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Description

Seattle in the Pioneer Era: One of the Earliest Photos of Seattle

An exceptional Seattle rarity -- one of the earliest views of the city, printed by the Seattle-based photographers Peterson & Brother (Henry & Louis) in 1878.

The view, taken facing south from northwest of the intersection of Pike Street and Second Street, captures most of the Seattle at the time. At the upper left of the image sits the grandest building in the city at the time, the Territorial University Building (the genesis of the University of Washington). The view includes the King Street Coal Wharf at far right. Most of the old growth forest has been cleared from the summit of First Hill.

This view was made in the same year as E. S. Glover's Portland-published lithograph "Bird's-Eye View of the City of Seattle, Puget Sound, Washington Territory, 1878." It is no wonder that Seattle was gaining more attention at the time -- while the city had been founded in 1853 and incorporated in 1865, it only really started to take off at the end of the 1870s. In 1878, Seattle's population was probably close to 3,000 people. It grew quickly from only 1,151 in 1870 to 3,533 in 1880. But in the 1880s the population exploded, reaching 42,837 in 1890.

This view is very rare and is sometimes found without the title and key. This example of the view is substantially improved by its extant key and title sheet. The key lists the following landmarks:

  1. Territorial University
  2. Central School House
  3. Mount Rainier
  4. Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad
  5. Ships Loading Coal from Seattle Mines
  6. Yesler's Wharf
  7. Saw Mill
  8. United States Hotel

Rarity

The photo is very rare on the market.

Condition Description
Original photograph, mounted on new backing. Title mounted on separate sheet below photograph.