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| Title | Group outside Skagway City Hall, possibly a meeting about gangster Soapy Smith, ca. 1898 |
| Photographer | Webster & Stevens |
| Date | ca. 1898 |
| Caption | Jeff Smith, nicknamed Soapy, was one of Skagway's most notorious con men. In 1898, he and his gang started to take advantage of those whose mind was on the gold rush. Their activities ranged from sending fake telegrams for gold seekers to robbery and murder. Skagway's business owners realized that their town was getting a bad reputation. Smith was killed in a shoot out in 1898, and his killer became a town celebrity.
This photo, probably taken in 1898, shows a group of men gathered outside the Skagway City Hall. The message scratched on the negative, "Soapy nix. It's the people", suggests that the meeting concerns con man Soapy Smith. |
| Notes | Written on photo: Soapy nix. It's the people
Original photograph: ca. 1898. Copied after 1902 by Webster & Stevens |
| Subjects | Gold rushes; Crowds; City & town halls |
| Personal Names | Smith, Jeff (Soapy) |
| Places | Skagway (Alaska) |
| Digital Collection | Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection |
| Image Number | 1983.10.13145 |
| 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.
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| Credit Line | PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle; All Rights Reserved
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| Repository | Museum of History & Industry, Seattle (MOHAI)
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| Repository Collection | PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection |
| Type | Image |
| Physical Description | 1 negative: glass, b&w; 8 x 10 in. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original negative using Epson Expression 10000XL as 4350 pixel TIFF image in 16-bit grayscale, resized to 700 pixels in the longest dimension and compressed into JPEG format using Photoshop CS4, JPEG quality measurement 5.
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