[Alaska]. Sharp, Maurice LBiblio.com
1 388 résultats
1941réf. 2368Various locations in south-central Alaska 1941. Very good plus. Eighteen photographs each 6 x 8 inches most signed and titled in manuscript by the photographer. Minor wear. A collection of eighteen beautiful photographs taken by noted Alaskan photographer Maurice L. Sharp featuring various subjects and scenes around south-central Alaska in the late-1930s. The photographs were published in various issues of the Alaska Sportsman between 1938 and 1941. Most of the images are signed and titled by Sharp in the bottom margins or on the verso. The photographs feature subjects and scenes such as "Yukon Boys - Alaska" "Mt. McKinley from Wonder Lake" three images "Harbor Anchorage" "Colonist's Home Alaska" two images "Pioneer's Cabin" "Palmer Alaska" "Gulls" "Northern Lights - Anchorage" "'Leader' Alaskan sled dog" "Sunset Tide" "The Old Cache" two images an uncaptioned image of sled dogs and more. A few of the present photographs were printed by Sharp on textured paper to achieve a different more artistic result to his printed images. unknown
1914réf. 5195Various locations mostly in Canada and Alaska 1914. Very good plus. 36 leaves illustrated with 147 vernacular photographs and real photo postcards almost all with manuscript captions written in white pencil. Oblong quarto. Contemporary black textured cloth with "Photographs" in gilt on front cover and with handwritten caption in white pencil reading "1914 July 16 August 31." Minor wear to covers. Contents clean with easily-readable captions. A well-annotated vernacular photograph album assembled by F.A. Patterson of Arlington Heights Massachusetts documenting his or her travels through western Canada and Alaska just prior to World War I. The album opens with a small printed map of North America with the route Patterson took from "Boston to Alaska" between July 16 and August 31 1914. The photographs begin with thirteen leaves featuring scenes in Ontario and Alberta including scenes of Lake Huron St. Mary's River Sault Ste. Marie Winnipeg "Ontario farms" Banff the town wildlife mountain scenes and more Lake Minnewanka Lake Louise Laggan Valley of the Ten Peaks Morain Lake and more. The album then moves westward to British Columbia and other points then northwestward to Alaska for most of the remainder of the album. The westward photos open with scenes of the Illecillewaet Glacier Meeting of the Waters Trail Glacier and other locations in British Columbia. Scenes in Victoria picture various gardens Parliament Hotel Empress Chinese Bell and more. The scenes in Alaska begin with views of Taku Glacier and other scenes in and around Juneau. Other Alaskan images feature Lake Bennett several scenes in White Pass a view toward Skagway abandoned buildings Pitchfork Falls Sitka the harbor a "Russian Greek Church" a view of the town "Old Russian Black House" several totem poles including a "Totem Pole Patch" two angles of an "Old Russian Trading Post" and more. A particularly interesting pair of images of two buildings pictures what is left of Bennett Alaska which is captioned: "Formerly 5000 population. Now 4 houses. One occupied. August 5th 1914." The final few pages of Alaskan images features an Indian Village in Killisnoo and another in Hunter Bay as well as a close-up view of a group of indigenous peoples in Hunter Bay. The last five leaves capture scenes in Salt Lake City Utah and Colorado mostly Pike's Peak and Royal Gorge. unknown books
1941réf. 2368Various locations in south-central Alaska 1941. Very good plus. Eighteen photographs each 6 x 8 inches most signed and titled in manuscript by the photographer. Minor wear. A collection of eighteen beautiful photographs taken by noted Alaskan photographer Maurice L. Sharp featuring various subjects and scenes around south-central Alaska in the late-1930s. The photographs were published in various issues of the Alaska Sportsman between 1938 and 1941. Most of the images are signed and titled by Sharp in the bottom margins or on the verso. The photographs feature subjects and scenes such as "Yukon Boys - Alaska" "Mt. McKinley from Wonder Lake" three images "Harbor Anchorage" "Colonist's Home Alaska" two images "Pioneer's Cabin" "Palmer Alaska" "Gulls" "Northern Lights - Anchorage" "'Leader' Alaskan sled dog" "Sunset Tide" "The Old Cache" two images an uncaptioned image of sled dogs and more. A few of the present photographs were printed by Sharp on textured paper to achieve a different more artistic result to his printed images. unknown books
1922réf. 4725Alcova Wy.; Gulham and Achorage Ak 1922. Very good. Eight autograph letters signed totaling approximately 32pp. All in original transmittal envelopes. Old mailing folds minor wear. A small archive of letters documenting brief bouts of time in the life of a young Massachusetts man working in Wyoming and Alaska in the years during and just after World War I. William Sherman Platt 1896-1969 was born in Troy New York. Throughout his life he worked as a shipper at a lumber yard and eventually as the manager and then proprietor of a coal company by 1950. He served in the military during the latter portion of the First World War but apparently did not serve in Europe. Later at the age of 46 he filled out a draft card for World War II but it is unclear whether he served during the war likely not. The present collection of his letters document two brief snapshots of Platt's life as a young man from about ages eighteen to twenty-six. Platt wrote his earliest five letters from Gate Ranch in Wyoming to his parents back in Leominster Massachusetts. Platt's earliest letter from Wyoming dated July 4 1914 includes his initial reaction to the place and a stark appraisal of the locals: "I think I will enjoy things here very much indeed when I get accustomed to the place & the people. They are for the most part ignorant animals but they all mean well." In his second letter Platt complains about the slowness of the mail then offers an appraisal of the food in Wyoming: "The food is plain but well cooked and palatable and there is always plenty of it." In his third letter Platt describes the road work he was performing in and around Alcova: "Last week myself and two other fellows went down toward Alcova fixing the road. We were fixing up an old wood road for Mr. Schoolmaker to use as an auto road We camped out cooking out or meals and sleeping in our tents. It was very interesting." He describes some of his other work in his penultimate letter from Wyoming on July 30: "You want to know what I am doing. Well I am working. So far I have worked at carpentering surveying irragating sic road building and fence repairing beside hoeing weeds and helping a little with the chores once in a while. I don't know what I may strike yet. I am very busy but it is not what you would call distinctively Western work. I might do it anywhere. Still it is all right." He then provides another impression of the locals in Wyoming: "I have more fun than a little listening to these fellows around here talk. They are mostly old American stock who think that they are as good as anybody and a little better. They have views on all conceivable subjects which they are glad to air on all occasions aided with a copious flow of profanity. They sure are some fun." Platt writes his last letter from Wyoming on August 2 and reports further on his activities reading helping the cook the food again and also discusses his prospects for college which he apparently meant to start soon. He prefers to attend Clark University in Worcester but also mentions staying on the ranch in Wyoming "to learn something about ranch work" until December and then heading home to Massachusetts after going to see San Francisco. Apparently Platt enlisted in the Marines sometime in 1917 as one of his letters is dated September 16 from that year while at Paris Island South Carolina. Platt details his training and "hard labor" in the military. He had apparently left the military for the timber industry in Alaska by 1920 as his final two letters emanate from Chitina Alaska in the Fall of 1920. Platt's first letter is dated October 5 1920 and describes his work in Alaska: "Since I wrote last I have been working in the woods steadily.so long as I stay here. Really the logging here is a joke. The timber is small scattered and almost