By Zachary R. Jones & Amanda J. Mosher
Title: Twyla Burger Photograph Collection, 1905-1950
ID: PO/068
Primary Creator: Tlingit Indians.
Extent: 1.0 Boxes
Date Acquired: 09/19/2011
Subjects: Tlingit Indians--History.
This collection contains 62 historical photographs. The first 37 of which primarily depict early twentieth century Wrangell, Alaska, which were acquired from Twyla Burger, a California based private collector. Subjects addressed in these photographs vary from those of Southeast Alaska Natives (primarily the Tlingit), the town of Wrangell, and maritime technology.
Photos 1 to 16 and 35, circa 1900 to 1945 portray the Tlingit people of Wrangell. Images of totems, houses, and the Wrangell Tlingit village are included in this part of the collection. Most of these photos were originally produced and sold as Stereoview and photograph postcards showing the Natives of Southeast Alaska. Photos 17 to 22 also display traditional Tlingit art, but were taken during a later time period, circa 1945.
Photos 23 to 37, with the exception of photo 35, depict the town of Wrangell as the product of involvement by the U.S. Federal Government. A school building, a U.S. federal government office, fishing boats, a view of downtown Wrangell, and an aerial view of Wrangell all promote this theme. These photos, circa 1930-1950 were taken for the purpose of record keeping by the US federal government.
The remaining 25 photos depict various towns and different flora and fauna in Alaska in general, however most photos are limited to Southeast Alaska in particular.
Repository: Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives
Acquisition Source: Twyla Burger
Acquisition Method: The material in the collection was donated to SHI by Twyla Burger of California on September 19, 2011 and on April 19, 2012.
Item 1: Stereoview photograph reading “Chief’s House, Bear and Wolf Totems, Fort Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1910s.
Item 2: Stereoview photograph reading “Drying Fish on the Yukon River, Alaska”, circa 1910s. Photo depicts Alaska Native fishermen standing alongside fish drying racks along the Yukon River.
Item 3: Postcard reading “Chief Shakes Island Wrangell Alaska”, circa 1895. Photo depicts a series of Tlingit houses on Chief Shakes Island.
Item 4: Postcard reading “One legged Fisherman Totem Wrangell Alaska”, circa 1900s.
Photo depicts a single, Tlingit totem alongside of a house and in the right foreground of a forested area.
Item 5: Postcard reading “Kicksetti Totem Wrangell Alaska”, circa 1900s. Photo depicts a
single Tlingit totem in the front of a house.
Item 6: Postcard reading “Alaska Indians”, circa 1900s. Photo depicts a group of six
Tlingit women and a young, Tlingit girl in front of a wooden fence outside of a house. All are wrapped in blankets and the women have their heads wrapped. One of the women is standing while the others are sitting on the ground, around two sets of deer antlers.
Item 7: Postcard reading “Chief Shakes House Totems & War canoe Wrangell - Alaska”, circa 1900s. A group of approximately twenty people sit in a large caone in the water off the dock of Chief Shakes’s House. Totems appear in the background.
Item 8: Postcard reading “Skok-ish-Tin 107 Years old Wrangell Alaska”, circa 1900s. The portrait depicts Native elder wrapped in fur.
Item 9: Postcard reading “Kadashan Totems Wrangell Alaska”, circa 1900s. Photo depicts a pair of Tlingit totems in front of a house.
Item 10: Postcard reading “Kichscette & Kadashan Totems Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1900s. Photo depicts a pair of Tlingit totems and a house amongst a forested, mountainous area.
Item 11: Postcard reading “Raven Totem Wrangell Alaska”, circa 1900s. Photo depicts Raven Totem on the right side alongside some trees while a Tlingit house is in the far background.
Item 12: Postcard reading “Bear Totem Store Wrangell - Alaska”, circa 1920s. Photo depicts tourist store in the town of Wrangell. Totems are in foreground.
Item 13: Postcard reading “Totem Pole, Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1920s. Photo depicts totem in the center of a forested area.
