Same-Sex Affection and Gender Studies Photograph Collection, ca. 1850s-1940s
approximately 150 photographs
approximately 150 photographs
The collection includes photographic examples in multiple formats with real photo postcards, tintypes, cabinet cards, cartes de visite, and small format mounted photos being the most numerous. 145 images are contained in Box 1 of the collection while an additional 5 photographs on larger format card mounts are stored in Box 2. Images mainly consist of portraits of men posing familiarly with other men, women posing familiarly with other women, and portraits of groups and individuals engaged in cross-dressing. Due to the subjective nature of assessing these images combined with historical differences in what was considered socially acceptable displays of affection and the general lack of verifiable context, many of these photographs remain open to a variety of interpretations.
Numerous photographs show same-sex duos and larger groups holding hands, placing their hands on each other, leaning on each other, or demonstrating affection in some other observable way. Most subjects are unidentified, though occasionally individuals have been identified through the presence of inscriptions. In some cases, individuals pictured together have been confirmed to be relatives.
Numerous photographs of male and female individuals and groups engaged in cross-dressing are also present. In many instances, the cross-dressing most likely occurred for humorous reasons.
approximately 150 photographs
18 photographs
The photographs are stored in plastic sleeves and kept in a black vinyl-covered ringed notebook (38.5 x 32 cm). Five of the images are 30 x 35.5 cm while the other thirteen are 20.5 x 25.5 cm. The photographs in this collection detail important aspects of the Schafer Brothers Logging Company’s development as an enterprise. At least four of the photographs were taken by Clark Kinsey. Other attributed photographers include Anderson Photo., Jones Co., H. C. Nelson, E. A. Smith, K. S. Brown, and Stan Spiegle. Certain photographs bearing the stamp of K. S. Brown appear to possibly be copies of other photographers’ work that was reproduced at a later date.
The 30 x 35.5 cm images include the following:
1) Outdoor group portrait of seven men working in the woods in Brady, Washington; photograph by Clark Kinsey, No. 44 (ink signature on verso: Carl A. Schafer)
2) Outdoor group portrait of numerous company employees including many Native American men from the Quinault Reservation; “No. 1 Schafer Lumber Co.”; (ink signature on verso: Carl A. Schafer)
3) Outdoor group portrait of numerous company employees at a company picnic observing logrolling contest; “Schafer Bros. Annual picnic Aug 14 / 27”; photograph by Clark Kinsey, No. 51 (ink signature on verso: Carl A. Schafer)
4) Outdoor view of a 41-ton Heisler geared steam locomotive, the company’s first locomotive, with crew; “Schafer Bros. Logging Co. Brady, Wn.”; photograph by Clark Kinsey, No. 48; (ink signature on verso: Albert Schafer)
5) Outdoor group portrait of 17 log foremen; “Schafer Bros. Log Foreman [sic] # 91”; photograph by Clark Kinsey, No. 91; (ink signature on verso: John D. Schafer)
The 20.5 x 25.5 cm images include the following:
6) Ca. 1899 view of the Schafer family home built in 1895 showing members of the Schafer and Mueller families (related through Anna Schafer’s first marriage) [includes touchups made directly onto the photograph with a marker]; (photographer’s stamp on verso: Copy Negative No. 7470 K. S. Brown Photo Kenwood 1921 6838 - 32nd N.E. Seattle, Wash.)
7) Outdoor group portrait of several members of the Schafer, Mueller, and Comfort families with horse-drawn carts, dogs, and homestead visible in background [includes touchups made directly onto the photograph with a marker]; “Old Homestead”; (stamp on verso: Copy Negative No. 7473 K. S. Brown Photo Kenwood 1921 6838 - 32nd N.E. Seattle, Wash.)
8) Outdoor group portrait of several men including the Schafer brothers with crew members, two of which are entirely illustrated through negative retouching, and a team of oxen while posing with tools near noteworthy logging harvest; “Aug 21-1901 30 x 84 = 7000 Schafer Bros. Logging Co.”; (stamp on verso: Copy Negative No. 7543 K. S. Brown Photo Kenwood 1921 6838 - 32nd N.E. Seattle, Wash.)
