PHOTOGRAPHS
Goetzman, H.J.
U.S. (active Dawson City, Yukon, 1898 - 1904)
Chilkoot Pass, Spring 1898: En Route to Klondike Gold Fields
1898
Gelatin silver print
15 3/16 x 19 5/16 in. (38.6 x 49 cm) image size;16 7/16 x 20 1/2 in. (41.8 x 52 cm) sheet size
Joseph and Elaine Monsen Photography Collection
FA 2001.78

The Klondike Gold Rush of 1896 lured many itinerant and commercial photographers to Alaska and the Yukon. H.J. Goetzman settled in Dawson City, Yukon Territory during the boom and established a lucrative business selling views of area events, people, and scenery. Goetzman employed a studio of eight, including his wife, and was known to transport his large format camera by sled to remote locations. This photograph shows miners hauling their “ton of goods” one box at a time over the treacherous Chilkoot Pass.

Over 21 photographers -- itinerant individuals, newspapermen, and studio representatives – worked in the Yukon at the turn of the twentieth century. The University of Washington Special Collections library contains hundreds of photographs by H.J. Goetzman, Eric A. Hegg, H.C. Barley, and Kinsey & Kinsey in the William E. Meed collection. To search this collection online visit: http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcoll/findaids/docs/photosgraphics/MeedWilliamPHColl246.xml. -- Label copy for 150 Works of Art, October 1, 2005 to February 26, 2006.