Item 14: Postcard reading “Indian Graves, Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1920s. Photo depicts small covered area amongst the forest with a small totem on the right side of an enclosure.
Item 15: Postcard reading “Chief Shakes Grave Wrangell Alaska”, circa 1915. Photo depicts a wooden enclosure topped with carvings of Orcas on two sides.
Item 16: Postcard reading “Totems Near Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1900s. Photo depicts five tall totems and one small bear totem in a forested area.
Item 17: Photograph depicting Chief Shakes Island and Tribal House in Wrangell, Alaska, circa 1945.
Item 18: Photograph depicting a wider view of Chief Shakes Island and Tribal house in Wrangell, Alaska, circa 1945.
Item 19: Photograph depicting the rear of the Chief Shakes House in Wrangell, Alaska from across a body of water with totems in view, circa 1945.
Item 20: Photograph reads “Chief Shakes House, Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1920s. Photo depicts Chief Shakes House with totems in left foreground.
Item 21: Reverse side of photograph reads “Rocks with Indian designs out road”, circa 1920s, attributed to the Wrangell area. Photo shows an individual amongst a series of rocks along the channel. “Indian designs” are not evident in photo.
Item 22: Photograph depicting the rocky shoreline alongside the Wrangell Narrows, circa 1920s, presumably where petroglyphs reside.
Item 23: Photograph reading “Presbyterian Church - Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo depicts church in the town of Wrangell. Part of a series of photos taken for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 24: Photograph reading “Wrangell Public School - Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo depicts large school building with swing set in foreground. Photo is among a series of photos for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 25: Photograph reading “Wrangell Public School - Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo depicts large school building with swing set in foreground. Photo is among a series of photos for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 26: Photograph reading “Wrangell Institute - Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo shows Wrangell Institute taken from an opposite shoreline amongst a forested area. Photo is among a series for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 27: Photograph reading “Hospital - Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo shows a small hospital surrounded by forest. Photo is among a series for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 28: Photograph reading “Boat at Dock - Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo shows a large passenger steamship with the town of Wrangell in the background and a small motorboat in the foreground. Photo is among a series for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 29: Photograph reading “Harbor Scene - Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo shows harbor ad boats with the town of Wrangell in the background. Photo is among a series for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 30: Photograph reading “Boat at Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo shows a large passenger ship at center, right along a body of water with snowcapped mountains in background. Photo is among a series for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 31: Photograph depicts the harbor of Wrangell Alaska with fishing boat on left and dock on right and in background, circa 1940s. Photo is among a series for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 32: Photograph reading “Harbor Scene - Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo shows view of harbor with the presence of large number of fishing boats. Photo is among a series for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 33: Photograph depicts two fishing boats, center, sitting on the harbor in Wrangell, Alaska, circa 1940s. Photo is among a series for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 34: Photograph depicts a view of the harbor in Wrangell, Alaska, circa 1940s. Photo appears to have been taken by accident as not is not as picturesque as other photographs of harbor in the same series. Photo is among a series of photographs for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 35: Photograph reading “Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1895s. Photo shows several
Tlingit men in the foreground, sitting alongside the Wrangell Narrows. A small dock projects out into the water while a passenger steamship is in the background, right. The town of Wrangell appears in the background.
Item 36: Photograph reading “Air View - Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo shows an aerial view of the town of Wrangell with the Pacific Ocean, Tongass Forrest, and Wrangell Mountains in full view. Photo is among a series for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 37: Photograph reading “Street Scene - Wrangell, Alaska”, circa 1940s. Photo shows street view of the town of Wrangell. The street view depicts cars of the period, and local businesses. Only two of the stores are evident, one selling rugs and the other a liquor store. Photo is among a series for US Federal Government purposes.
Item 38: Photograph reading “Truck About to Descend One of the Steepest Grades on the Alaska Highway, This Will Be Eliminated”. The Alaska Highway is depicted along with a single vehicle. Photo is among a series for the Public Roads Administration.
Item 39: Photograph reading “View Along the New Alcan Highway Through Canada’s Wilderness Built By a Welcome Army of U.S. Soldiers”. A dirt and gravel road is depicted on the side of a lake surrounded by mountains. Photo is printed by permission of the Wartime Information Board.
