| Record Group | 010-05-27 |
| Department or Office: | Edison School |
| Title: | Asahel Curtis Lantern Slides |
| Dates: | ca. 1920-21 |
| Size: | 0.25 cubic feet |
| Arrangement: | Numerically by assigned numbers. |
| History: |
Asahel Curtis (1874-1941) was a professional photographer in Seattle for forty years. The younger brother of photographer Edward S. Curtis, Asahel joined his brother in his photography studio around 1892. In 1897, he went to Alaska to photograph the Klondike gold rush. After returning from Alaska, he served as staff photographer for the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post Intelligencer for a short time. He started his own company, the Asahel Curtis Photo Company in 1920. He lived and worked in Seattle but had interests throughout Washington, including developing an apple orchard near Yakima. He served on the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the State Tax Commission, and the Washington Irrigation Institute. He was also an avid mountain climber and served on the Rainier National Park advisory committee. Curtis died in 1941 at the age of sixty-seven.
A model school was established at Washington State Normal School during the first year of operation in 1891. In 1917, the school was named the Edison School after an agreement was made between the trustees of the Normal School and the Ellensburg School District for use of the training school building. After the completion of a new school building the name was changed to the College Elementary School. |
| Contents: | The exact date of these pictures is not known, but appears to be around 1920. Some of the slides had labels with numbers and the collection has been arranged according to those numbers. The unlabeled slides have been given letters and appear after the numbered slides. The slides are all images of children in the Edison school involved in various activities. The inventory includes a brief description of the activities shown. Most of the images were taken indoors though some were taken outdoors on campus. Included are pictures of children dancing, playing, preparing food and with animals. There are several slides that show children visiting a local bakery. |
| Restrictions: | Open to public. |