatch. Seattle."
Float drawn by people dressed as frogs (Jacobs 63)
1912
PH0137 Folder 1
12
Float being pulled by people dressed as rabbits (Jacobs 69)
1912
PH0137 Folder 1
13
People and Groups
George F. Cotterill holding a newspaper and standing in front buildings, Seattle, WA
between 1900 and 1930
PH0137 Folder OS1
14
George F. Cotterill was a civil servant and elected official in Seattle and the state of Washington for more than 40 years.
Chinese grave in Horse Heaven Hills, Washington
between 1900 and 1925?
PH0137 Folder 1
15
Name on grave marker is in Chinese characters and translates to Yajiu Feng.
Written on verso: "only the grave of a Chinese section hand. He was working on the tracks in Horse Heaven Hills and was bitten by a rattlesnake. His companions were too superstitious to carry his body on the train with them so the burried [sic] him in the sand among the sage brush and put up the board with the chinese inscription to mark the grave. notice the words "Dead Man" on the board. Looks rather lonely even for a dead chink doesn't it?"
University of Washington Libraries Special Collections collects, preserves, and makes accessible archival and library materials. These materials may reflect outdated, biased, offensive, and possibly violent views, events, practices, and opinions. Though we do not endorse these viewpoints, we retain these materials unaltered in our collections to document their historical relevance and to fully represent materials in context, preserving our history.
Group portrait of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington dressed in pioneer costumes, Seattle, WA
1937
PH0137 Folder 1
16
Written on verso: "A Day in the Sixties -- February 1937. This annual affair for members and guests in Seattle Chapter No. 1 of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington. Margaret Ashworth Maxson (Mrs. Louis H.) was President of the Chapter. In the center, front Mrs. Edmond Bowden was turned sideways to show the sunbonnet which her mother made and wore. Mrs. Bowden (Angie Burt Bowden) wrote: Early Schools of Washington Territory. Note--The photo widened the right-hand third of the group. "
Group of young ballet dancers on stage, probably Seattle, WA
November 1926
PH0137 Folder 1
16a
Two young ballet dancers on stage, probably Seattle, WA
November 1926
PH0137 Folder 1
16b
Large group outside brick building
between 1900 and 1930
XC1
17
Mountaineering
Group of climbers with alpenstocks, Mount Rainier National Park, WA (Jacobs 20379)
1920
PH0137 Folder 1
17a
Men and women climbing a glacier, Mount Rainier National Park, WA (Jacobs 201006, 201009, and 201012)
1920
PH0137 Folder 1
18-20
Group of climbers sitting with alpenstocks on mountainside, Mount Rainier National Park, WA (Jacobs 201007)
1920
PH0137 Folder 1
21
Group of climbers posing with alpenstocks in Paradise Park with the Tatoosh Mountain Range in the background, Mount Rainier National Park, WA (Jacobs 201008)
1920
PH0137 Folder 1
22
Group of climbers with alpenstocks near the Paradise Inn, Mount Rainier National Park, WA (Jacobs 201011)
1920
PH0137 Folder 1
23
Group portrait of men and women with hiking poles in Paradise Valley, WA (Jacobs 21736)
Aug. 6, 1921
PH0137 Folder 1
24
Written on verso: "University party with Dean Landis as guide."
Rainier National Park Company Official Photographer
Mt. Rainier (Jacobs 19304)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
25
Paradise Valley and Inn (Jacobs 19305)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
26
Top of Mt. Rainier (Jacobs 19307 Jacobs 19311)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
27-28
Interior of Paradise Inn (Jacobs 19312)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
29
Narada Falls (Jacobs 19313)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
30
Paradise Valley and Inn (Jacobs 19318)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
31
Mt. Rainier through trees (Jacobs 19319)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
32
Pinnacle Peak and camp buildings (Jacobs 19320)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
33
Paradise Inn (Jacobs 19321)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
34
Road to Paradise Valley (Jacobs 19322)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
35
The gate to Mt. Rainier National Park (Jacobs 19323)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
36
Wild Aster flowers (Jacobs 19324)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
37
Cars in front of Paradise Inn (Jacobs 19325)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
38
Paradise Inn (Jacobs 19326)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
39
Mt. Rainier and trees (Jacobs 19327)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
40
Top of Mt. Rainier (Jacobs 19328)
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
41
Sluskin Falls
1919
PH0137 Folder 1
42
Robert Hamilton and Frank Jacobs Rainier National Park Company photo album
66 photographs; removed from album
approximately 1920-1941
Robert Hamilton was a guide for the Rainier National Park Company while Frank Jacobs was a photographer, documenting guiding services, maintenance, and other work from the 1920s to the Great Depression. The Rainier National Park expanded during the 1920s and during this time it was the first park in the nation to allow automobile touring sites. Park company guides also prepared auto stages, added picnic areas, and conducted popular horseback tours with cowboy guide.
