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Eric A. Hegg photographs, approximately 1887-1903

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Hegg, Eric A., 1867-1947
Title
Eric A. Hegg photographs
Dates
approximately 1887-1903 (inclusive)
Quantity
approximately 27.77 cubic feet (59 boxes (including 33 albums) and 2 folders)
approximately 345 photographic prints : black and white ; various sizes
approximately 442 negatives : glass, black and white ; 6 ½ x 8 ½ inches
33 albums (approximately 1,610 photographic prints) : black and white ; 28.5 x 39 cm.
Collection Number
PH0274
Summary
Images documenting 1890s gold rush localities and activities in the Klondike River Valley of Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada made by Swedish-born photographer Eric Hegg
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

The original photographs and negatives are not available for use due to preservation concerns.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

In 1888 Eric A. Hegg opened his first studio in Washington in Sehome, also known as New Whatcom, on Bellingham Bay. A year or two later he set up a second studio in Fairhaven, a growing logging and mining community. Hearing news of gold strikes in the Klondike River Valley, Yukon Territory, in September or October of 1897, he joined a party of Bellingham men who had chartered the Skagit Chief, an old sternwheeler, and traveled the inside passage as far as Dyea, Alaska. Arriving too late to get down the Yukon River to Dawson City before freeze-up, Hegg decided to remain on the coast until spring. Using his Dyea studio as a base, he frequently traveled up the Chilkoot Trail to photograph the huge migration to the Yukon known as "the Stampede." During the winter of 1897-1898, he moved his studio to Skagway, Alaska. He was soon joined by Per Larss, a fellow Scandinavian, and together they made frequent photographic excursions over the Chilkoot Pass, to Lake Lindeman and Bennett, selling their photographs on the trail. Hegg established a brief tent studio in the town of Bennett and on his departure from Bennett, turned the business over to Edward J. Hamacher, who later became a notable Whitehorse photographer.

The party of Larss and Hegg arrived in Dawson City on June 20, 1898, where they established a studio on the waterfront between First and Second Streets. Larss and Hegg joined in formal partnership in September 1898. Their studio, however, suffered severe loss when fire broke out in Dawson City in Oct. 1898. Later George Cantwell was taken on to assist with outside photographic work. In August of 1899, Hegg sold his interest in his Dawson City studio to Larss, who had entered into partnership with Joseph Duclos, and headed for Nome. Subsequently he published a souvenir booklet entitled "Alaska-Yukon Souvenir" (1900). He left Nome in 1902. It is uncertain when Hegg finally left Alaska, but between the years 1905 and 1918, he worked in Juneau and later in Cordova where he signed on as company photographer during the construction of the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad for the Guggenheims. His firm specialized in art and commercial photography, Alaska souvenirs, postcards, and views. When Hegg finally left Alaska, he worked in Hawaii for a San Francisco newspaper for a year or so. He later returned to Bellingham and died in San Diego in December, 1947.

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Content Description

The images in the Hegg collection consist of photographs found in the 33 Hegg albums, contact prints made from the 442 6 ½ x 8 ½ glass negatives, and individual original Hegg photographs not from the initial Hegg donation. The Hegg albums are located in the Special Collections vault along with 3 boxes of original Hegg photographs (Boxes 10-12).

The photographs document gold rush localities and activities in the Klondike River Valley of Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada circa 1887-1903, including images of the White Pass Trail, the Chilkoot Trail, Dawson City, Nome, Skagway, steamboats, dogsleding, Alaska Natives, and more.

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Other Descriptive Information

Some of the original negatives have Webster & Stevens numbers and studio signatures, though they are original Hegg negatives. These negatives were acquired by Webster & Stevens in 1902 during Hegg's bitter divorce from his wife Ella (who operated the Skagway studio at the time). She sold many of his negatives and photographs to Webster & Stevens, who subsequently removed the Hegg studio imprint from the negatives and sold prints made from these negatives as products of their studio. These images are noted accordingly in the finding aid.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format.

Copy and contact prints were made from the original negatives and photographic prints, and are available for public use in the Special Collections division, University of Washington Libraries.

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Preferred Citation

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in 5 series.

  • Numbered albums
  • Lettered albums
  • Glass Negatives
  • Vintage Hegg Prints
  • Copy Prints

Processing Note

Processed by Michael Hagostek, 2013

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Alaska Natives--Photographs
  • Cities and towns--Alaska--Photographs
  • Cities and towns--Yukon--Photographs
  • Dogsledding--Yukon--Photographs
  • Frontier and pioneer life--Alaska--Photographs
  • Frontier and pioneer life--Yukon--Photographs
  • Gold miners--Alaska--Photographs
  • Gold miners--Yukon--Photographs
  • Gold mines and mining--Alaska--Photographs
  • Gold mines and mining--Yukon--Photographs
  • Ice on rivers, lakes, etc.--Alaska--Photographs
  • Ice on rivers, lakes, etc.--Yukon--Photographs
  • Lakes--Alaska--Photographs
  • Lakes--Yukon--Photographs
  • Mining claims--Alaska--Photographs
  • Mining claims--Yukon--Photographs
  • Mountain passes--Alaska--Photographs
  • Mountain passes--British Columbia--Photographs
  • Mountain passes--Yukon--Photographs
  • Rivers--Alaska--Photographs
  • Rivers--Yukon--Photographs
  • Snow--Alaska--Photographs
  • Snow--Yukon--Photographs
  • Steamboats--Alaska--Photographs
  • Steamboats--Yukon--Photographs
  • Trails--Alaska--Photographs
  • Trails--Yukon--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Corporate Names

  • White Pass & Yukon Route (Firm)--Photographs

Geographical Names

  • Alaska--Gold discoveries--Photographs
  • British Columbia--Photographs
  • Chilkoot Pass--Photographs
  • Chilkoot Trail--Photographs
  • Dawson City (Yukon)--Photographs
  • Hawaii--Photographs
  • Klondike River Valley (Yukon)--Gold discoveries--Photographs
  • Nome (Alaska)--Photographs
  • Seattle (Wash.)--Photographs
  • Skagway (Alaska)--Photographs
  • White Pass (B.C.)--Photographs
  • Yukon River (Yukon and Alaska)--Photographs
  • Yukon Territory--Gold discoveries--Photographs


2007 (Last modified: 7/9/2025)

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