all rotten at the butt. Today there were 7 of us in the woods and we only got 70 logs short ones at that 12 to 16 ft. I have been climbing the trees all the time and I guess that will be my regular job from now on. It is easy. Most of the limbs are dead and break off." He also describes the short working day his camping rituals his like for malamute dogs and their work eating caribou and more. The present collection also includes two letters from Platt's mother sent to him in Alaska reacting to his activities but largely reporting on events from home. Platt's second and last letter from Alaska dates from January 11 1922 from Anchorage when he writes a friend also named Bill. Platt spends about half of this letter detailing the opportunities for mining in Alaska and describes a trip into the Alaskan interior: "But there is all kinds of mining on all sides of it. For quartz why the Willow Creek District is about the best. There is probably a dozen outfits operating. There is also a few coal mines in operation some at Kenana Healey & Eska Creek and a few other smaller layouts in different places. Summer before last I took a trip in through the Interior but I found it very unsatisfactory. Very expensive to move and the wages wasn't over 5 or 6 dollars a day and board for labor." In addition to his own letters the present group includes a 1917 letter from Platt's grandmother asking him to stay away from the current "awful war" as well as four family letters from the late-19th century. A small but informative group of letters surrounding a young Massachusetts man adventuring in the American West and Alaska in his younger years. unknown
1922réf. 4725Alcova Wy.; Gulham and Achorage Ak 1922. Very good. Eight autograph letters signed totaling approximately 32pp. All in original transmittal envelopes. Old mailing folds minor wear. A small archive of letters documenting brief bouts of time in the life of a young Massachusetts man working in Wyoming and Alaska in the years during and just after World War I. William Sherman Platt 1896-1969 was born in Troy New York. Throughout his life he worked as a shipper at a lumber yard and eventually as the manager and then proprietor of a coal company by 1950. He served in the military during the latter portion of the First World War but apparently did not serve in Europe. Later at the age of 46 he filled out a draft card for World War II but it is unclear whether he served during the war likely not. The present collection of his letters document two brief snapshots of Platt's life as a young man from about ages eighteen to twenty-six. Platt wrote his earliest five letters from Gate Ranch in Wyoming to his parents back in Leominster Massachusetts. Platt's earliest letter from Wyoming dated July 4 1914 includes his initial reaction to the place and a stark appraisal of the locals: "I think I will enjoy things here very much indeed when I get accustomed to the place & the people. They are for the most part ignorant animals but they all mean well." In his second letter Platt complains about the slowness of the mail then offers an appraisal of the food in Wyoming: "The food is plain but well cooked and palatable and there is always plenty of it." In his third letter Platt describes the road work he was performing in and around Alcova: "Last week myself and two other fellows went down toward Alcova fixing the road. We were fixing up an old wood road for Mr. Schoolmaker to use as an auto road We camped out cooking out or meals and sleeping in our tents. It was very interesting." He describes some of his other work in his penultimate letter from Wyoming on July 30: "You want to know what I am doing. Well I am working. So far I have worked at carpentering surveying irragating sic road building and fence repairing beside hoeing weeds and helping a little with the chores once in a while. I don't know what I may strike yet. I am very busy but it is not what you would call distinctively Western work. I might do it anywhere. Still it is all right." He then provides another impression of the locals in Wyoming: "I have more fun than a little listening to these fellows around here talk. They are mostly old American stock who think that they are as good as anybody and a little better. They have views on all conceivable subjects which they are glad to air on all occasions aided with a copious flow of profanity. They sure are some fun." Platt writes his last letter from Wyoming on August 2 and reports further on his activities reading helping the cook the food again and also discusses his prospects for college which he apparently meant to start soon. He prefers to attend Clark University in Worcester but also mentions staying on the ranch in Wyoming "to learn something about ranch work" until December and then heading home to Massachusetts after going to see San Francisco. Apparently Platt enlisted in the Marines sometime in 1917 as one of his letters is dated September 16 from that year while at Paris Island South Carolina. Platt details his training and "hard labor" in the military. He had apparently left the military for the timber industry in Alaska by 1920 as his final two letters emanate from Chitina Alaska in the Fall of 1920. Platt's first letter is dated October 5 1920 and describes his work in Alaska: "Since I wrote last I have been working in the woods steadily.so long as I stay here. Really the logging here is a joke. The timber is small scattered and almost all rotten at the butt. Today there were 7 of us in the woods and we only got 70 logs short ones at that 12 to 16 ft. I have been climbing the trees all the time and I guess that will be my regular job from now on. It is easy. Most of the limbs are dead and break off." He also describes the short working day his camping rituals his like for malamute dogs and their work eating caribou and more. The present collection also includes two letters from Platt's mother sent to him in Alaska reacting to his activities but largely reporting on events from home. Platt's second and last letter from Alaska dates from January 11 1922 from Anchorage when he writes a friend also named Bill. Platt spends about half of this letter detailing the opportunities for mining in Alaska and describes a trip into the Alaskan interior: "But there is all kinds of mining on all sides of it. For quartz why the Willow Creek District is about the best. There is probably a dozen outfits operating. There is also a few coal mines in operation some at Kenana Healey & Eska Creek and a few other smaller layouts in different places. Summer before last I took a trip in through the Interior but I found it very unsatisfactory. Very expensive to move and the wages wasn't over 5 or 6 dollars a day and board for labor." In addition to his own letters the present group includes a 1917 letter from Platt's grandmother asking him to stay away from the current "awful war" as well as four family letters from the late-19th century. A small but informative group of letters surrounding a young Massachusetts man adventuring in the American West and Alaska in his younger years. unknown books
1898réf. 67870Chicago: Sears Roebuck & Co. ca. 1898. Information and Entertainment for Klondike Gold Seekers A bold and attractive illustrated broadside offering entertainment and encouragement for potential comers to the Klondike Gold Rush. The large illustration at the center shows a prospector kneeling beside a stream panning for gold. The caption goes on to describe the details of the lecture including "50 magnificent views projected from the Magic Lantern" depicting among others Dawson City "The Steamboats The Indians The Miners Sluice and Hydraulic Mining" with the bottom portion containing empty blanks for price of admission place and date. This poster is filled out for a lecture to be given on Valentine's Day in Carson City where they certainly would have been no strangers to the allure of mineral wealth. A handsome souvenir of the Klondike Gold Rush a major incentive for the settlement of the territory and its economic development. Evenly tanned small chips to top and bottom. Backed on white card stock. Very good. unknown