Purchased from Zephyr Books, January 2023
Group preparing to climb Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
43
Woman outside (Jacobs 21193)
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
44
Toddler outside on a tricycle with three goats
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
45
Travelers on an Automobile tour of Mount Rainier National Park
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
46
Man outdoors at a table in the Mount Rainier National Park
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
47
Group hiking on Mount Rainier
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
48
Travelers outside an Automobile tour of Mount Rainier National Park
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
49
Woman and child outdoors on Mount Rainier
approximately 1920s
Written on verso: "Robert Hamilton"
PH0137 Box 2
1
50
Woman and child outside of automobile in the snow
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
51
Woman standing in a lake
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
52
Man in the snow on Mount Rainier
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
53
Group outside of automobile in the snow
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
54
Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 200880)
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
55
Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 20657)
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
56
Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 19798)
approximately 1920s
Stamped on verso: "Photo by Frank A. Jacobs, official photographer Rainier National Park Co. Longmire Springs, Wash."
PH0137 Box 2
1
57
Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 201125)
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
58
Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 19713)
approximately 1920s
Stamped on verso: "Photo by Frank A. Jacobs, official photographer Rainier National Park Co. Longmire Springs, Wash."
PH0137 Box 2
1
59
Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 21583)
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
60
Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 20664)
approximately 1920s
Stamped on verso: "Photo by Frank A. Jacobs, official photographer Rainier National Park Co. Longmire Springs, Wash."
PH0137 Box 2
1
61
Group on horses preparing to ride Mount Rainier from Longmire Springs (Jacobs 211302)
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
1
62
Two men with steam shovel
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
63
Koshring steam shovel clearing roads in Mount Rainier National Park
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
64
Koshring steam shovel clearing roads in Mount Rainier National Park
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
65
Paradise Lune National Park Service Steam Shovel clearing snow
1932
PH0137 Box 2
2
66
Steam Shovel clearing snow
1932
PH0137 Box 2
2
67
Miscellaneous construction equipment
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
68
6 Men with trucks
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
69
Cabin outdoors in the snow
May 1926
Written on verso: "Paradise May 1926)
PH0137 Box 2
2
70
Firewatch Tower
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
71
Miscellaneous city street
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
72
California State Capitol
February 1941
Written on verso: "California State Capitol February 1941"
PH0137 Box 2
2
73
Horses outside a cabin
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
74
Horses outside a cabin
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
75
The Original Cat or Dog Rest Room certified Clean Comfort Stations
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
76
Cabin in the snow
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
77
Cabin surrounded by fallen trees
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
78
Wood structure on path
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
79
Man amongst fallen trees
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
80
Black bear
approximately 1920s
Written on verso: "Robert Hamilton"
PH0137 Box 2
2
81
Landscape view of mountain
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
82
Comet Falls Waterfall
approximately 1920s
Written on verso: "Comet Falls"
PH0137 Box 2
2
83
Landscape View of Mountain
approximately 1920s
Written on verso: "Summerland"
PH0137 Box 2
2
84
Group of horses from afar
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
85
Landscape View of Mountain
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
86
Landscape View of Mountain
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
87
Landscape View of Mountain
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
2
88
Landscape View of Mountain
approximately 1920s
Written on verso: "Indian Henry"
PH0137 Box 2
2
89
Lake in a forest
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
90
Horses by a lake
approximately 1920s
Written on verso: "Mistick [sic] Lake"
PH0137 Box 2
3
91
Landscape View of Mountain
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
92
Bear in a cage
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
93
Landscape View of Mountain
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
94
Landscape View of snow-covered Mountain
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
95
Deer in the Park at Ashland Oregon
1941
Written on verso: "Deer in the park at Ashland, Oregon 1941"
PH0137 Box 2
3
96
Cows
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
97
Cows
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
98
Cows
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
99
Landscape View of Mountain
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
100
Landscape view of Mount Shasta
approximately 1920s
Written on verso: "Mount Shasta near Shasta California"
PH0137 Box 2
3
101
Cows
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
102
Cows
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
103
Cows
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
104
Cows
approximately 1920s
PH0137 Box 2
3
105
Forest in the snow
approximately 1920s
Written on Verso: "General Sherman tree"
PH0137 Box 2
3
106
Forest in the snow
approximately 1920s
Written on Verso: "General Sherman tree Sequoia National Park"
PH0137 Box 2
3
107
Man on dogsled in the snow
1926
Written on verso: "at paradise 1926"
PH0137 Box 2
3
108
Animal Portraits
Hand-colored portrait of a cat
probably between 1920-1929
PH0137 Box 2
3
109