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Ed Nunn Photograph Collection, 1907-1909

 Collection
Identifier: PCA 602

Content Description

The glass plate negatives in this collection are from approximately 1907 to 1909. They feature Valdez, AK, a U.S. Deputy Surveyor named A. Judson Adams, Mount Drum, photographs taken inside stores and homes, Copper River Valley, Valdez covered in snow, Owl Drug Store, Dr. A.V. Gunther, Broadway Pharmacy, gold panning, and tents creating mining campsites.

Dates

  • 1907 - 1909

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is unrestricted. This collection has been digitized and is in a digital format only.

Conditions Governing Use

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be discussed with the Librarian. Photocopying does not constitute permission to publish.

Biographical / Historical

Edward Nunn was born on April 1, 1887 in Wray, Colorado to William Wesley Nunn and Alice M. Condon. His father was born in England in 1847 and came to the United States in 1869. His mother was born in Ohio in 1849. The Nunn family had moved from Kansas to Colorado in 1887, and moved back to Salina, Kansas in 1891. Edward’s two older brothers, ages 14 and 11, died of typhoid malaria in 1897. His parents moved from Salina to the Willamette Valley in Oregon in 1909.

Edward made his way to Alaska to pursue gold mining around age 19 or 20, arriving in either 1906 or 1907. He spent time in two Alaskan locations; Porcupine Creek near Haines, and the Valdez and Copper River area. He packed a camera which produced the glass plate negatives of this collection with him during this trip. He lived in Alaska for a year or two. He kept a written journal during his travels, but it is unknown if this journal still exists. It is unknown what happened to the camera, although it is believed he continued to use it after the trip.

After his time in Alaska, Ed lived in Cottage Grove, Oregon. On December 2, 1914, Edward married Leone Myrtle Southward, who was born in 1890 in Eugene, Oregon. They had three children; Ruth born in 1915, Arlene born in 1917, and Naomi born in 1921. Leone died five months after giving birth to their third daughter at the age of 30 in 1921 in Eugene, OR.

After his wife’s passing, Edward moved around. He did not raise his daughters, leaving them in the care of other family members. He settled down in Umatilla County, OR around the Pendleton area and worked as a Water Master there, monitoring and controlling the water available to farmers in the area. According to one account, he was once shot in the ribs with a small caliber pistol over a water allocation dispute, and the bullet was never removed.

Edward made a trip back to Haines, AK around 1969, bringing with many stories about the area and an excitement to see Porcupine Creek again. He believed he somehow still had a stake in a mining claim there, although at the time his memory was fading. Edward died on March 29, 1983 at the age of 95 in Pendleton, OR. He is buried in a cemetery in Echo, OR.

Extent

50 Photographic Prints (3 boxes) : 50 digital images ; 3 boxes ; 50 5” x 7” glass plate negatives

Language of Materials

English

Acquisition

This collection was donated by Charles Correa, great-grandson of Edward Nunn, on August 10, 2018. Acc. #2018-024.

Existence and Location of Originals

INVENTORY OF GLASS PLATES Stored in metal cabinet in vault

3 Boxes: Box 1: #1 – 20 (Glass Plate Negatives); Box 2: #21 – 37 (Glass Plate Negatives); Box 3: #38 – 50 (Glass Plate Positives)

Existence and Location of Copies

All the photographs in this collection have been digitized and are available to view via Alaska's Digital Archives.

Processing Information

These glass plate negatives have been digitized. They arrived in a cardboard box packed in Styrofoam. The negatives were removed from original packaging and kept in original order. All negatives were rehoused in archival sleeves and stored in archival boxes in the metal cabinet for glass plates in the temperature and humidity-controlled vault.

Title
Finding Aid for the Ed Nunn Photograph Collection, 1907-1909
Status
Completed
Author
Finding Aid Prepared by Anastasia Tarmann, with revisions by Melissa Scriven 2019 February; ArchivesSpace Finding Aid by: Melissa Scriven, March 2019 ; ArchivesSpace Finding Aid Revised by: Connie Hamann
Date
2021 September
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Alaska State Library - Historical Collections Finding Aids Repository

Contact:
PO Box 110571
Juneau AK 99811-0571 US
907-465-2920
907-465-2925
907-465-2151 (Fax)