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Unveiling the totem pole at Pioneer Square, Seattle, 1899
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| Title | Unveiling the totem pole at Pioneer Square, Seattle, 1899 |
| Photographer | Wilse, Anders B. |
| Studio Location | United States--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Date | 1899 |
| Notes | The totem pole in Pioneer Square has been a Seattle landmark since 1899. That year, a group of Seattle businessmen visited Tongass, a Tlingit village in southeastern Alaska. They thought the village was deserted and removed a 50-foot tall totem pole as a souvenir. The men brought the pole back to Seattle and had it set up in Pioneer Square. They were later fined for the theft. The pole was originally created as a memorial to a woman of the Raven Clan. After rot and fire damaged the original pole, it was replaced in 1938 by a duplicate carved by Tlingit craftsmen. In this photo, taken in October 1899, a large crowd has gathered for the dedication of the totem pole.
Norwegian-born Anders Wilse moved to Seattle in 1890 to work as a surveyor and engineer. After photographing the building of the Great Northern Railway through the Cascades and working as a cartographer, Wilse turned to commercial photography in 1897. In 1900, Wilse left for a visit to Norway and never returned. (Carolyn J. Marr, "Anders Beer Wilse: Photographer of the Pacific Northwest and Norway." Columbia 8, no. 4 (Summer 1994): 24-29.) |
| Subjects | Tlingit Indians--Arts & Crafts; Crowds--Washington (State)--Seattle; Dedications--Washington (State)--Seattle; Totem poles--Alaska--Tongass; Totem poles--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Location Depicted | Washington (State)--Seattle--Pioneer Square |
| Object Type | Glass negatives |
| Physical Description | Glass negative; emulsion sulfiding, yellow discoloration |
| Negative Number | MOHAI 88.33.146 |
| Digital Collection | American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Images
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| Collection | Wilse Collection |
| Repository | Museum of History and Industry, Seattle
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| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction or inquire about permissions see:
http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/ordering.php
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| Acquisition | Gift; acc. no. 88.33.146 |
| Restrictions | http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/copyrights.html |
| Transmission Data | Image/JPEG |
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