1898réf. 67870Chicago: Sears Roebuck & Co. ca. 1898. Information and Entertainment for Klondike Gold Seekers A bold and attractive illustrated broadside offering entertainment and encouragement for potential comers to the Klondike Gold Rush. The large illustration at the center shows a prospector kneeling beside a stream panning for gold. The caption goes on to describe the details of the lecture including "50 magnificent views projected from the Magic Lantern" depicting among others Dawson City "The Steamboats The Indians The Miners Sluice and Hydraulic Mining" with the bottom portion containing empty blanks for price of admission place and date. This poster is filled out for a lecture to be given on Valentine's Day in Carson City where they certainly would have been no strangers to the allure of mineral wealth. A handsome souvenir of the Klondike Gold Rush a major incentive for the settlement of the territory and its economic development. Evenly tanned small chips to top and bottom. Backed on white card stock. Very good. unknown books
1907réf. 54859Racine WI: W.D. Harney Photogravure Co. 1907. Growing Seattle and Wild Alaska in Lovely Photogravures A substantial production providing a rich photographic tapestry of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska in the early 20th century. Each volume contains nine photogravure plates with only eight in the eighth volume most full-page but some with more than one image per plate. Each part contains two or three text leaves printed rectos only. Altogether the work is comprised of eighty photogravure plates with tissue guards containing over 100 distinct photographic images. Numerous photogravures depict indigenous Eskimos and other people along with stunning views of rivers mountains mining agriculture landscapes dogsled teams totem poles ships and various aspects of life in the Pacific Northwest. Highlights include the "Largest Fir in Washington" "Bird's-Eye of Nome Alaska" "An Arctic Musher" and the "Eskimo Salmon Dance." The photogravures were taken by a number of prominent western photographers including Frank H. Nowell W.P. Romans Thomas W. Tolman Wylie T. Dennison and Asahel Curtis estranged brother of Edward S. Curtis. The gravures are printed in sepia blue or green tints and retain their clarity and power more than a century after their printing. "A magnificent work relating mostly to Alaska with many fine full-page tinted plates" - Decker. "Contains fine plates of scenery in Seattle and Alaska" - Soliday. Folio. Publisher's crimson cloth backstrip and maroon wrappers front covers gilt. Mild fraying to spine cloth some wrappers somewhat soiled covers of first and ninth volumes creased small abrasion from removed label on front cover of first volume. Small tear to last leaf of text of ninth volume otherwise internally clean. About very good. DECKER 26:6. SOLIDAY I:1032. WICKERSHAM 412. hardcover
1907réf. 54859Racine WI: W.D. Harney Photogravure Co. 1907. Growing Seattle and Wild Alaska in Lovely Photogravures A substantial production providing a rich photographic tapestry of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska in the early 20th century. Each volume contains nine photogravure plates with only eight in the eighth volume most full-page but some with more than one image per plate. Each part contains two or three text leaves printed rectos only. Altogether the work is comprised of eighty photogravure plates with tissue guards containing over 100 distinct photographic images. Numerous photogravures depict indigenous Eskimos and other people along with stunning views of rivers mountains mining agriculture landscapes dogsled teams totem poles ships and various aspects of life in the Pacific Northwest. Highlights include the "Largest Fir in Washington" "Bird's-Eye of Nome Alaska" "An Arctic Musher" and the "Eskimo Salmon Dance." The photogravures were taken by a number of prominent western photographers including Frank H. Nowell W.P. Romans Thomas W. Tolman Wylie T. Dennison and Asahel Curtis estranged brother of Edward S. Curtis. The gravures are printed in sepia blue or green tints and retain their clarity and power more than a century after their printing. "A magnificent work relating mostly to Alaska with many fine full-page tinted plates" - Decker. "Contains fine plates of scenery in Seattle and Alaska" - Soliday. Folio. Publisher's crimson cloth backstrip and maroon wrappers front covers gilt. Mild fraying to spine cloth some wrappers somewhat soiled covers of first and ninth volumes creased small abrasion from removed label on front cover of first volume. Small tear to last leaf of text of ninth volume otherwise internally clean. About very good. DECKER 26:6. SOLIDAY I:1032. WICKERSHAM 412. hardcover books
1943réf. 6240Attu Ak 1943. Very good. Five original photographs most 8 x 10 inches one smaller. Light wear and dust soiling. Contemporary ink stamps and manuscript captions on blank versos. The Japanese Army occupied Attu in the far western Aleutian Islands on June 7 1942 and remained on the island for almost a year. It was the most significant occupation of American territory during the war. The Battle of Attu lasted for eighteen days until the final banzai charge on May 29 1943. These photographs were developed from film found after the Americans regained possession of the island at another American base further east in the Aleutians Naval Air Station Adak and are stamped as such on each verso. A large group photo is captioned "Jap aviation personnel on Attu. Third from right in standing row is supposed to be a German." The one single portrait is captioned "Col. Yamashita commanding officer on Attu." The other three are of small groups including a "Jap anti-aircraft fire control group." Important visual evidence of this little-known Japanese occupation of American territory during World War II. unknown
1943réf. 6240Attu Ak 1943. Very good. Five original photographs most 8 x 10 inches one smaller. Light wear and dust soiling. Contemporary ink stamps and manuscript captions on blank versos. The Japanese Army occupied Attu in the far western Aleutian Islands on June 7 1942 and remained on the island for almost a year. It was the most significant occupation of American territory during the war. The Battle of Attu lasted for eighteen days until the final banzai charge on May 29 1943. These photographs were developed from film found after the Americans regained possession of the island at another American base further east in the Aleutians Naval Air Station Adak and are stamped as such on each verso. A large group photo is captioned "Jap aviation personnel on Attu. Third from right in standing row is supposed to be a German." The one single portrait is captioned "Col. Yamashita commanding officer on Attu." The other three are of small groups including a "Jap anti-aircraft fire control group." Important visual evidence of this little-known Japanese occupation of American territory during World War II. unknown books
1901réf. 70819New York:: Doubleday Page & Company 1901. First edition. publisher's gilt green ribbed cloth t.e.g. in publisher's flexible cloth gilt-lettered wrappers. Engraved bookplates on each pastedown; a beautiful set. 4to. Illustrated throughout from photographs and engravings. Doubleday, Page & Company, hardcover
1900réf. 177155Early 1900s or slightly later. An evocative group of photographs depicting daily life and seasonal migration among the Iñupiat people. The images are taken around time of the Nome Gold Rush 1899 to 1908 a period that brought a massive influx of prospectors and drastically altered the region's demographics. Nome gained worldwide attention during the gold rush and in its aftermath the Iñupiat people underwent profound cultural and environmental shifts. Increased contact with outsiders the rise of wage labour and the introduction of Western goods by miners missionaries and teachers led to a transition from a semi-nomadic lifestyle to life in permanent villages. After the boom ended Nome's population sharply declined falling from an estimated 20000 in the early 1900s to fewer than 1500 by the 1930s. The photographer George R. King 1866-1951 was widely published with his work appearing in Sierra Club publications and in National Geographic including the 1919 feature Eskimo Life. Despite his visibility little is known about his career. Mautz lists him simply as a photographer from Boston who recorded claims on the Seward Peninsula in 1907 p. 47. King's photographs together with those of Frank H. Nowell the Lomen Brothers and others provide an important visual record during a period of rapid change. One of the images was published in The New America and the Far East 1907-10 with the photographer unidentified. Five gelatin silver prints from 182 x 234 to 197 x 248 mm all with pencillings on verso three with photographer's ink stamp on verso. Two a little yellowed a few small marginal chips tears or creasing minor surface abrasions: a very good collection. Carl Mautz Biographies of Western Photographers 2018. unknown