9) Outdoor view showing team of oxen hauling trees to the river with Peter Schafer (at right holding goad stick), Roy Gill (at center riding bull), and another individual [includes touchups made directly onto the photograph with a marker]; (stamp on verso: No. 14647 The Jones Photo Co. Aberdeen, Washington)
10) LOCATED BEHIND #9; Outdoor view showing team of oxen hauling trees to the river with Peter Schafer (at right holding goad stick), Roy Gill (at center riding bull), and another individual; “Preacher Slough Sep 6 - 1897 Peter Schafer”; (stamp on verso: Copy Negative No. 7466 K. S. Brown Photo Kenwood 1921 6838 - 32nd N.E. Seattle, Wash.)
11) Outdoor view showing August Maas, Peter Schafer, and Hubert Schafer operating one of the company’s first steam donkeys [includes touchups made directly onto the photograph with a marker]; “Schafer Bros. Log Co. on Satsop”; photograph by E. A. Smith; (stamp on verso: Copy Negative No. 7475 K. S. Brown Photo Kenwood 1921 6838 - 32nd N.E. Seattle, Wash.)
12) Outdoor view showing a steam donkey railroad operation hoisting and loading logs; (stamp on verso: No. 17371 The Jones Photo Co. Aberdeen, Washington Jun 27 1940)
13) Outdoor group portrait showing in order of appearance from left to right: Hyasman (first name possibly George; Native American), Hubert Schafer, Albert Schafer, Ed Kesterson, Herman Mueller, Ben Kesterson, and John Minkler standing on a logjam in the Satsop River in 1898 [includes touchups made directly onto the photograph with a marker]; (stamp on verso: Copy Negative No. 7474 K. S. Brown Photo Kenwood 1921 6838 - 32nd N.E. Seattle, Wash.)
14) Outdoor view showing an enormous logjam on the Satsop River ca. 1907 with a group of workers posing in foreground [includes touchups made directly onto the photograph with a marker]; “Schafer Bros. 3000000 ft. in the River”; photograph by H. C. Nelson; (stamp on verso: Copy Negative No. 7471 K. S. Brown Photo Kenwood 1921 6838 - 32nd N.E. Seattle, Wash.)
15) Outdoor view showing lumber staging area on water; “140 Fir Peeler logs selected for wide Veneer or Plywood stock. Schafer Brothers Logging Co. Montesano, Wash.”; photograph by Anderson Photo. ; (stamp on verso: Anderson Photo 119 E. Heron St. Aberdeen, Wash.) (ink signature on verso: Paul A. Schafer)
16) Outdoor view showing large group of people gathered for company picnic; “Schafer Bros. Picnic Everybody Eat”; photograph by Anderson Photo. ; (stamp on verso: Anderson Photo 119 E. Heron St. Aberdeen, Wash.) (ink signature on verso: Paul A. Schafer)
17) Outdoor view of stone monument at entrance to Schafer State Park with large metal plaque that reads: Honoring the Memory of John D. & Anna Schafer Pioneers of 1871 This Park is Dedicated by Their Sons Peter, Hubert and Albert in 1924; “#14”; (stamp on verso: No. 15774 The Jones Photo Co. Aberdeen, Washington Jul 1938)
18) Outdoor view showing a man standing on a dirt path in the woods staring up at the trees; (stamp on verso: Reproduction Rights Reserved by Stan Spiegle Aberdeen, Washington)
107 photographs in 1 album
The Schlegelmilch family cottage photograph album contains 107 photographs related to the Schlegelmilch family vacation home on a wooded island or point (likely on a lake in Wisconsin) including views of natural scenery, Schlegelmilch family members and cottage guests, and various recreational activities taken during the late 1890s to 1920. The album (18 x 27 cm) is half bound in tan leather with four rivets along the edge. Images of interest include scenic views of the lake, cottage exterior, and surrounding forested area; views of cottage visitors boating, gathering on the veranda and indoors for meals, swimming, using rifles for target practice, fishing, picnicking, and taking part in outdoor excursions; a posed portrait of people holding musical instruments, a fishing net, and a megaphone; photographs of boats including small steamboats or lake ferries, a sailboat, and a large canoe holding 13 passengers; interior views of the cottage during winter; and two photographs of Native Americans including a family sitting outside of a wigwam shelter and a group portrait dated 1901 showing two people sitting in a wallpapered interior with a beaded bandolier bag hanging from the wall behind and a small animal pelt on the shelf.
