James Lowman was an early Seattle business and civic leader. He was born in Leitersburg, Maryland on October 5, 1856. After teaching school for one year in Maryland, he moved to Seattle at age twenty where his uncle, Henry Yesler, employed him as an assistant wharf master. In 1882, he used his saved earnings to purchase a half interest in the bookstore W.H. Pumphey. After two years, he bought his partner’s share in the business and established the Lowman and Hanford Stationary and Printing Company with an establishment at Front and Cherry Streets.
Lowman and Hanford Stationary operated as a bookseller, binder and newspaper printer, but also sold sewing machines, typewriters, pianos and organs. During the 1889 Seattle fire, Lowman loaded wagons with his printing equipment and transported it to his home on Spring Street for safekeeping. The business was destroyed in the fire, and Lowman was a key contributor in rebuilding Seattle, including the Lowman and Hanford Building at 616 First Avenue and the new Seattle Theater.
Mary Emery Lowman was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on November 1, 1863. She married James Lowman in Seattle in 1881, and the couple resided at 11th Avenue and Marion Street, later 820 Boren Avenue. The Lowman home was the center of much of Seattle’s early social life, and they enjoyed travel, theater, fishing, golf, pets, and entertaining friends and family. Mary Lowman was active with the Red Cross, the Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and the Seattle Tennis Club. She died on September 4, 1939 at the Lowman residence after a brief illness and was survived at the time of her death by two sisters, a nephew and her husband. James Lowman died in Seattle on November 18, 1947 at the age of 91.
The collection consists of four photograph albums, a newspaper article, travel journal and loose photographs documenting the James Lowman family circa 1880-1917. The albums vary in size and contain photographs pasted on beige paper pages, some with handwritten captions. The images include studio portraits of James and Mary Emery Lowman and informal group portraits taken indoors and outdoors at the Marion Street residence and other Northwest locations. Photographs depict adults and children engaging in recreational activities such as amateur dramatics, golf, tennis, fishing and hiking. The images also include Native Americans and document landmarks such as Lake Washington, Salmon Bay, Woodland Park, Ravenna Park, Elliott Bay, Cedar Lake and Montlake.
View selections from the collection in digital format by clicking on the camera icons in the inventory below.
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.
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
James D. Lowman Family Photograph Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Acquired from Michael Maslan, 2008.
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.
Some of the photos have handwritten captions. Subjects include Lake Union, Salmon Bay, Lake Washington, Smith Cove, Ravenna Park, Cedar Lake and Falls, Native Americans, family groups, children, dogs, horses.
Subjects include family groups, rural scenes, city parade, lakes, Montlake, Elliott Bay, Lake Washington bicycle path, boats, Native Americans.
Some of the photos have handwritten captions. Subjects include family groups, cabin, farm, garden, various outdoor scenes and activities
Some of the photos have handwritten captions. Subjects include family groups, portraits, Marion Street residence, children, pets, beaches, parks, sports and dramatics, Orcas Island views.
Cabinet card
Cabinet card
Cabinet card
Cabinet card
Written on photo: Residencel [sic] Portion No. 52
Icy Strait, Chatham Strait
This full-color illustration depicts Lowman, in Japanese garb, as "The Orientalist." From a feature titled "Some of Seattle's Favorites Done into Cartoon."
Cover has photo three men on deck of a boat, with the inscription "Fraternally yours, J.H. Kerr."