Will D. Jenkins Illustrations for Before the White Man Came, 1951

Approximately 150 original pen-and-ink drawings by Bellingham artist and historian Will D. “Bob” Jenkins, produced as illustrations for Before the White Man Came: Pacific Northwest Indian Culture, a children’s book published by his wife, Mildred Jenkins, in 1951. They include draft sketches and illustrations not included in the book. The drawings were based, in part, on Jenkins’s direct observation of Native American cultures in the Puget Sound region. Subjects depicted include dwellings, canoes, tools, arts and crafts, animals, and landscapes. Also available is a newspaper clipping from the Bellingham Herald announcing the book’s publication and telling the story behind it.