Cottage visitors identified by handwritten captions include: Agnes Barland, Mable Welke, Isabel Rutherford, Gordon Barland, H. F. Schlegelmilch, L. Schlegelmilch, Jennie Dunnigan, and Lillian Dunnigan.
79 photographs in 1 album
Seven Mile Funeral Cortège of Genl. Grant in New York August 8, 1885, contains 79 photographs documenting the death and funeral of Ulysses S. Grant.
The album (38 x 47 cm) is bound in brown leather with “Seven Mile Funeral Cortege of Genl. Grant in New York August 8, 1885” stamped in gold on the front cover. The album was published by the U.S. Instantaneous Photographic Co. in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1886. The album begins with portraits of Grant and various family members before delving into scenes from “General Grant’s Last Days” at Mount McGregor, New York, and subsequent funeral preparations. Numerous images show scenes from the day of Grant’s funeral including views of the catafalque and funeral parade through New York City. Many images exhibit signs of extensive manipulation through retouching and montage work. Also of interest is a page in the middle of the album explaining how the U.S. Instantaneous Photographic Company would be placing albums at several hotels around New England “for free inspection of the public” while admitting “first-class advertisements” at premium costs.
79 photographs in 1 album
25 postcards, 1 albumen print, and 1 platinum print
The Sophie Toclanny Photograph Collection consists of 25 postcards (including 15 real photo postcards and 10 color printed cards) and 2 photographic prints, the majority of which were sent by Chiricahua Apache woman Sophie Toclanny to a white American family living in Pennsylvania in the early twentieth century.
The collection contains postcards and photographs sent by Sophie to the family of George K. (1870-1937) and Susan E. Geiser (1871-1939) living at 731 Moss St., Reading, Pennsylvania. It is unclear how Sophie came to know the Geiser family; it is possible that she made their acquaintance through either of her first two husbands, both of whom graduated from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Her messages to the Geiser family indicate that she had a close, ongoing relationship with them. Sophie inquires about Geiser family members including their son William “Bill” G. Geiser (1891-1924), refers to gifts she is sending them such as a traditional Apache cradleboard, and expresses dismay that they are not writing her as often as she would like. One undated real photo postcard bears an image originally taken by Edward Bates of an unidentified Comanche woman carrying a child in a cradleboard; Sophie's message states that “They [the Comanche] dress all to gather [sic] different from the way we dress. I am sending you one of my self in Indian dress too.” In another undated real photo postcard showing another Bates photo captioned “Apache Babe and Cradle”, Sophie writes that she is “sending you a cradle like the Apache make for their babies. On this card a real one. This was taken out in their hay camp. I am so sorry that I was so long in sending it. But hope you will like it.” A number of postcards show wear or damage on the corners, suggesting that they were likely kept in an album for some period of time.
Sophie identifies herself and other family members in several of the real photo postcards. In one photograph showing six people posing on rocks near a dam waterfall on the Mescalero Reservation, Sophie identifies herself as the individual at left “sitting down by my little sister.” The young girl in this photograph is likely Sophie’s younger sister Edith, while the “married sister” standing at right is likely Emma. Both Edith and Emma appear in multiple photographs. Unidentified individuals in the family photos include an uncle, a cousin, the husband of said cousin, and a white woman who apparently married another one of Sophie’s uncles.
