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| Title | Western Union messengers on bicycles, Seattle, 1937 |
| Photographer | Staff Photographer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
| Date | 1937 |
| Caption | Before long-distance telephones, fax machines and the internet became so widespread in the late 20th century, the quickest way to send a message was by telegraph. Messages came in by wire to the local Western Union telegraph office, and uniformed messengers delivered written or printed copies to homes and businesses. In Seattle and other cities, Western Union messengers generally delivered telegrams by bicycle.
This 1937 photo shows six Western Union messengers and their bicycles in downtown Seattle. They are standing on the sidewalk in front of the telegraph office at 113 Cherry Street. The messengers are Tom Chaffee, Abbott Van Hise, William Riley, Ralph Weller, Everett Olds, and Charles Biggs. |
| Notes | Caption by MOHAI staff.
Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): June 27, 1937. |
| Subjects | Messengers--Washington (State)--Seattle; Bicycles & tricycles--Washington (State)--Seattle; Telegraph offices--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Places | United States--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Digital Collection | Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection |
| Image Number | PI21632 |
| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions contact photos@mohai.org or phone us at 206-324-1126. Please refer to the Image Number and provide a brief description of the photograph. |
| Credit Line | Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle; All Rights Reserved |
| Repository | Museum of History & Industry, Seattle (MOHAI) |
| Repository Collection | Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection |
| Type | Image |
| Physical Description | 1 nitrate negative: b&w; 4 x 5 in. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from print made from original negative as a 3000 pixel TIFF image in 8-bit grayscale, resized to 640 pixels in the longest dimension and compressed into JPEG format using Photoshop 6.0 and its JPEG quality measurement 3. |
