Mountaineers catalog number: MTR.2014.1
Inventory notes for Boxes 1-3 by Sheila Mitchell, March 2014
Inventory notes for Box 4 by Lowell Skoog, April 7, 2014

BOX 1 of 4

CHELAN/GLACIER PEAK   1910

Inner Box 1, Slides  1-119 (incomplete)

108 lantern slides of the Mountaineers summer outing to Chelan and Glacier Peak.  Views of Union Station in Seattle, Lake Wenatchee, Chiwawa River, Buck Creek Pass, Glacier Peak, Sunset Mountain, Suiattle River, Richardson Pass, Cloud Pass, Lyman Lake and Railroad Creek.  Also includes a slide of L.D. Lindsley.

Physical notes:  some slides are in color.

SLIDES—CHELAN/GLACIER PEAK   1910

Inner Box 2, Slides 121-182 (incomplete)

59 lantern slides of the Mountaineers summer outing to Lake Chelan and Glacier Peak.  Views of Lake Chelan, Lucerne, the steamer Columbia, Columbia River, Entiat Mountains and Sauk River.

Physical notes:  some slides are in color. 

BOX 2 of 4

MOUNTAINEERS LOCAL OUTINGS ca 1941

Inner Box 1

157 slides, probably of Mountaineers local outings ca. 1914.  Includes views of groups of people rafting on a lake, Snoqualmie Lodge, Mount Rainier, the train station at Silver Lake, fishing boats, logging camps, beaches on Puget Sound, Skykomish Valley, Mt. Baring, Otter Falls, Silver Peak, Mt. Si, Mt. Lennox, Granite Falls and Monte Cristo. 

Physical notes:  some slides in color.  Most slides are labeled Jacobs  Photo Shop.

SLIDES—MOUNT RAINIER 1909

Inner Box 2, Slides 122-155 (incomplete)

19 lantern slides, some duplicates.  Views of Nisqually Glacier, Carbon Glacier, the summit of Mt. Rainier, Little Tahoma, Spray Park, Mystic Lake, St. Elmo Pass, and climbers on the mountain.

Physical notes:   Some slides are in color.  A few slides are dated 1909.  All other slides have no date. 

BOX 3 of 4

Mt. Stuart  1914

Inner Box, Slides 1-121  (incomplete)

119 lantern slides from the Mountaineers’ 1914 summer outing to the Mt. Stuart area.  Slides show people hiking, camping, and climbing.  Views of Leavenworth, Icicle Creek, Eightmile Creek, Mt. Stuart, Stuart Lake, Ingalls Lake, Ingalls Peak, Horseshoe Lake, Lake Mary, Commissary Lake, Frosty Creek, Snowgrass Mt., south fork of the Chiwaukum River, and the train station at Chiwaukum.  

Physical notes:  some slides cracked and discolored.  Some slides are in color. 

Miscellaneous

Inner Box 1

69 lantern slides with views of Mt. Rainier National Park, Yosemite Valley, possibly the Grand Canyon, hot springs, possibly Mammoth Hot Springs, and Mt. St. Helens.  Also includes portraits of John Muir, two slides of books by John Muir and Enos A Mills, people posing on a summit, various wildlife and unidentified locations.

Physical notes:  Most slides are not labeled.  No dates are written.  Most slides have the studio label of Curtis & Miller, commercial photographers.    Some slides are colored, a few are cracked.

Miscellaneous

Inner Box 2

57 lantern slides with views of a group of Boy Scouts camping, climbing, and hiking.  Includes views of Mowich Lake, Camp Muir, Mirror Lake, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, the Olympic Mountains, and Glacier Peak.  Also includes slides of cartoons of Boy Scouts. Below are some nice examples:

 Physical notes:  Some slides are in color.  Most slides have the Asahel Curtis, commercial photographer label.

BOX 4 of 4

Glacier Peak Area, 1929

Inner Box: wood box with peeling fabric cover

103 lantern slides depicting the Glacier Peak region in the North Cascades, generally between Indian Pass and Glacier Peak (south of the volcano). Scenes include Indian Pass, White Pass, White and Red Mountain, Johnson Peak, Indian Head Peak, Lake Byrne, Kennedy Hot Springs, Reflection Lake, Whitechuck Glacier, and Glacier Peak. Most of the images are scenery alone, but some include people, horses, campsites, backcountry cabins, and a ranger station. One slide depicts Fred W. Cleator of the US Forest Service on horseback.

Included in the wood box is a fragile and torn copy of the Seattle Sunday Times Rotogravure Pictorial Section dated September 1, 1929 and entitled “Uncle Sam Visits Glacier Peak Wash, The Switzerland of America.”

Physical notes:  Most slides are in color.  Some slides have the Asahel Curtis, commercial photographer label.  One slide is broken and a few are cracked. Most slides are dirty (speckled) and some have what appears to be mold growth (a translucent repetitive pattern) between the glass plates.

Box 4 enclosures:

Letter from Daniel Mondschein, Art Dealer, 2337 – 42^nd SW, Seattle WA, 98116

[Undated]
To whom it may concern,

Re: Group of photographic slides produced by J. Boyd Ellis and Asahael Curtis.

I purchased these slides when, in 1979 I was operating an antique and second-hand shop on Capitol Hill. These slides remained in my personal collection until the present at which time I have retained an agent to actively seek a party to purchase and place them where they will find their highest use.

All information provided with the slides came with them including the pictorial article, purported to be one of many stemming from the original venture that produced these photos.

Letter from Daniel Mondschein, Art Dealer, 2337 – 42^nd SW, Seattle WA, 98116

December 1, 1984
To whom it may concern,

Ms. M. Keenan is empowered by possession of this [illegible] to transact business and receive funds in my name.  –Daniel Mondschein

Letter on Mountaineers stationery from Melissa Kennan

December 14, 1984

I hereby certify that I have received a check for $500.00 made payable to Daniel Mondschein, art dealer, as payment in full for the group of photographic slides produced by J. Boyd Ellis and Asahel Curtis. The subject matter is primarily an outing to Glacier Peak in 1929 in consideration of proposing it for a National Park.  –Melissa Keenan

Untitled Loose Sheet

This fine collection of slightly more than 100 lantern slides were photographed and produced by well-known Northwest photographers, Boyd Ellis of Arlington and Asahael Curtis of Seattle. They were two of about 20 persons brought together by the Everett Chamber of Commerce, back in 1929, for a trip into the North Cascades-Glacier Peak area for the purpose of gathering photographs, information, etc., thus attempting to interest the United States Government in developing the area as a National Park.

It is noted that $1200 was spent at the Curtis Studio in Seattle at the time to develop the slides. All slides are colored and remarkably well-done.

The trip made by these photographers and others into the Northern Cascades area was highly publicized at the time and reported in many Northwest papers. Lantern slides were used for many years for publicity purposes and these no doubt played their part in the ultimate recognition of this region so that in time it became the prized public area it is today.