1925222 pages including index and glossary. Fold-out map at page 15. Black and white photographic plates. "This book is the outcome of forty years residence amongst the Haidas, and is an accurate description of what I have seen and heard in the villages and homes. Through my knowledge of their language I have been enabled to get all my information regarding their customs, traditions and social organization direct from the principal chiefs, men who at that time were from sixty to eighty years old." - from Preface. Chapters include: Queen Charlotte Islands; Early History; The Haidas; Haida Customs; Births, Marriages, Divorce, Death and Burial Ceremonies; Tools, Ornaments and Ceremonial Masks; Industries and Medicines; The Sa-ag-ga or Shaman; The Haida Pantheon; Haida Legends; The Haida Traditions of Creation; Chief Edenshaw; The Natural History of the Islands; Geology of the Islands and Natural Resources. Appendix lists cranial measurements. Average wear. Binding intact. Red cloth-covered boards. Black lettering and decoration legible upon spine. Prior owner's stamp to bottom edge, front fixed and free endpapers, and title page. Faint bookseller's stamp to back fixed endpaper. A sound copy. Edwards & Lort 1668, Thibault 2,231. Book
1890réf. 124152Alaska c 1890. Undetermined. near fine. Three card mouted 19th century albumen photorgraphs of eskimo from the Kotzebue Sound area of Northwestern Alaska. The images are mounted on black bevel mounts with grey backs 17.5 X 25 CM with the images being 11 X 19.5 cm. The condititon of the photos is excellent with good rich tones and little fading. All are captioned as above in an old hand. Two of the images were taken on the deck of a ship with the third undetermined. near fine Three very attractive images. We were unable to determine who the photographer is but the quality is so good that further research may yet results. 1890 unknown
1944réf. 63533Hutchinson KS & Kodiak Alaska Territory: Carrie B. Mitchell Woman’s American Baptist Home Mission Society Alaska Steamship Co. 1944-1969. Oblong folio. 11.5 x 17 in. 36 pp unpaginated. on brown sack paper. With over 100 pieces of ephemera neatly affixed with tape including 6 silver gelatin photographs & RPPC’s clippings numerous ALS & TLS on letterhead some preserved in the original envelopes postcards missals programmes and more. Wooden spruce plywood post-binder sewn at gutter margin w/ cord decoupaged front cover w/ pictograms and “Story of Alaska” w/ totem pole motifs leather strap hinges held by brass brads some scuffing edgewear occasional toning scuffing to a few pieces still a VG exemplar. This intriguing scrapbook carefully documents the aspiration of Carrie Mitchell 1890-1979 to travel as a missionary to Kodiak Alaska Territory during World War II where she served as housemother to McWhinnie cottage at the Kodiak Baptist Mission School & Orphanage from 1944-1946. In classical Alutiiq Athabascan and Inupiaq societies orphans were typically adopted into wealthy Indigenous Peoples families as laborers working in return for food clothing and shelter. Often mistreated this would occasionally result in violent revenge against the tribes by the orphans. After 1893 the Kodiak Baptist Mission established their school and cottage system to educate clothe and prepare the orphans or abandoned Alutiiq children for society. Unfortunately the Baptist Mission forbade the Indigenous Peoples spiritual rituals or Russian Orthodoxy -- the predominant religious beliefs of the Kodiak area peoples and forced them to convert to Baptist beliefs. In some cases the children were forcibly removed against the will of their parents and were not orphans to receive vocational instruction and religious training at the Mission. Jan. 25 1944 Alice Crimson Executive Secretary to the W.A.B.H.M.S. wrote to Carrie how she and her staff were wondering if she would be interested “in going to Alaska as Assistant to the missionary in one of our children’s homes. It is not a managing position. It is a position of helping to make a home by assuming a share of the cooking cleaning even the washing as well as the mending of clothes. . . .” Several letters included here pass back and forth discussing Carrie’s interview her need to stay available and not travel to Texas to visit her daughter application for applying for a pass with the Headquarters Alaskan Dept. Base Echelon including fingerprint card and travel instructions. Due to wartime shortages after approval Carrie Mitchell’s travel was delayed after April 1944 because sailing times to Kodiak were curtailed but she would finally reach Kodiak AK in mid-May 1944. The grueling position had been opened because Cecile Tucker who had been housemother to McWhinnie beginning in June 1941 had decided to leave. M. Tucker regularly took care of 12-17 Alutiiq children and before being assigned to Alaska had spent 17 years working the the Mono Indigenous Peoples in the Auberry CA Baptist Mission School. Two original letters from one of Carrie Mitchell’s Indigenous charges George Yosheda 1928-2003 at McWhinnie House writes to her after leaving McWhinnie to attend school in Wrangell AK and she notes on the outside of the envelope that he was “a little homesick I think.” In his second letter from 1945 he writes about how he “can play basketball. . . if I don’t have anything to do I usually go for a walk or play the guitar.” She writes on an ALS from Enid Myers that Enid “gave up the work in Sept. 1944. That left me alone with a houseful of children until the Chandlers came. The other staff members helped me as much as they could.” By March 1946 the workload had worn her down and she wanted to retire from the position. Alice crimson writes her again that “I am very happy that you are staying in Alaska until I can find someone who will go in your place. I realize that it is difficult work physically and I think you would be wise to come out when we can replace you.” Thank you cards notices theatre programmes and several clippings concerning the 1964 Earthquake and Tsunami which struck Alaska appear within the scrapbook. See: Timothy Smith The Evangel Returns to Kodiak for the First 4th of July since Statehood July 1959 Tanignak 2020. Orphan -- Liliya’aq Alutiiq Museum Archaeological Repository 2025. Carrie B. Mitchell, Woman’s American Baptist Home Mission Society, Alaska Steamship Co., hardcover
1897réf. 372440Kosoreffski Alaska: Indian Boys' Press Holy Cross Mission 1897. First editions. 2 39; 2 22 pp. Lacking p. 7-10 in 'Catechism'. 8vo. Original floral colored cloth over stiff paper wrappers. Minor rubbing and wear to wrappers and edges; lacking p. 7-10 in 'Catechism' some fading to ink legible throughout; very good; in custom folding slipcase and chemise. First editions. 2 39; 2 22 pp. Lacking p. 7-10 in 'Catechism'. 8vo. Rare catechisms in the Tinneh Indian language crudely printed and bound by three Indian boys at the mission who give their names Nicholia Ivan and Aleck at the end of the prefatory notes. Streeter notes that "These two books are the only ones listed in the imprints catalogue at the New York Public Library as printed at Holy Cross on the west side of the Yukon near the mouth of the Kosoreffski also Koserefski Koserefsky river and are the earliest listed under any of the towns on the Seward Peninsula. A letter from Frederick R. Goff 12 June 1951 says the order of printing of the two is not known." The two works were likely printed at the same time and bound together for easy use. Streeter Sale 2569; Wickersham 1046 Indian Boys' Press, Holy Cross Mission unknown
