Ordinary and Extraordinary Lives of Alaskan Women, 1880-1960

And sometimes women may gather for no formal purpose whatsoever. Perhaps it’s a chance meeting along a city sidewalk or an opportunity to display their work to a photographer. Or perhaps just a chance to sit outside on a sunny day.

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Wrangell, 1895. Two Tlingit women (and their cat) pose for a professional photographer, a portrait that is later distributed widely through the tourist trade.
[Anonymous Southeast Alaska photographs, an Alaska Historical Society collection, HMC-0015v]

White Mountain, ca. 1922-1924. The women of White Mountain pose for a group portrait in their beautiful—and warm—parkas.
[Thomas Sexton photographs and negatives, HMC-0219]

Sitka, ca. 1897. These three basketweavers pose with their goods for a professional photographer who then sold these images to the tourist trade.
[Anonymous Southeast Alaska photographs, an Alaska Historical Society collection, HMC-0015v]

Valdez, ca. 1910-1920. Two women make their way along the winter streets.
[McKeown Family photographs, an Alaska Historical Society collection, HMC-0015i]