Other items of particular interest include postcards with images of Apache camps in Oklahoma and New Mexico; the Apache mission at Fort Sill; the funeral of Comanche chief Quanah Parker; portraits of Indian families (including a group portrait of a Sac & Fox family by W. H. Martin), mothers, and women; and portraits of famous Native American chiefs including Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Eagle Feather, and Red Cloud. The Red Cloud postcard bears the message “From a friend you have forgotten. But she never will forget you. Ft Sill Friend.”, while the Geronimo postcard reads “I received the pretty card to-day. I was glad to get it. So in return I thought I will send you one of Geronimo. I guess you all heard of him. What ever became of William. How is little girl now. From Sophie.” The postcards bearing images of Red Cloud, Eagle Feather, and Sitting Bull are all based on reproductions of original paintings by L. Peterson that were photographed and copyrighted by H. H. Tammen in the early twentieth century. Other color printed postcards include images of Pueblo Indians selling pottery, a Pueblo Indian infant, an Indian camp scene at the 101 Ranch in Bliss, Oklahoma, and an illustrated scene of an Indian woman going over a waterfall in a canoe titled “Red Man’s Fact.”
One color printed postcard bearing a portrait of Mohawk chief Bright Canoe was produced in the 1960s and thus could not have been included by Sophie.
Several real photo postcards include photographs taken by Edward Bates (1858-1941). Based in Lawton, Oklahoma, Bates took numerous portraits of Native Americans living at nearby Fort Sill. Bates is known to have produced at least one portrait of Edith Toclanny, and it is possible that he photographed other members of the Toclanny family.
25 postcards, 1 albumen print, and 1 platinum print
1 volume
This photograph album (31cm x 23cm) contains 105 pictures taken during the World's Columbian Exposition (World's Fair) in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893. The title Views of the World's Fair is stamped in gold on the front cover, along with an image of the Statue of the Republic. A second title, World's Fair Photographs, Including Views of the New Jersey Educational Exhibit, is printed on the first page. With the exception of two larger prints, items are pasted two to a page, above manuscript captions.
The album includes a group of rare interior views of the displays in the Liberal Arts Building. Featured are the New Jersey educational exhibit, the packing of displays after the fair's closure; views of international cultural exhibits; statues, and artifact displays. The majority of the album is comprised of more common exterior views of the exposition's large thematic and individual state pavilions. Many of the main structures, such as the Administration Building, Liberal Arts Building, Electricity Building, and the Palace of Mechanical Arts, are shown from a variety of perspectives, along with smaller structures representing many U.S. states.
Also shown are views of the nautical vessels displayed at the fair including the replica battleship USS Illinois, a replica of Columbus's Santa Maria, a replica Viking ship, and the fair's gondolas and similar smaller boats. Photographs of the Wooded Island and the Midway Plaisance also appear in the album. Of particular note are the pictures of ethnographic displays including Native American shelters and a group of "Dahomey Villagers." A series of photos taken on "Chicago Day," October 9, 1893, shows the crowds that set the world record for outdoor event attendance.
approximately 242 photographs in 5 albums, 13 loose photographs, and 2 pieces of realia
The Thomas M. Bridges Crow Creek and Fort Hall Reservations collection contains approximately 242 photographs in 5 albums, 13 loose photographs, a Catlinite pipe bowl, and a ball headed war club. These materials were associated with Dr. Thomas Miller Bridges, a physician and surgeon who was employed on Native American reservations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Photographs
Volume 1: This album (18.5 x 29.5 cm) has pebbled black faux leather covers with “Photographs” stamped in gold on the front and contains 51 photographs, all of which pertain to Crow Creek Reservation and primarily date to ca. 1892-1896. Detailed printed captions have been cut and pasted beneath every image in the album. Several captions have dates that were crossed out for unknown reasons. A handful of images also have numbers inscribed next to them. It is uncertain who took the majority of these photographs, though at least one photograph included in this album (a studio portrait of “White Ghost,” Yanktonai chief) has shown up elsewhere on mounts produced by a photographer based in Chamberlain, South Dakota, named H. B. Perry. It is possible that Perry produced a substantial number of the photographs in this album. Dr. Bridges may have also contributed many photographs.