1897réf. 372440Kosoreffski Alaska: Indian Boys' Press Holy Cross Mission 1897. First editions. 2 39; 2 22 pp. Lacking p. 7-10 in 'Catechism'. 8vo. Original floral colored cloth over stiff paper wrappers. Minor rubbing and wear to wrappers and edges; lacking p. 7-10 in 'Catechism' some fading to ink legible throughout; very good; in custom folding slipcase and chemise. First editions. 2 39; 2 22 pp. Lacking p. 7-10 in 'Catechism'. 8vo. Rare catechisms in the Tinneh Indian language crudely printed and bound by three Indian boys at the mission who give their names Nicholia Ivan and Aleck at the end of the prefatory notes. Streeter notes that "These two books are the only ones listed in the imprints catalogue at the New York Public Library as printed at Holy Cross on the west side of the Yukon near the mouth of the Kosoreffski also Koserefski Koserefsky river and are the earliest listed under any of the towns on the Seward Peninsula. A letter from Frederick R. Goff 12 June 1951 says the order of printing of the two is not known." The two works were likely printed at the same time and bound together for easy use. Streeter Sale 2569; Wickersham 1046 Indian Boys' Press, Holy Cross Mission unknown books
1894réf. 2889Sitka Ak: August 1 1894. Very good plus. 5pp. Original mailing folds. A historically-illuminating eyewitness account of the burning of Baranof Castle the famous fort built in the New Archangel Sitka by the first governor of Russian America Alexander Baranov. During Russian rule the castle was the administrative center of Russian America. Baranof Castle was the site for both the formal ceremony of the sale of Alaska to the United States and the hoisting of the first American flag in Alaska. The building was continually reconstructed throughout its tenure and fully renovated in 1893. On the night of March 17 1894 the castle caught fire and burned to the ground apparently due to the ignition of oily rags stored there. At the time of the fire the building was used as the office and residence of the U.S. Court Commissioner Robert C. Rogers. Much later in 1962 the site where the castle once stood was declared a National Historic Landmark. The author of the present letter Julia E. Haley was the only daughter of Nicholas Haley a Sitka pioneer notable miner and important early landowner with several claims close to Sitka Bay. Born raised and ultimately buried in Sitka Julia Haley owned and operated the well-known curiosity shop the "Old Indian Trading Post" on Lincoln Street in Sitka in the first two decades of the 20th century. Her store offered a variety of local products and artifacts some of which purportedly came from the ashes of Baranof Castle though Haley's account of the fire seems to refute any possibility of relics being found in the ashes. Here Haley writes to a friend identified only as "Miss Young" a schoolteacher in San Francisco. In her letter Haley provides a detailed account of the Baranof Castle fire notes the troubles people have in getting to Sitka due to "much trouble on the railroads" and briefly describes a ball given by local ladies in honor of the Bering Sea Fleet "That is the U.S. Navy ships in harbour - Yorktown Mohican Albatross Ranger Hassler Corwin Adams Bear Rush Pinta and H.M. Ship Pheasant & Areal". Haley's description of the fire reads as follows: "I suppose you have heard about the Baranof Castle. It was burnt to the ground. Not even could we have a chip in remembrance. Of it nothing could be saved. It was impossible. Judge Rogers was in the building at the time & it took all they could do to get him out. He was at the windows for 8 hours crying for help. But no one heard him. Every one was asleep. He lost everything. Nothing saved only a long coat he had on. And his poor little dog was in the attic & no one could get near him. It was a beautiful building after it as nearly repaired. So you may tell your friends that the Baranof Castle at Sitka is no more. The ground it stood on is all there. The building after being repaired was going to be occupied by the officials & we miss the view so much. It was a very pretty fire. I wished you could have seen it. The flag pole was the very last to burn. They took several views of it which looks so much like it. Every one felth sic so sorry. All the ladies watched it from one in the morning until four." A unique account of one woman's experiences in far-flung Alaska in the last decade of the 19th century with a particularly noteworthy eyewitness account of the last moments of Baranof Castle. August 1 unknown
1894réf. 2889Sitka Ak: August 1 1894. Very good plus. 5pp. Original mailing folds. A historically-illuminating eyewitness account of the burning of Baranof Castle the famous fort built in the New Archangel Sitka by the first governor of Russian America Alexander Baranov. During Russian rule the castle was the administrative center of Russian America. Baranof Castle was the site for both the formal ceremony of the sale of Alaska to the United States and the hoisting of the first American flag in Alaska. The building was continually reconstructed throughout its tenure and fully renovated in 1893. On the night of March 17 1894 the castle caught fire and burned to the ground apparently due to the ignition of oily rags stored there. At the time of the fire the building was used as the office and residence of the U.S. Court Commissioner Robert C. Rogers. Much later in 1962 the site where the castle once stood was declared a National Historic Landmark. The author of the present letter Julia E. Haley was the only daughter of Nicholas Haley a Sitka pioneer notable miner and important early landowner with several claims close to Sitka Bay. Born raised and ultimately buried in Sitka Julia Haley owned and operated the well-known curiosity shop the "Old Indian Trading Post" on Lincoln Street in Sitka in the first two decades of the 20th century. Her store offered a variety of local products and artifacts some of which purportedly came from the ashes of Baranof Castle though Haley's account of the fire seems to refute any possibility of relics being found in the ashes. Here Haley writes to a friend identified only as "Miss Young" a schoolteacher in San Francisco. In her letter Haley provides a detailed account of the Baranof Castle fire notes the troubles people have in getting to Sitka due to "much trouble on the railroads" and briefly describes a ball given by local ladies in honor of the Bering Sea Fleet "That is the U.S. Navy ships in harbour - Yorktown Mohican Albatross Ranger Hassler Corwin Adams Bear Rush Pinta and H.M. Ship Pheasant & Areal". Haley's description of the fire reads as follows: "I suppose you have heard about the Baranof Castle. It was burnt to the ground. Not even could we have a chip in remembrance. Of it nothing could be saved. It was impossible. Judge Rogers was in the building at the time & it took all they could do to get him out. He was at the windows for 8 hours crying for help. But no one heard him. Every one was asleep. He lost everything. Nothing saved only a long coat he had on. And his poor little dog was in the attic & no one could get near him. It was a beautiful building after it as nearly repaired. So you may tell your friends that the Baranof Castle at Sitka is no more. The ground it stood on is all there. The building after being repaired was going to be occupied by the officials & we miss the view so much. It was a very pretty fire. I wished you could have seen it. The flag pole was the very last to burn. They took several views of it which looks so much like it. Every one felth sic so sorry. All the ladies watched it from one in the morning until four." A unique account of one woman's experiences in far-flung Alaska in the last decade of the 19th century with a particularly noteworthy eyewitness account of the last moments of Baranof Castle. August 1 unknown books
