See letters, photographs and other ephemera from two of Seattle's early families.
Wedding Invitation of Orion O. Denny and Narcissa Latimer, March 31, 1889
Narcissa Latimer married Orion Denny on March 31, 1889. Orion was the son of Arthur and Mary Denny and first white male born in Seattle. He served as president of the Denny Clay Company.
Identifier: spl_lj_071
Date: 1889-03-31
View this item"Monterey" gunboat in Port Orchard dry dock, ca. 1896
The Port Orchard Dry Dock mentioned in the caption is likely the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
Identifier: spl_lj_067
Date: 1896?
View this itemPearls
Frank Asakichi Kunishige was born in Japan on June 5, 1878. He came to the United States via San Francisco in 1895. After graduating from the Illinois College of Photography, he opened a small photography studio in San Francisco. Kunishige moved to Seattle in 1917. In the same year, he married Gin Kunishige and began working in the studio of Edward S. Curtis where he became acquainted with Ella McBride who he worked for in later years. Kunishige was well known for his use of Pictorialism, a popular painterly style of photography. He developed his photographs on "textura tissue," a paper of his own creation, which allowed him to produce almost dreamlike prints. His work was featured nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications such as Photo-Era and Seattle's Town Crier. In 1924, Kunishige became one of the founding members of the Seattle Camera Club, a group of local photographers including Kyo Koike, Yukio Morinaga, Iwao Matsushita and Fred Y. Ogasawara who gathered to share techniques and ideas, as well as their deep love of the medium. Although the group was initially solely Japanese, they soon welcomed more members including Ella McBride, their first female member. When World War II struck and the country's Japanese internment policy was put in place, Kunishige and his wife were forced to leave Seattle for Idaho where they were interned at the Minidoka camp. After their release, Kunishige spent two years working at a photography studio in Twin Falls, Idaho but eventually returned to Seattle due to his poor health. Frank Kunishige passed away on April 9, 1960.
Identifier: spl_art_367924_18
View this itemOrion and Narcissa Denny home, ca. 1890
Orion was the son of Arthur and Mary Denny and first white male born in Seattle. He served as president of the Denny Clay Company. In the 1890 City Directory, Orion Denny is listed at 1108 Seneca on the NW corner of Boren and Seneca. When his wife, Narcissa, died in 1900 her obituary mentioned that the couple at lived at the 1108 Seneca address for several years. In 1905, Denny constructed a larger mansion designed by Bebb & Mendel on the same street corner (which then went by the address 1204 Boren). It's possible that the home shown here is the home where Denny lived from approximately 1890-1905 before the newer mansion was constructed. The Bebb and Mendel mansion was torn down in 1972.
Identifier: spl_lj_055
Date: 1890?
View this itemArthur Bickford, ca. 1880
Photograph taken by L.E. Meason in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Clara Latimer Bickford was the daughter of Alexander and Sarah Latimer and sister of Narcissa Latimer Denny. She married Arthur Farrington Bickford in 1888 in Minnesota. They lived in Seattle from roughly 1892-1900 before moving to Oregon.
Identifier: spl_lj_037
Date: 1880?
View this itemCharlie Reynolds, ca. 1880
Charles Reynolds was the husband of Emma Chesney Latimer Reynolds, daughter of Alexander and Sarah Latimer and sister to Narcissa Latimer. Charles and Emma married in 1886 in Minnesota. The photograph was taken by T. Ordemann in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The 1890 Seattle City Directory lists Charles as a boarder at 1108 Seneca St., the home of Narcissa and Orion Denny.
Identifier: spl_lj_049
Date: 1880?
View this itemLetter from Arthur Goodwin to William Crowley regarding the Tacoma Public Market, February 19, 1927
Letter from Arthur Goodwin to William Crowley thanking him for his interest in his newly constructed Tacoma Public Market. Goodwin invites Crowley to the opening of the market and expresses his hopes that his own book on public markets will soon be published.
Identifier: spl_sh_00046
Date: 1927-02-19
View this itemMunicipal News v. 55, no. 21, Dec. 13, 1965
Identifier: spl_mn_818362_55_21
Date: 1965-12-13
View this itemBlack Queen, ca. 1921
Frank Asakichi Kunishige was born in Japan on June 5, 1878. He came to the United States via San Francisco in 1895. After graduating from the Illinois College of Photography, he opened a small photography studio in San Francisco. Kunishige moved to Seattle in 1917. In the same year, he married Gin Kunishige and began working in the studio of Edward S. Curtis where he became acquainted with Ella McBride who he worked for in later years. Kunishige was well known for his use of Pictorialism, a popular painterly style of photography. He developed his photographs on "textura tissue," a paper of his own creation, which allowed him to produce almost dreamlike prints. His work was featured nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications such as Photo-Era and Seattle's Town Crier. In 1924, Kunishige became one of the founding members of the Seattle Camera Club, a group of local photographers including Kyo Koike, Yukio Morinaga, Iwao Matsushita and Fred Y. Ogasawara who gathered to share techniques and ideas, as well as their deep love of the medium. Although the group was initially solely Japanese, they soon welcomed more members including Ella McBride, their first female member. When World War II struck and the country's Japanese internment policy was put in place, Kunishige and his wife were forced to leave Seattle for Idaho where they were interned at the Minidoka camp. After their release, Kunishige spent two years working at a photography studio in Twin Falls, Idaho but eventually returned to Seattle due to his poor health. Frank Kunishige passed away on April 9, 1960.
Identifier: spl_art_367924_15
Date: 1921
View this itemUnknown man in Minneapolis, Minnesota, ca. 1880
Photograph taken in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Identifier: spl_lj_035
Date: 1880?
View this item