Item 40: Photograph reading “The Worst Ice Flow That Covered the Alaska Highway, Kluane Lake, Detour on Right, Original Road Under Highest Ice”. Photo shows a single person standing on top of the ice flow. Road detour is barely visible. Photo part of a series by the Public Road Administration.
Item 41: Photograph reading “Sea Lions on Sea Lion Rocks, Salisbury Sound”, circa 1948. Photo shows a group of sea lions on the edge of a rock shelf entering the pacific ocean. Photo taken by Oscar Hestnes.
Item 42: Photograph reading “Caribou Swimming the Yukon River Near Dawson”. Photo shows a herd of caribou moving through the river.
Item 43: Untitled photograph of bear cubs interacting pleasantly with a collared dog.
Item 44: Photograph reading “Seward, Alaska”. Photo depicts a confrontation between two bears.
Item 45: Photograph reading “A Good Shot. Polar Bear on the Pack Ice off Point Barrow, Alaska”, circa 1915. Photo depicts to polar bears interacting on the ice. One is rubbing his back and on the ice while kicking debris in the air, while another polar bear approaches. Photo by J. Hadley.
Item 46: Photograph reading “A Wrestling Match”, circa 1943. Photo depicts two bears with muzzles entangled and arms upon one another.
Item 47: Untitled and undated photograph of a cache in the wilderness.
Item 48: Photograph reading “Alaska Cache”, circa 1930. Photo depicts a cache standing all alone, back of the photo bears the legend “Cann’s Studio Inc. Fairbanks, Alaska.
Item 49: Photograph reading “Block House”. Photo depicts an octagonal structure sitting on the beach by the side of the water. Additionally the photo bears the legend “The Photo Shop Studio. Sitka, Alaska”.
Item 50: Photograph reading “Juneau, Alaska”, circa 1977. Photo depicts the downtown Juneau area.
Item 51: Photograph reading “Broadway, Skagway, Alaska”, circa 1898. Photo depicts the main street of Skagway Alaska. Several businesses and their signs are visible along with patrons walking through the streets and horse drawn wagons.
Item 52: Photograph reading “Ketchikan, Alaska, S.E.”. Photo depicts a portion of the city of Ketchikan and surrounding areas. Ships are visible near the water’s edge.
Item 53: Photograph reading “Chief Shakes Island Wrangell, Alaska”. Photo depicts the Chief Shakes island along with Chief Shakes house. Several boats are visible on the water as well as a portion of the town.
Item 54: Photograph reading “Indian Totems Wrangell, Alaska”. Photo depicts two totem poles along with a canoe and several structures on a beach.
Item 55: Photograph reading “Wrangell Narrows, Alaska”. Photo depicts a boat moving through the Wrangell Narrows. A portion of a garden is visible in the bottom of the picture.
Item 56: Photograph reading “Mollie Walsh memorial, Skagway, Alaska”. The photo shows the memorial of Mollie Walsh. The viewer is able to read the writing on the effigy from the photo.
Item 57: Untitled and undated photograph depicting the area around a town. Boats are visible in the water, and structures and discernible on the shore.
Item 58: Photograph reading “Ketchikan, Alaska on Tongass Narrows”. Photo shows an aerial view of the city of Ketchikan and surrounding locations.
Item 59: Photograph reading “Ketchikan Alaska”. Photo depicts a portion of downtown Ketchikan. The Ketchikan Cold Storage and Marly Fish Company are visible, along with fishing boats and other homes and businesses.
Item 60: Photograph reading “Wrangell Alaska”. Photo shows an aerial view of the town of Wrangell. Boats are discernible upon the water along with docks, harbors and homes along the shore.
Item 61: Photograph reading “Sitka, Alaska”. Photo depicts a portion of Sitka. A church steeple is visible along with several homes.
Item 62: Photograph reading “Figure Head on Indian Canoe”. This photo shows the prow of a canoe and the figure heard upon it. A great amount of detail is discernible.