Volume 2:This album (18 x 30 cm) has pebbled black leather covers and contains 5 photographs. While no captions or dates are provided, most of these images were likely taken ca. 1910. Four of the images are outdoor group portraits that appear to have been taken during a lakeside cottage trip to an unidentified location, possibly somewhere near Idaho Falls or Yellowstone National Park. A young girl (likely Berenice Bridges) appears in three photos wearing a white dress, while Dr. Bridges likely appears in two photos sporting a long beard. Several other unidentified individuals (likely including Maggie and Anna Lee Bridges) are also present in these images. The fifth photograph in this album is a group portrait of four unidentified individuals, including three Native American people (two older adults and one child) and a white woman, standing outside of a tipi.
Volume 3: This album (19 x 26 cm) has red string-bound cloth covers with “Photographs” stamped in gold on the front cover and contains 47 photographs, the majority of which document aspects of Fort Hall Reservation and primarily date to ca. 1896-1899. Detailed printed captions have been cut and pasted beneath most images in the album. A handful of images also have numbers inscribed next to them. While some images may have been produced by Dr. Bridges himself, many of these photographs (especially images from regions outside of Fort Hall Reservation) were likely taken by other photographers.
Volume 4: This album (23 x 26 cm) was produced by the Eastman Kodak Company and has string-bound black cloth covers with “Photographs” embossed in gold on the front cover. It contains 85 photographs, the majority of which document aspects of Fort Hall Reservation and primarily date to ca. 1896-1899. Detailed printed captions have been cut and pasted beneath many images in the album. Dr. Bridges possibly produced all or most of these images and captions himself.
Volume 5: This album (18 x 29 cm) has black pebbled faux leather covers and contains 54 photographs primarily related to Fort Hall Reservation ca. 1896-1899. Detailed printed captions often including sequential numbers have been cut and pasted beneath most images in the album. Some album pages have missing photographs with captions still present. Dr. Bridges may have produced many of these images and captions himself.
Loose Images: Also present are 13 loose photographs. Items of interest include an unmounted photographic reproduction of a ca. 1880 lithograph depicting a group of Native Americans preparing a scaffold burial with a typed caption on the verso reading “Scaffold burial, as practiced by the Crow Indians, elevating the corpse to the scaffold. (Copied by permission, from the 1st annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology)”; an unmounted group portrait of several Mohave people including two women and seven children; an unmounted portrait of an unidentified Native American man seated outside of a dwelling made of mud and straw captioned “An old time medicine man and his hut”; an unmounted group portrait taken outside a Fort Hall Reservation building captioned “School House, teacher & pupils at Ross Fork”; an unmounted view of a building captioned “Fort Hall. Location. The old adobes”; a studio portrait of an adult Anna Lee Bridges wearing a nurses uniform taken by F. R. Lambrecht, likely ca. 1918; and a studio portrait of Berenice Bridges as a child.
Realia
The first piece of realia is a pipe bowl (7.5 x 3.5 x 3 cm) made from Catlinite that likely dates to the 1850s and is most probably of Lakota/Dakota origin.
The second piece of realia is a ball headed war club (54 x 15 x 6 cm) that likely dates to the 1860s and is most probably of Lakota/Dakota origin. The club is made entirely of carved wood. The ball head is painted black and is lacking a spike while the main body is decorated with brass upholstery tacks on one side.
Both of these items were likely acquired by Dr. Bridges as a result of his personal interest in Native American material culture.
approximately 242 photographs in 5 albums, 13 loose photographs, and 2 pieces of realia
1 volume
The Tourist photograph album (15 x 21 cm) contains approximately 245 pictures from around the Southwest and Midwest United States taken by an unknown photographer around the turn of the 20th century. Southwest photographs include mission churches in California and New Mexico, rock formations, cliff dwellings at Canyon de Chelly and Mesa Verde, Balanced Rock in the Garden of the Gods, and a pueblo. Several photographs feature Native Americans, including: women with traditional squash blossom hair styles; a man carrying a small child in a sling on his back; a woman in a shop with baskets, wool and dry goods; a woman seated in front of a loom with partially finished cloth; a man sitting in a white-washed interior with skeins of wool, holding a spindle with a hand carder at his feet. One photograph shows mummified human remains posed next to a bottle of whiskey and skull, indicating likely tomb desecration. Also included are unidentified Southwestern streets, beach scenes, and the storefront of J.M. Archuleta in Colorado. Midwest photos include images of the Palace of Fine Arts (Museum of Science and Industry) in Chicago, Mackinac Island, the Marquette Monument in St. Ignace, Soo Locks, and the Great Lakes steamer North Land, and a lake and cottage. The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and the SS Chief Wawatam are also pictured. Many photographs are significantly faded. Some manuscript captions are included.
