Guide to the Beverly B. Dobbs Photographs
circa 1900-1912

Biographical Note

The son of a farmer, Beverly Bennett Dobbs was born in 1868 near Marshall, Missouri. At age 8, he moved with his parents to Lincoln, Neb., where he learned photography. In 1888, Dobbs moved to Bellingham, Wash., and operated a photography studio for 12 years, including a partnership in 1890-1891 with F.F. Fleming under the name Dobbs & Fleming. He married Dorothy Sturgeon of Bellingham in 1896, then moved to Nome, Alaska, in search of gold in 1900. Dobbs continued to earn his living as a photographer, and by 1903, he had formed a partnership with the photographer A.B. Kinne from San Francisco. The Dobbs & Kinne studio in Nome offered photography services and photo supplies. Dobbs photographed scenes in Nome and the Seward Peninsula and made portraits of Inuit people (Eskimos). He was awarded a gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World’s Fair) in 1904 for his Eskimo photographs.

By about 1909, Dobbs had started Dobbs Alaska Moving Picture Co., making him one of the first to use motion picture film north of the Arctic Circle. He made a name for himself as a filmmaker with Atop of the World in Motion (also called Top of the World in Motion), a collection of his motion picture travelogues detailing the Alaska gold rush. By 1911, it is probable that Dobbs was focusing only on his moving picture business; he no longer had his photography supply store, and had sold his photography negatives to the Lomen Brothers, who later issued some of his work under their name. By 1914, Dobbs had returned to Seattle and was managing the Dobbs Totem Film Company. He is listed as the cinematographer for A Romance of Seattle, a film shot in and around Seattle in 1919. In his later years he specialized in developing motion picture films in his studio at his home. During the 1930s, Dobbs photographed the fish processing operations at Pacific American Fisheries (PAF) in the Fairhaven area of Bellingham. He died at age 69 in 1937.

Scope and Content

The collection includes 61 photographic prints and an album containing 60 photographs documenting gold-mining scenes, town views, youth basketball teams, and Inuit (Eskimo) culture in and around Nome, Alaska, in the early years of the 20th century. There are also photographs depicting the activities of the Pioneer Mining Company and the Hot Air Mining Company. All the photographs were made by Beverly Dobbs, although some were later signed by the Lomen Brothers.

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open to the public.

Acquisition Info

Album: Source, Michael Maslan, July 1992.

Photographic prints: Source unknown.

Processing Info

Processed by Linda Corets, 2004.

Bibliography

Dobbs's work is featured prominently in E.S. Harrison, Nome and Seward Peninsula: History, Description, Biographies and Stories (Seattle: E.S. Harrison, 1905).

