Arthur C. Pillsbury Collection | The Seattle Public Library
  • Prospectors on beach in Nome, Alaska, October 3, 1899

    Prospectors on beach in Nome, Alaska, October 3, 1899

    Pillsbury, Arthur C. (Arthur Clarence)

    The men in the photo are employing a method known as "cradling." Prospectors would shovel gravel onto the top of a "cradle" or "rocker" box and rock it back and forth to sift through the gravel through to the lower levels and, if they were lucky, reveal gold. One of these boxes can be seen at the right of the photo. Gold was discovered in the area in the summer of 1898. Prospectors rushed to stake claims and Nome's population quickly ballooned to 10,000 people. In 1899, more gold was discovered on beaches near the town and spurred an even greater rush of visitors. By 1900, an estimated 1000 people a day were arriving in Nome. Pillsbury took some of the first available photographs of the city. Following his departure, the winter conditions made it too difficult for others to reach the area. The same photograph appeared in the June 1900 issue of Harper's Weekly. An illustration based on the photograph appeared in the June 1900 of McClure's Magazine.

    Identifier: spl_ap_00180

    Date: 1899-10-03

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  • Hamadryad, ca. 1924

    Hamadryad, ca. 1924

    Kunishige, Frank A.

    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_20

    Date: 1924

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  • Girls on Space Needle observation deck, 1962

    Girls on Space Needle observation deck, 1962

    Gulacsik, George, 1923-2010

    Identifier: spl_gg_72310014

    Date: 1962

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  • Spanish artist at Nookta

    Spanish artist at Nookta

    McAllister, Parker S. (1903-1970)

    Parker McAllister, born in 1903 in Massachusetts, was a Seattle Times artist from 1924 to 1965. McAllister started his career as an illustrator at 14 for a Spokane publication; he joined the art staff at the Seattle Times in 1920. His first Sunday magazine cover was a poster-type illustration celebrating the University of Washington crew races in spring 1924. During McAllister's career, he created illustrations depicting “local color” events and situations now routinely handled by photographers. As the technology improved, he expanded his repertoire - he illustrated articles, drew covers for special sections and the weekly Seattle Sunday Times Magazine, and drew diagrams, comics, cartoons, and portraits for the Times’ editorial page. In 1956, an exhibition of his watercolor and oil paintings of Pacific Northwest scenes and historical incidents - including some paintings from the “Discovery of the Pacific Northwest” series - were exhibited at the Washington State Historical Society Museum in Tacoma. He was also a member of the Puget Sound Group of Men Painters. McAllister retired from the Seattle Times in 1965; he passed away in Arizona in 1970.

    Identifier: spl_art_291985_16.155

    Date: 1955

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  • Juan de Fuca's Pillar

    Juan de Fuca's Pillar

    McAllister, Parker S. (1903-1970)

    Parker McAllister, born in 1903 in Massachusetts, was a Seattle Times artist from 1924 to 1965. McAllister started his career as an illustrator at 14 for a Spokane publication; he joined the art staff at the Seattle Times in 1920. His first Sunday magazine cover was a poster-type illustration celebrating the University of Washington crew races in spring 1924. During McAllister's career, he created illustrations depicting “local color” events and situations now routinely handled by photographers. As the technology improved, he expanded his repertoire - he illustrated articles, drew covers for special sections and the weekly Seattle Sunday Times Magazine, and drew diagrams, comics, cartoons, and portraits for the Times’ editorial page. In 1956, an exhibition of his watercolor and oil paintings of Pacific Northwest scenes and historical incidents - including some paintings from the “Discovery of the Pacific Northwest” series - were exhibited at the Washington State Historical Society Museum in Tacoma. He was also a member of the Puget Sound Group of Men Painters. McAllister retired from the Seattle Times in 1965; he passed away in Arizona in 1970.

    Identifier: spl_art_291985_17.172

    Date: 1954

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  • Interior of Chief Lot's home, Wrangell, Alaska, ca. 1899

    Interior of Chief Lot's home, Wrangell, Alaska, ca. 1899

    Pillsbury, Arthur C. (Arthur Clarence)

    Identifier: spl_ap_00103

    Date: 1899?

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  • Municipal News v. 55, no. 16, Sep. 27, 1965

    Municipal News v. 55, no. 16, Sep. 27, 1965

    Identifier: spl_mn_818362_55_16

    Date: 1965-09-27

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  • Nude

    Nude

    Kunishige, Frank A.

    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_07

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  • Flying kites

    Flying kites

    Moller, L.H.

    Identifier: spl_art_M736Fl

    Date: 1934

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  • Peter Puget and the Puget Sound Indians

    Peter Puget and the Puget Sound Indians

    McAllister, Parker S. (1903-1970)

    Parker McAllister, born in 1903 in Massachusetts, was a Seattle Times artist from 1924 to 1965. McAllister started his career as an illustrator at 14 for a Spokane publication; he joined the art staff at the Seattle Times in 1920. His first Sunday magazine cover was a poster-type illustration celebrating the University of Washington crew races in spring 1924. During McAllister's career, he created illustrations depicting “local color” events and situations now routinely handled by photographers. As the technology improved, he expanded his repertoire - he illustrated articles, drew covers for special sections and the weekly Seattle Sunday Times Magazine, and drew diagrams, comics, cartoons, and portraits for the Times’ editorial page. In 1956, an exhibition of his watercolor and oil paintings of Pacific Northwest scenes and historical incidents - including some paintings from the “Discovery of the Pacific Northwest” series - were exhibited at the Washington State Historical Society Museum in Tacoma. He was also a member of the Puget Sound Group of Men Painters. McAllister retired from the Seattle Times in 1965; he passed away in Arizona in 1970.

    Identifier: spl_art_291985_17.163

    Date: 1956

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