The album includes two cyanotypes and a postcard with a cartoon satirizing the Brigham Young's polygamy.
The album has a half bound pebbled leather cover and is stored in a three-part wrap with brown cloth spine.
approximately 70 photographs in 1 album & 6 loose photographs
The Traveling circus photograph album contains approximately 70 photographs plus 6 additional loose images related to traveling performers. The album (14.5 x 21 cm) has black paper covers, and some photographs include handwritten captions. Images include group portraits of a dancing group called "Philip's Girls"; performers in costume for a performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin by Mason Bros.; the Mason Bros. band outside of a circus tent; the interior of a tent with folding chairs; a makeshift stage set up in a grocer's storefront; members of "Baylors Comedians"; the exterior of the Waverly Hippodrome labeled, "Empire Players, Lansing Park Theatre, 1917"; and people relaxing at the beach posing with swimwear and automobiles. One loose image (mount 21 x 26 cm) shows a group of six performers in costume including a clown, a devil, a cowboy, and a man in blackface standing in front of a horse-drawn wagon.
approximately 70 photographs in 1 album & 6 loose photographs
approximately 245 photographs
Works by approximately 145 different traveling photographers are present in this collection and include cartes de visite, cabinet cards, stereographs, tintypes, and a small number of larger format images. For many of these photographers there is only a single example of their work included in the collection. Locations of operation include a wide range of regions across the United States, with eastern states such as Pennsylvania being particularly well-represented. Most of these photographs are typical individual and group portraits of men, women, and children.
The collection has been divided into two volumes. Volume 1 contains cartes de visite and tintypes while Volume 2 contains cabinet cards, stereographs, and a few other images with larger mounts of varying sizes. Volume 1 also includes two clippings and one photocopied page from an article about traveling photographers written by Eaton S. Lothrop, Jr., for Popular Photography magazine as part of his "Time Exposure" column series.
Other items of interest include 14 tintypes including a group portrait taken at the Algonquin Bon Ton Tent by W. H. Pearce and a miniature tintype produced by Douglass’ Travelling Car (Vol 1); several photographs with revenue stamps; and 10 cartes de visite by C. G. Blatt, including three items containing humorous poetry in their backstamps (Vol 1); a stereograph view of "the old Block House at Annapolis Royal" by the Palace R.R. Photograph Car Co. (Vol 2); a stereograph view of Bridgewater, Vermont (Vol 2); a stereograph view of the "Steam Packet 'Minnesota' at Hastings [Minnesota] (Vol 2); a portrait of a pet pug taken by Will. H. McMillan, R. R. Palace Photo Car that bears an inscribed caption reading: “For my dear ‘Missis’ from her Devoted ‘Brownie’” (Vol 2); a group portrait of a man and women taken by Keil & Matula with an inscribed caption reading “Czechlovakia Couple Fayetteville, TX” (Vol 2); several portraits of children that appear to show hidden mothers in the background; two studio portraits of unidentified individuals produced by Civil War veteran turned photographer Capt. J. B. Shane (Vol 2); a number of photographs that appear to be copies of earlier images, including a portrait of a man produced by the Hutchings Railroad Photo Car bearing an inscribed caption reading: “Copied from original” (Vol 2); and a possible self portrait of photographer Abel J. Whalen on a mount stamped "Whalen's 'Accommodation' Photo. Car."
The following lists contain names of photographers represented in the collection as well as the total number of images included for each photographer: