Oliver Phelps Anderson was an amateur photographer and owner of a photographic supplies business in Seattle in the early 1900s.
Anderson first worked as a bookkeeper in Seattle in the early 1880s, though by the end of that decade he was doing business as a draughtsman. Anderson formed his civil engineering and map publishing business, O.P. Anderson & Co., in the early 1890s, with the business changing its name to the O.P. Anderson Map & Blue Print Co. by the mid 1890s.
Beginning around 1900, Anderson began selling photographic supplies as president of Anderson Supply Co., located at 111 Cherry Street in Seattle. Around 1913, Anderson’s son Maurice P. Anderson took over as President of the company, and Anderson acted as secretary-manager, a position he continued to hold until around 1940, probably until his death. Anderson Supply Co. continued to do business, with Maurice Anderson as President, until the late 1950s.
The collection consists of photograph albums and loose photographs (approximately 530 photographs in total) depicting scenic views, largely in Washington State, but also including a small number of images from Alaska and Oregon. Only a few of the images are identified or dated. The majority of the Washington State images depict Mount Rainier and landscapes in Rainier National Park, with others depicting views along the Washington coast, unidentified mountain and park landscapes, and views of Seattle. A few images depict Native Americans, including a portrait of a Kwakiutl woman. The collection also contains 7 photographic Christmas cards and an Anderson Supply Co. photo envelope.
Arranged in 3 series:
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Oliver P. Anderson photographs, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Gift of Bessie B. Brolin, October 14, 1967
Accession No. 1975.6741, donated by Barbara Coulter Peterson on March 5, 1979 and consisting of 4 photographic Christmas cards and 4 photographs, was merged with this accession.
Part of Accession No. 1978.6663, donated by Merton Dawley on September 6, 1978, consisting of one photograph album, was merged with accession in October 2009.
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.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
All photographs in the albums are presumed to have been taken by Oliver P. Anderson, though only a few are signed.
Photographs depict Mount Rainier and Rainier National Park, including views of mountains, snowy landscapes, park inns and the Sunrise campground; Mount Baker and Oak Harbor from Whidby Island; the Snoqualmie region of the Cascades and Snoqualmie Pass; the northern Washington coast, including images of rock formations, steamships and sailing ships; the Oregon coast, including the coastline at Otter Crest; the State Capitol building in Olympia; and unidentified coastline and mountain views. Seattle images include views of dirt roads and snow covered roads, probably in Seattle parks; views of the Olympics probably from Seattle across Elliott Bay; distant views of Seattle; and the King Street Station. A few images depicting people show individuals canoeing, women in a lodge or inn, and men hiking, and with horses.
This album includes Anderson’s portrait of a Kwakiutl woman at Fort Rupert, British Columbia (circa 1899 ) as well as another photograph of a Native American woman near a canoe. The remainder of the album consists of many views of Mount Rainier and Rainier National Park View; a photograph of Snoqualmie Falls and power plant; a photograph of the statue of William Henry Seward in Volunteer Park; and images of the Olympic range, rock formations on the Washington coast, and snow covered park roads (probably Seattle parks).
Album from Accession No. 1978.6663.
Pages were removed from the album before current processing. Photographs which were detaching from the album pages were removed from pages and foldered in page order.
Content is similar to two albums above, including prints of many of the same photographs. Also includes a photograph of Volunteer Park in Seattle (1947), images of the Lake Washington shore, and of Puget Sound near Seward Park.
Pages were removed from the album before current processing.
Unidentified views, probably of Alaska, depict mountain landscapes, glaciers, bodies of water, rapids, and ice floes.
Album of photographs, some marked with Anderson’s name of initials, all captioned on page. Images depict Seattle, including the waterfront, Lake Washington, 1st Avenue and Pioneer Square; Native American adults and children; Snoqualmie Falls; views in the Olympic and Cascade Mountains; Madrona Park; and St. Peter’s Chapel in Tacoma.
Some of these photographs appear to have been removed from albums. Most are presumed to have been taken by Anderson, though only 2 are signed by him.
Scenic views probably from Washington State, including images Tipsu Lake at Mount Rainier and Snoqualmie Falls
West side of Bainbridge Island; view of Mount Rainier from Yelm Prairie (signed Oliver P. Anderson, 1905); Douglas Fir in Ravenna Park (signed Oliver P. Anderson, 1902); battleships on Elliott Bay; Elliott Bay (with Anderson Photo Supply sticker on back)
Probably in Washington State
Building on mountainside and mountain stream with people on overhead walkway. “Canada” handwritten on back on each.
Including Rainbow Falls in Ketchikan (photograph by J.E. Thwaites); Auk Lake near Mendenhall Glacier; and ice floes near Taku Glacier
Christmas cards with scenic photographs, some with printed greetings from either Gertrude and Maurice Anderson or Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Phelps Anderson. All but one (of Pavlof Volcano, Alaska) depict Washington State scenes.