1910réf. 4010Various locations including Sprague Wa.; Vancouver British Columbia; and Nome Ak 1910. Very good. Thirteen autograph letters signed totaling thirty-nine pages and a few original transmittal envelopes. Original mailing folds occasional short fold separations otherwise minor wear. Overall a well-preserved group stored in an antique wooden box from the St. Paul Rubber Company. An interesting collection of manuscript letters written to Fred Lindberg of Hallock Minnesota by his brother and other individuals participating in the Alaskan and Yukon gold rushes between 1897 and 1910. The preponderance of the correspondence relates to the ill-fated experiences of Fred's brother Albert William Lindberg who writes four letters while on his way to the Alaskan gold fields before apparently committing suicide in Nome in 1909. Albert William "Willie" Lindberg was a Swedish-American gold prospector from Minnesota who spent significant time in Washington State before trying his luck albeit unsuccessfully in Alaska. The four letters from Willie begin with his February 20 1897 letter to his brother Fred in Hallock Minnesota. With unbridled enthusiasm Willie writes from Sprague Washington that he has "heard so much about Alaska that I made up my mind to go." Willie encourages Fred to join him to work in the mines where he expects to "pick gold nuggets." Willie informs Fred that he has sold his horses and saddle and has collected about $400 with which he intends to "make a raise or go broke" in Alaska. He extolls Fred to raise his own money and come to Alaska where he intends to "make a fortchen sic fortune." Willie concludes: "And when we get there you will see one of the luckiest Swedes that ever struck Alaska." Lindberg next writes from Vancouver on March 20 1898 again to his brother Fred informing him that he is on the way to Alaska. He promises to "stake out a clame" for Fred once he gets there though he now believes that going to Alaska might be "a foolish trip." Still he intends to stay "as long as I can" in the Alaskan gold fields in the company of "an old miner he has mined for the last 35 years." Willie writes another letter on March 20 after he arrives in Juneau which he describes as "quite a town and everything is just as cheap here as in Seattle or Vancouver and food and lodging is $1.00 a day." Here Willie informs Fred that he intends to go further north to Dyea north of Skagway because "I want to go where the big strikes is made." Willie's last letter emanates from Seattle where he has apparently returned perhaps for the winter from the previous year but now informs Fred that he intends to start on his "wild goose chase again." Instead of "Cape Nome" Willie intends to go to Skagway then "down the Youkon River it is mining camps all along the Youkon River and I think it will be better up there than down at Cape Nome it is bound to be over down at Cape Nome this summer when all these people get there." Willie's letters are accompanied by a pocket-sized notebook in which he recorded a small amount of financial information for the Nome Bank in 1908-09 as well as listings of food and other goods he purchases there and a five-page diary-style entry dated February 15 1907. In the latter Willie writes introspectively about his state of mind and habits at one point noting that "at times you are liable to become blue and depressed really there is no cause to be that way." Lindberg's single diary entry in the notebook is especially intriguing considering he apparently committed suicide in Nome in 1909 according to five letters present here dated in the summer and fall of 1909. This includes two letters sent from Wentworth Brothers the undertakers in charge of Willie's remains. The first of these letters dated May 24 1909 begins: "On May 11th 1909 Mr. Lindberg W. was found in cabin on Belmount Point dead. Cause gun shot wound and the Coroners Jury brought in verdict of suicide. Two of his friends Mr. Godfry Johnson and John Olson furnished the funeral arrangements - as he was without money." In each of the two letters the undertakers ask that Fred Lindberg respond to them whether he wishes Willie to be buried in Alaska or have the body shipped to Minnesota. The other three letters were written from two of the men who found Willie's body; the authors were responding to Fred Lindberg's wife who sent letters to Nome inquiring about Willie's death. Two of the letters were written by Phillip Corrigan of the Nome Mine Workers Union in August and the third by Gotfred Johnson in September. Corrigan details finding the body wondering if "may be he was fooling with the gun and accidentally shot himself." He then writes that he has known of Willie prospecting in the area since 1907 but that he "did not find pay at any time" and had no money at the time of his death" though "he may have some claims here." In the next letter Corrigan details both a quartz and placer claim in which Willie had an interest then provides further detail on the claims and what must be done to maintain them. Johnson writes a highly-detailed five-page letter conveying his background and experiences with Willie providing important biographical material and informing Fred that Willie seemed in "good spirits" when he last saw him "3 or 4 days" before his suicide. Another letter from Nome in August 1909 is present here written on the same Nome Mine Workers Union stationery as Corrigan's letters by Carl de la Motte; the two-page letter seems to relate information on Willie but is written in Swedish. The present archive also includes four letters written to Fred Lindberg from his friend Edward A. Johnson in Circle City Alaska. Written between July 5 1905 and June 10 1906 Johnson's letters indicate he was tasked by Fred to find his brother Willie. In his first letter Johnson writes from Mastodon Creek that he has been unable to find anything "about Will." In his subsequent three letters Johnson details his search for Willie often mentioning that he expects to locate him in Fairbanks or Nome but never does. In the process Johnson relates other interesting details about Alaska and his experiences there including a report on weather patterns as they relate to the seasonal nature of the mining industry informative descriptions of the Alaskan country he visits in "the Tanana districts at Fairbanks" his decision to acquire claims near Mastodon Creek and the unreliable nature of the Alaskan postal schedule. The archive also includes several unrelated Lindberg family letters mostly written to Willard Lindberg of Hamline University in St. Paul Minnesota in the mid-1920s but these are not included in the letter and page counts above. An unusual collection of manuscript letters of particular interest to the study of suicide in American history documenting both the optimism of a young Minnesota man on his way to find fortune in the Alaskan gold fields and his tragic end by his own hand in Nome a little over a decade later. unknown
1910réf. 4010Various locations including Sprague Wa.; Vancouver British Columbia; and Nome Ak 1910. Very good. Thirteen autograph letters signed totaling thirty-nine pages and a few original transmittal envelopes. Original mailing folds occasional short fold separations otherwise minor wear. Overall a well-preserved group stored in an antique wooden box from the St. Paul Rubber Company. An interesting collection of manuscript letters written to Fred Lindberg of Hallock Minnesota by his brother and other individuals participating in the Alaskan and Yukon gold rushes between 1897 and 1910. The preponderance of the correspondence relates to the ill-fated experiences of Fred's brother Albert William Lindberg who writes four letters while on his way to the Alaskan gold fields before apparently committing suicide in Nome in 1909. Albert William "Willie" Lindberg was a Swedish-American gold prospector from Minnesota who spent significant time in Washington State before trying his luck albeit unsuccessfully in Alaska. The four letters from Willie begin with his February 20 1897 letter to his brother Fred in Hallock Minnesota. With unbridled enthusiasm Willie writes from Sprague Washington that he has "heard so much about Alaska that I made up my mind to go." Willie encourages Fred to join him to work in the mines where he expects to "pick gold nuggets." Willie informs Fred that he has sold his horses and saddle and has collected about $400 with which he intends to "make a raise or go broke" in Alaska. He extolls Fred to raise his own money and come to Alaska where he intends to "make a fortchen sic fortune." Willie concludes: "And when we get there you will see one of the luckiest Swedes that ever struck Alaska." Lindberg next writes from Vancouver on March 20 1898 again to his brother Fred informing him that he is on the way to Alaska. He promises to "stake out a clame" for Fred once he gets there though he now believes that going to Alaska might be "a foolish trip." Still he intends to stay "as long as I can" in the Alaskan gold fields in the company of "an old miner he has mined for the last 35 years." Willie writes