Seattle Historic Photographs

  • New Digital Collection Highlights Lives of Seattle Pioneers

    This month we’ve launched a new digital collection which reveals a glimpse into the personal lives of some of Seattle’s early pioneers. The Lu Jacobson Collection of Latimer and Denny Family Material includes materials focusing on Alexander Latimer, his wife Sarah Chesney Latimer and their five daughters: Narcissa Latimer Denny, Eliza Alice Latimer Fowler, Harriet… Continue reading

  • New to our Digital Collections: Early Seattle Glass Plate Negatives

    Curious to explore rarely seen photographs from the life of a Seattle family from over 100 years ago? Now you can with 184 photographs from our Early Seattle Glass Plate Negative Collection, recently digitized and added to our online offerings. The collection features images of Seattle homes and buildings, the town of Index, the Cedar… Continue reading

  • Black History in Seattle

    ~posted by Abby B. At the library, every month is Black History Month. We get questions and requests for African American history, culture and fiction throughout the year. In honor of the nationally recognized celebration, we’re shining a spotlight on Black History in Seattle. Here are some great resources to explore if you want to… Continue reading

  • Postmarked with Love

    ~posted by Jade In honor of Valentine’s Day and the spirit of sending messages to loved ones, I’m sharing a couple of fun postcards from our online Historic Seattle Postcard Collection. One of my favorite parts about this collection is finding postcards that include messages between friends and family. These brief notes can reveal some… Continue reading

  • Fountain of Wisdom

    As a student in the University of Washington’s Library and Information Science Program, I have been helping digitize photos from the Library’s Seattle Historical Photograph Collection. I’ve discovered a lot of interesting photos, but one of my favorites is a photo of the library’s Fountain of Wisdom with the artist just peeking out from behind… Continue reading