Photograph Album - Alaska Gold Rush Photographs

GEORGE G. (PHOTOGRAPHER) CANTWELL

Publication: George G Cantwell, nd, ca 1905, Valdez, Alaska, ca 1905

Seven 6 1/2" x 8 1/2" silver gelatin photographs, with photographer's imprint within the negative of each print and with most photographs with captions. Collection of photos presented in archival mylar sleeves and housed in recent cloth post-binder, with title in gilt on front cover. A set of original photographs documenting the conditions of transporting supplies, mail, and prospectors during the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush at the beginning of the 20th Century. Three of the photographs show the stark snowy conditions of the 2600 foot-high pass in the Chugach Mountains northeast of Valdez, Alaska, which for the most part operated only in summer. However, these images by Cantwell show a wayside station and freight piled nearby, horse & mule teams drawing sleds next to canvas tented cabins, and finally a whole pack train strung out along a ridge at the top of the Pass. One of the photos shows a four-horse team freight wagon drawing several passengers swaddled in furs, probably for the Orr Stage Company, along with an additional image of a four-horse team sleigh with lettering on the side for the Ed. S. Orr & Co. Fairbanks - Valdes Carriage sleigh with passengers swathed in furs, and freight tied to the back. Photos titled, Winter Trail Near Ptarmigan Drop; Summit of Thompson's Pass; Near Thompson Pass Summit; U.S. Mail in Keystone Canon, Valdez, Alaska; The Narrows - Teikhell Canon; etc. The Orr Stage Co. was one of the first businesses to carry passengers and freight over the Valdez-Fairbanks Trail, and set up roadhouse stations along the trail, with travelers changed from six-horse stages to double-ender sleds pulled over the Isabel Pass. George G. Cantwell was a Puyallup, Washington, photographer who by 1898 was working with E.A. Hegg, working on the S.S. Columbia on the Yukon River as photographer in 1901, partnered with Atwood taking Alaskan mining photos, photos of freighters, packers up the Chilkoot Pass, and even series of underground flashlight photos. After 1910, he leaves Valdez, moves back to Kapowsin, Washington, and later becomes a taxidermist in Los Angeles for the Natural History Museum. These images are not present in George G. Cantwell Photograph Collection at the University of Washington. Minor creasing and light toning to photos along with a couple photos with minor closed tears. Pictures with bright strong contrast. Very good.

Inventory Number: 48635