another letter on March 20 after he arrives in Juneau which he describes as "quite a town and everything is just as cheap here as in Seattle or Vancouver and food and lodging is $1.00 a day." Here Willie informs Fred that he intends to go further north to Dyea north of Skagway because "I want to go where the big strikes is made." Willie's last letter emanates from Seattle where he has apparently returned perhaps for the winter from the previous year but now informs Fred that he intends to start on his "wild goose chase again." Instead of "Cape Nome" Willie intends to go to Skagway then "down the Youkon River it is mining camps all along the Youkon River and I think it will be better up there than down at Cape Nome it is bound to be over down at Cape Nome this summer when all these people get there." Willie's letters are accompanied by a pocket-sized notebook in which he recorded a small amount of financial information for the Nome Bank in 1908-09 as well as listings of food and other goods he purchases there and a five-page diary-style entry dated February 15 1907. In the latter Willie writes introspectively about his state of mind and habits at one point noting that "at times you are liable to become blue and depressed really there is no cause to be that way." Lindberg's single diary entry in the notebook is especially intriguing considering he apparently committed suicide in Nome in 1909 according to five letters present here dated in the summer and fall of 1909. This includes two letters sent from Wentworth Brothers the undertakers in charge of Willie's remains. The first of these letters dated May 24 1909 begins: "On May 11th 1909 Mr. Lindberg W. was found in cabin on Belmount Point dead. Cause gun shot wound and the Coroners Jury brought in verdict of suicide. Two of his friends Mr. Godfry Johnson and John Olson furnished the funeral arrangements - as he was without money." In each of the two letters the undertakers ask that Fred Lindberg respond to them whether he wishes Willie to be buried in Alaska or have the body shipped to Minnesota. The other three letters were written from two of the men who found Willie's body; the authors were responding to Fred Lindberg's wife who sent letters to Nome inquiring about Willie's death. Two of the letters were written by Phillip Corrigan of the Nome Mine Workers Union in August and the third by Gotfred Johnson in September. Corrigan details finding the body wondering if "may be he was fooling with the gun and accidentally shot himself." He then writes that he has known of Willie prospecting in the area since 1907 but that he "did not find pay at any time" and had no money at the time of his death" though "he may have some claims here." In the next letter Corrigan details both a quartz and placer claim in which Willie had an interest then provides further detail on the claims and what must be done to maintain them. Johnson writes a highly-detailed five-page letter conveying his background and experiences with Willie providing important biographical material and informing Fred that Willie seemed in "good spirits" when he last saw him "3 or 4 days" before his suicide. Another letter from Nome in August 1909 is present here written on the same Nome Mine Workers Union stationery as Corrigan's letters by Carl de la Motte; the two-page letter seems to relate information on Willie but is written in Swedish. The present archive also includes four letters written to Fred Lindberg from his friend Edward A. Johnson in Circle City Alaska. Written between July 5 1905 and June 10 1906 Johnson's letters indicate he was tasked by Fred to find his brother Willie. In his first letter Johnson writes from Mastodon Creek that he has been unable to find anything "about Will." In his subsequent three letters Johnson details his search for Willie often mentioning that he expects to locate him in Fairbanks or Nome but never does. In the process Johnson relates other interesting details about Alaska and his experiences there including a report on weather patterns as they relate to the seasonal nature of the mining industry informative descriptions of the Alaskan country he visits in "the Tanana districts at Fairbanks" his decision to acquire claims near Mastodon Creek and the unreliable nature of the Alaskan postal schedule. The archive also includes several unrelated Lindberg family letters mostly written to Willard Lindberg of Hamline University in St. Paul Minnesota in the mid-1920s but these are not included in the letter and page counts above. An unusual collection of manuscript letters of particular interest to the study of suicide in American history documenting both the optimism of a young Minnesota man on his way to find fortune in the Alaskan gold fields and his tragic end by his own hand in Nome a little over a decade later. unknown books
1943réf. Cat317Canada and the United States 1943. Photo album measuring 11 x 14 inches containing approximately 400 original photos with an additional 24 commercially produced photos. Photos attached with corner mounts. Original photos mainly measure 3 ½ x 4 ½ inches and smaller. Album pages delicate with wear especially to edges; photos generally excellent with some wear to corners. Overall very good to excellent. Between March and October of 1942 the Alaska-Canadian or ALCAN Highway was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers running from Dawson Creek British Columbia through Whitehorse Yukon to Delta Junction Alaska. The US had long seen a need for such a highway for defense purposes and Canada finally agreed to its construction in February of 1942 shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack on the conditions that the US would both pay for it and turn the Canadian portion over to Canada after the conflict. Over 10000 men worked to construct it including about 3000 African Americans in segregated regiments. Though officially completed in October 1942 work on the highway continued and it did not open to the public until 1948 due to issues with grading surfacing and other safety measures. Offered here is an album of photographs by an unknown photographer involved in the highway's construction. Signage in the photos places them around Whitehorse Yukon a bit more than halfway from Dawson Creek to Delta Junction. Besides the imposing Yukon landscape shots show men and their vehicles: military trucks earthmovers tractors trains ships seaplanes and tanks. Vehicles like tractors and construction plows are often fitted with tank treads; they pull wagons down steep hills and over creeks and are often pictured driving via rivers-perhaps this was easier than going overland on the soft delicate tundra. A man who is pictured in one of the photographs appears to be African American possibly part of one of the segregated regiments; the insignia on his jacket matches that on others' so he is likely part of the construction efforts. In many shots the materials and vehicles look more abandoned than in use and some appear to show junkyards. During its construction the ALCAN came to be known as the "oil can highway" for the quantity of discarded oil cans that the construction left behind; oil cans are omnipresent in these photos but they also suggest that more than just oil cans were left as debris. Two shots show an unidentified structure fire and what appears to be a head-on collision of two trucks one carrying numerous oil cans. Several show massive areas of erosion including one that has taken out a large portion of a paved road. One shows a bear standing by the rubble and trash left on the side of the road captioned on the verso "This Bear Weighs about 1400 lb. he is a dandy". These photos record the environmental impact of the highway's construction. Some shots document the men's recreation: fishing lunching in a field posing with what looks to be a wolf that was killed feeding a squirrel and even playing with bear cubs. Several are of puppies and dogsled teams. Others show wildlife in more natural habitats: bears from afar bighorn sheep in a rocky field and a moose splashing in a river. Small towns tent cities and quonset huts-including the TITA This Is The Army movie theater-dot the formidable landscape of pines and snowy peaks. Of interest to historians of highway infrastructure especially in harsh circumpolar climates and its environmental impacts.
