Historical Self-Guided Tour Location #6
Text-only: Welcome to the last historical stop on our tour today- the Winter and Pond Collection.
As you stroll throughout the 2nd and 1st floors you will encounter many black and white historical photos. These photos depict life in the early 1900’s in Alaska. The photographs are part of the Winter and Pond collection, housed by Alaska State Archives.
Let’s take a step back in time for a moment and look into how these photographs came to be.
Lloyd Valentine Winter and Edwin Percy Pond came to Juneau by way of steamboat in 1893. Together they opened the Winter and Pond photography studio that is well known for documenting life in Alaska during the gold rush. According to the Alaska State Libraries Winter and Pond’s work is “a unique reflection of the state in the early 20th century.” Their collections document the Klondike Gold Rush and other mining operations, traditional Tlingit native Alaskan culture, and provide many snapshots of a rapidly growing and changing young Juneau, Alaska.
Their store was in operation for over 50 years, and photos from their collection reside in the Alaska State Archives, the Library of Congress, and the University of Washington Library Special Collection.
Many of the photographs you will see today on this, and the 1st floor are scenes from early Tlingit life. You will see scenes of traditional cultural ceremonies, as well as those of the Tlingit cultures coping with social change brought onto them by the rapid establishment of nearby gold rush towns, many of which disappeared as quickly as they were established. Winter is told to have never charged a native Alaskan for his services and is responsible for a majority of the photographs of Alaska Natives in the collections. In 1928, Winter continued to show respect for the people who walked the lands before the arrival of western culture by applying for membership in the neighboring village of Klukwan to the Alaska Native Brotherhood, or ANB. ANB is still and active cultural organization that has fought against racism towards native people and promoted civil rights.
Over the decades, Winter and Pond expanded into publishing scrapbooks and albums of original photos to meet the demand of the growing tourist trade. A line of post cards was developed to sell more copies of the most popular photos. Around this time the Winter and Pond Store became the Winter and Pond Company.
Pond died in 1943, 50 years after his arrival in Alaska. Winter continued to operate the business until he sold it in 1945. The Winter and Pond Co. operations continued under Francis Harrison’s ownership until the business closed in 1956.
The Winter and Pond Collection includes over 4700 photographs and were presented to the Alaska State Library by William W. Jorgensen. In 1981, the Alaska State Legislature appropriated money to begin the initial phases of preservation and organization of the collection. Today, you can browse this collection from anywhere in the world by visiting Alaska’s Digital Archives website at vilda.alaska.edu. That’s V I L D A . A L A S K A . E D U.
As you spend time in the capitol, you’ll encounter numerous photos from this collection throughout the building, but primarily on the 2nd and 1st floors.
Next:
You’ve reached the end of the tour. If you’re interested in viewing our gift shop items, we have a display case in the main lobby that show what is available for sale next door at the City Museum. If you’d like to make any purchases, please exit the capitol and proceed across Main Street to the City Museum. Our gift shop is not located in the Capitol.
Thank you for visiting the Alaska Capitol. We are happy that you chose to spend time here. We are always open to feedback and comments. Please visit the Capitol Information Desk on your way our for a comment card that can be filled out online at anytime.