Inventory

Page	Item															Date
			Album of Nome and Vicinity													1902-ca. 1912
1	1			Two men with $100,000 ready for shipment, Pioneer Co.'s Office, Nome
2	2			Owners of the Hot Air Mine with $80,000 ready for shipment
3	3			Sailing ship and the midnight sun												June 21, 1906
4	4			Inuit men with oomiak (long, broad boat)
5	5			Men gathered on train at Banner Station, the most northerly rail station in the world
6	6			People on Sunday excursion in open rail car on Wild Goose Railroad, Nome
7	7			Gold miners at Pioneer Mining Co. mine no. 5, Anvil
8	8			Ground sluicing at Pioneer Mining Co. mine no. 6, Anvil
9	9			Gold miners at Pioneer Mining Co. mine no. 1, below Anvil
10	10			Pioneer Mining Co.operation at Discovery, Anvil
11	11			The largest gold nugget found at Anvil in Alaska on Sept. 29, 1901
12	12			Settlement along shore at Teller, Alaska
13	13			Pioneer Mining Co. operation at mine no. 2, at Anvil
14	14			Pioneer Mining Co. operation at mine no. 1, above Anvil
15	15			Eskimos from East Cape in boat on Snake River, Nome
16	16			Inuit girls, Eged'lena and Keak'kona
17	17			Pioneer Mining Co. hydraulic mining on Snow Gulch
18	18			Hydraulic mining operation on hillside
19	19			Greatest hydraulic mine in Alaska, Hot Air Mining Co., Nome
20	20			Hot Air Mining Co.'s 350-ft. wide pay-streak
21	21			Miners preparing for clean up on Hot Air mine, Nome
22	22			Looking down Snow Gulch showing glacier benches in distance
23	23			Hydraulic mining at full force at Hot Air mine, Nome
24	24			Pioneer Mining Co. operation at Noa Rock Creek
25	25			Pioneer Mining Co.'s prospecting drill, with head of Dexter showing sugar claim in distance
26	26			Pioneer Mining Co. hydraulic mining operation on [Dexter Creek?]
27	27a			Inuit men in boats
	27b			Panoramic view of Nome												1902
	27c			Reindeer grazing
28	28			Front Street, looking east, Nome
29	29			Front Street, looking west, Nome
30	30			Second Street, Nome
31	31			Overview of Nome from Lane's Derrick												ca. 1903
32	32			General offices of the Pioneer Mining Co.
33	33			Inuit berry pickers, Nome
34	34			Young Inuit pair in front of dwelling
35	35			Road House Saloon, Bluff City, Alaska
36	36			Unalaska community and bay
37	37			Dutch Harbor
38				[Blank page]
39	39			Wreck of the Siesta and Teaser near shore
40	40			Inuit camp along sand spit, Nome
41	41a			Men with baby walrus
	41b			Walruses on beach, near Nome
42	42a			S.S. Nome City in ice pack
	42b			Hunters preparing to haul away walrus
43	43a			Diomede Islands
	43b			Walrus hunters from S.S. Nome City
44	44a-b			Cape Prince of Wales
45	45a			Inuit mother and children
	45b			Sunset in winter, Nome
	45c			Inuit boys, Nome
46	46a-d			Teacher and Inuit children at U.S. government school, Cape Prince of Wales
47	47a-d			Russian miners establishing trading post, St. Lawrence Bay, Siberia
48	48			Sunset on Snake River, Nome
Box/Folder	Item															Date
			Nome, Alaska
2/1	49			Nome Arctic Railroad Depot
	50			American Independence Day celebration												ca. July 4, between 1901 and 1910
	51			Crowded street
	52			Assay Office at Miners and Merchants Bank
	53			Men leaving for Teller from Lane's Derrick
	54-55			Men rowing boat in surf
						Dobbs's signature removed from photograph and replaced with "Lomen Bros."
	56			Scotty Allen and his dog team
	57			U.S. Mail dog team
	58			Steamer Ohio
Box/Folder	Item															Date
			Gold Mining Around Nome
2/2	59			Mine no. 1 and Anvil City
	60			Men mining at no. 5, Anvil City
	61			Men mining at Dexter Creek
	62			Miner on pile of dirt
	63			Third Beach Line at Little Creek, near Nome												1906
	64			Panorama of Third Beach Line at Little Creek, near Nome												1906
Box/Folder	Item															Date
			Youth Basketball Teams in Nome, Alaska
2/3	65			YMCA boys basketball team												ca. 1907
	66-67			YMCA boys basketball team
	68			Boys basketball team
	69			Nome High School boys basketball team, 1907-1908 champions												ca. 1908
	70			Nome High School girls basketball team, 1905-1906 champions												ca. 1906
Box/Folder	Item
			Inuit Domestic Scenes
2/4	71			Inuit settlement along shore
	72			Inuit mother and child sitting by clothes drying on canoe
	73			Inuit woman cooking meal
	74			Inuit berry pickers, Nome
	75			Inuit men sitting near drying rack
	76			Eskimos from East Cape in boat on Snake River, Nome
						Same as 323.15
	77			Inuit grave marker
Box/Folder	Item															Date
			Inuit Men
2/5	78			Happy Jack wearing fur parka
	79			Inuit boy												1903
	80			Inuit man												1905
	81-82			Inuit man
	83			Inuit man with canoe
	84			Inuit boys skinning reindeer near river
						Lomen Bros. signature on lower left corner of photograph.
	85-86			Inuit men hunting walruses
						Lomen Bros. signature on lower left corner of photograph.
	87			Walruses on ice floe, near Nome
						Lomen Bros. signature on lower left corner of photograph.
Box/Folder	Item															Date
			Inuit Women and Children
2/6	88			"Newarluk," Inuit woman, Nome
	89			Inuit woman												1907
	90-91			Inuit woman, Nome
	92			Inuit woman
	93			Inuit mother and child
	94			"Wegaruk," Inuit mother carrying sleeping baby on her back												1905
	95-98			Inuit mother carrying baby on her back
	99			[Russian?] mother holding baby
2/7	100			"Eskimo Belles, Nome"												1903
						Dobbs's signature removed from photograph and replaced with "Lomen Bros." Drawings added to backdrop. See also items 53 and 54.
	101-102			Four Inuit girls												1903
	103			Four Inuit girls
	104			Inuit child with fur parka and hood
	105			Minnie, Inuit child
	106-107			Inuit girl
	108			Inuit girls, "Eged Lena and Keat Kona"
	109			Inuit boys, Nome
Subject Terms
	Personal Names:
		Dobbs, B. B. (Beverly Bennett)
	Organizations:
		Hot Air Mining Company.
		Pioneer Mining Company.
	Subjects:
		Basketball players--Alaska--Nome--Photographs.
		Basketball teams--Alaska--Nome--Photographs.
		Gold mines and mining--Alaska--Nome--Photographs.
		Gold mines and mining--Alaska--Photographs.
		Gold rushes--Alaska--Nome--Photographs.
		Gold rushes--Alaska--Photographs.
		Inuit--Alaska--Photographs.
		Inuit--Alaska--Social life and customs.
	Geographic Names:
		Alaska--Gold discoveries.
		Nome (Alaska)--Gold discoveries.
		Nome (Alaska)--Photographs.
	Genre Headings:
		Photograph albums.
		Photographs.