1943réf. Cat317Canada and the United States 1943. Photo album measuring 11 x 14 inches containing approximately 400 original photos with an additional 24 commercially produced photos. Photos attached with corner mounts. Original photos mainly measure 3 ½ x 4 ½ inches and smaller. Album pages delicate with wear especially to edges; photos generally excellent with some wear to corners. Overall very good to excellent. Between March and October of 1942 the Alaska-Canadian or ALCAN Highway was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers running from Dawson Creek British Columbia through Whitehorse Yukon to Delta Junction Alaska. The US had long seen a need for such a highway for defense purposes and Canada finally agreed to its construction in February of 1942 shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack on the conditions that the US would both pay for it and turn the Canadian portion over to Canada after the conflict. Over 10000 men worked to construct it including about 3000 African Americans in segregated regiments. Though officially completed in October 1942 work on the highway continued and it did not open to the public until 1948 due to issues with grading surfacing and other safety measures. Offered here is an album of photographs by an unknown photographer involved in the highway's construction. Signage in the photos places them around Whitehorse Yukon a bit more than halfway from Dawson Creek to Delta Junction. Besides the imposing Yukon landscape shots show men and their vehicles: military trucks earthmovers tractors trains ships seaplanes and tanks. Vehicles like tractors and construction plows are often fitted with tank treads; they pull wagons down steep hills and over creeks and are often pictured driving via rivers-perhaps this was easier than going overland on the soft delicate tundra. A man who is pictured in one of the photographs appears to be African American possibly part of one of the segregated regiments; the insignia on his jacket matches that on others' so he is likely part of the construction efforts. In many shots the materials and vehicles look more abandoned than in use and some appear to show junkyards. During its construction the ALCAN came to be known as the "oil can highway" for the quantity of discarded oil cans that the construction left behind; oil cans are omnipresent in these photos but they also suggest that more than just oil cans were left as debris. Two shots show an unidentified structure fire and what appears to be a head-on collision of two trucks one carrying numerous oil cans. Several show massive areas of erosion including one that has taken out a large portion of a paved road. One shows a bear standing by the rubble and trash left on the side of the road captioned on the verso "This Bear Weighs about 1400 lb. he is a dandy". These photos record the environmental impact of the highway's construction. Some shots document the men's recreation: fishing lunching in a field posing with what looks to be a wolf that was killed feeding a squirrel and even playing with bear cubs. Several are of puppies and dogsled teams. Others show wildlife in more natural habitats: bears from afar bighorn sheep in a rocky field and a moose splashing in a river. Small towns tent cities and quonset huts-including the TITA This Is The Army movie theater-dot the formidable landscape of pines and snowy peaks. Of interest to historians of highway infrastructure especially in harsh circumpolar climates and its environmental impacts. books
réf. PB7334 large loose gelatin silver photographs from ca. 23 x 23 cm 9 x 9 in to 20 x 15.5 cm 8 x 6 in. Two photos captioned in negative; over 20 images with period pencil captions on verso; two photos with period typewritten captions on verso; four photos with “Signal Corps US Army Official Photograph” stamps on verso. One photo with a small tear but overall a very good collection of strong interesting photos. An interesting collection of photographs of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska shortly before and during World War II. Eleven photographs are of Unalaska. They include views of the city before the war Holy Ascension of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Cathedral Dutch Harbour Captain’s Bay and several naval ships docked at the city’s port. They also include photos of an old Japanese schooner used for seal poaching and a barabara a traditional Aleut house. Four photographs are views of Biorka Village a former Aleut settlement on Sedanka Island off the coast of Unalaska Island. The village was destroyed during World War II and while several attempts were made to resettle by the 1950s it was abandoned. The photographs show a Russian Orthodox church and several residences. Five photographs show Attu Island the western-most island of Alaska. Attu along with Kiska Island was invaded and occupied by the Japanese in 1942. Attu Village situated on Chichagof Harbour had yet to be evacuated by the time of the invasion and as a result Attu residents were imprisoned in Japan. In 1943 the US began their operation to recapture Attu Battle of Attu 11-30 May 1943. US forces made amphibious landings at northern and southern points on the eastern half of the island and eventually managed to drive Japanese defenders to Chichagof Harbour. The battle ended after a banzai charge led to brutal hand-to-hand combat where nearly all Japanese soldiers were killed. Most of these photographs are stamped on verso with “Signal Corps US Army Official Photograph” “Confidential” and “Secret.” One photograph is an aerial view of Chichagof Harbour. The other four show US troops during the operation including their camps leftover trenches and the “4th Inf moving to the front.” Several photographs are of other locations in Alaska. Three photographs show environs of Juneau Mendenall Lake and Glacier Duck Creek Auk Bay. Three photographs are views of Denali Mt. McKinley. Other photographs show Ketchikan Tongass National Forest on Admiralty Island Akutan Island and a “mountain village.” Other photographs in the collection include views from British Columbia and Yukon “Cathedral & Chapel MTs.” “Miles Canyon & Golden Horn MT. Yukon” “Telephoto of Llewellyn Glacier”. Overall an interesting collection showing the Aleutian Islands and Alaska just before and during World War II. unknown
