One fascinating source of historic Alaska photos are the vacation albums created by past visitors. The Alaska State Library & Archives has several such albums donated by collectors and families of the original photographers. These provide a great cross section of historic Alaskan tourism, as well as a glimpse into the interests of the tourists (some photographed glaciers while others focused on wildlife and still others on industry).
An album from July of 1919 follows the journey of some newlyweds from Seattle to Southeast Alaska. Unfortunately the names of the couple is not known. They sailed on the steamship Admiral Evans, which made stops at the canneries in Funter Bay and nearby Hawk Inlet.
Courtesy of Alaska State Archives, Alaska Travel Photograph Album,1919, PCA 425-09
It’s not clear if the following photo of salmon on a cannery floor was taken at Funter or Hawk Inlet. Both canneries would have looked similar inside.
Courtesy of Alaska State Archives, Alaska Travel Photograph Album,1919, PCA 425-09
Courtesy of Alaska State Archives, Alaska Travel Photograph Album,1919, PCA 425-09
The next photo of the USS Marblehead is quite interesting. I mentioned the Marblehead’s anti-piracy visit and showed a postcard photo from a different angle in this post.
Courtesy of Alaska State Archives, Alaska Travel Photograph Album,1919, PCA 425-09
A newspaper article from Juneau mentioned the Marblehead that same month:
Getting back to the photo album, a wider view shows the cannery with native worker village on the right, and a denuded small island in the foreground (probably Gauge Is.)
Courtesy of Alaska State Archives, Alaska Travel Photograph Album,1919, PCA 425-09
A pair of photos show the young couple taking turns posing in the woods at Funter Bay:
Courtesy of Alaska State Archives, Alaska Travel Photograph Album,1919, PCA 425-09
Courtesy of Alaska State Archives, Alaska Travel Photograph Album,1919, PCA 425-09
And finally, a shipboard photo as the steamer left Funter Bay:
Courtesy of Alaska State Archives, Alaska Travel Photograph Album,1919, PCA 425-09
If anyone happens to recognize these people, I would love to hear about it!
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